FAU football: Willie Taggart rounds out coaching staff with 4 new hires

FAU head coach Willie Taggart has rounded out his coaching staff as the university officially announced the hiring of four new coaches this week.

The football program has finally found their offensive and defensive coordinator with the addition of Brent Dearmon and Todd Orlando in Boca Raton.

The Owls have also added Donte’ Pimpleton as the running backs coach and Brandon Harris who will work with the cornerbacks.

"I'm excited about the 2022 coaching staff. It is a nice blend of coaches that I have worked with before and coaches that will bring different experiences to our meeting rooms and onto the field,” Taggart said. “Everyone is in place and has been getting to know our players, working diligently towards the upcoming signing class, and building for next season and beyond."

It’s been a tumultuous search for the next offensive coordinator.

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After moving on from former OC Michael Johnson, the Owls were set to hire former Troy OC Chip Lindsey. He even adjusted his Twitter page where his profile picture was the FAU logo and said in his bio he will be the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

However, the University of Central Florida announced on Dec. 27 that he will take the same position for the Knights and reunite with head coach Gus Malzahn.

Dearmon, 38, last worked with conference rival Middle Tennessee and Kansas in the same positions.

After spending one season with the Blue Raiders, they were ranked No. 13 out of 14 for total offense in Conference USA averaging 361.6 yards per game. The team also averaged 238.5 passing yards per game and 123.7 rushing yards per game.

He has some head coaching experience but only at the high school and NAIA college level. Besides his time in Alabama as head coach for B.C. Rain High School, he further repped his alma mater by leading the Bethel University Wildcats to win the program’s only Mid-South conference championship in his lone season. Dearmon will also serve as the QBs coach.

“Excited about my new journey with @FAUFootball and @CoachTaggart as OC and QB coach,” Dearmon said on Twitter.

Former offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Michael Johnson has been changed to be a tight ends coach, replacing Jon Bills, a university spokesperson told The Palm Beach Post.

Heading into year three of the Willie Taggart era in Boca, he’s also bringing in his third different defensive coordinator with the hiring of Todd Orlando. Jim Leavitt was the DC in 2019, though he took the same job at SMU the year after. Mike Stoops was hired as his replacement in 2020, but left to join his brother Mark Stoops at the University of Kentucky as their linebackers coach.

Orlando has served as defensive coordinator for six college teams in his 24 year coaching career, including stops at the University of Texas, Connecticut, Houston, Utah State, rival FIU, and his past job with USC.

With the Trojans, they saw an improvement on defense with Orlando under the helm. In 2020, they allowed 369.7 yards per game compared to the 408.7 mark in 2019. Besides calling the defensive unit, he will also work with the safeties.

Donte’ Pimpleton will work with the running backs, joining for his fifth stint as part of a Willie Taggart coaching staff. Besides being on the same staff, both were teammates at Western Kentucky.

He joined Taggart at WKU in 2010 where he started as a offensive quality control assistant and then was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2012. Alongside Taggart in USF, Oregon, and Florida State, he has coached some notable NFL running backs including Marlon Mack, Royce Freeman, and Cam Akers.

He takes over from Chris Perkins who has been coaching the running backs since December 2019.

Brandon Harris has been asked to coach the cornerbacks in the upcoming 2022 season for the Owls and his resume speaks for itself.

In his own collegiate career as a player, he played defensive back for the University of Miami where he was a Jim Thorpe award semifinalist in 2009 and 2010. This earned him getting drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round where he played a couple of seasons with them and with the Tennessee Titans in the NFL.

In his coaching career, he was at Florida State as a defensive analyst in 2020, then was an assistant coach at FIU this past season where he also worked with the cornerbacks. There are some family ties at FIU since his older brother, Tim Harris Jr., was the former offensive coordinator for the Panthers.

With the 2022 coaching staff solidified, Taggart and the Owls look to rebound after a 5-7 2021 where they finished the season losing four straight and missing out on a bowl game. As FAU is soon to be AAC bound in the very near future, the team is hoping to see major improvement in the fall.

The season is set to open in Athens, Ohio as FAU will face Ohio University on Sept. 3.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU football: Willie Taggart rounds out staff with OC, DC hires