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South Carolina interviews USF head coach Willie Taggart

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USF coach Willie Taggart, who was fighting to keep his job early in the season, may have his eyes on others on his own.

According to multiple sources, Taggart interviewed for the vacant South Carolina job Friday. The Gamecocks have also interviewed Auburn defensively coordinator Will Muschamp. South Carolina is expected to interview former Bucs’ coach Greg Schiano and Arizona State head coach Rich Rodriguez.

Taggart is in the third year of a five-year contract that pays him $1.2 million a year. It contains a $40,000 buyout.

It is difficult to judge how interested the Gamecocks might be. Muschamp is a former SEC coach. Schiano coached in the NFL. Rodriguez has coached in the Big 10 and Pac 10.

This year, however, Taggart was better than them all. His team won seven of its last eight, and it expects to go to its first bowl in five seasons.

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Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit [email protected].

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