Reunited

[the_ad_group id=”632″]

UPDATED 3:03 p.m. to include news of Taggart retaining some FAU assistant coaches.

BOCA RATON – Two of the primary minds behind FAU’s 11-win 2019 campaign will try to duplicate their success next season at USF.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis will join defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer on new South Florida coach Jeff Scott’s staff, sources tell OwlAccess.com.

An official announcement could come as early as today. OwlAccess.com first reported on Saturday morning the likelihood that this would happen.

New FAU coach Willie Taggart is moving Clint Trickett from tight ends coach to quarterbacks coach, and could elevate him to offensive coordinator. Taggart also retained offensive line coach Jeff Norrid, OwlAccess.com has learned, and is expected to retain special teams coach Jaron Fairman.

The Bulls announced Spencer’s hiring with a Sunday morning tweet, less than 24 hours after, as interim FAU coach, he led the Owls to a 52-28 pummeling of SMU in the Boca Raton Bowl. Sources tell OwlAccess.com that safeties coach Wes Neighbors and cornerbacks coach Jason Jones will follow Spencer to USF.

At 25-years-old when hired as Lane Kiffin’s offensive coordinator in January of 2018, Weis was the youngest offensive coordinator in modern NCAA history. Weis spent two seasons at the helm of FAU’s offense. Kiffin left FAU a couple weeks ago for the head coaching job at Mississippi.

This year the Owls averaged 36.4 points and and 448.6 yards per game. With Weis in complete control of the offensive game plan and play calls on Saturday, FAU raced to 521 yards of total offense and scored six offensive touchdowns.

FAU currently ranks No. 14 nationally in scoring average.

In his lone season at FAU Spencer oversaw a remarkable turnaround defensively for FAU, molding one of the worst-rated defenses in football last season into one that allowed only 22.7 points per game, No. 37 nationally. No team in the nation forced more than the 33 turnovers FAU garnered this season.

Spencer was a finalist to replace Kiffin as the Owls’ head man, but FAU hired Willie Taggart. With Spencer leaving for USF, Taggart hired former USF coach Jim Leavitt as his coordinator.