According to a report from the Tampa Bay Times, despite being on the job nearly two full years, Willie Taggart never signed a formal contract with the Seminoles.
On the day he was hired, the school and Taggart had a nine-page letter of agreement, which was meant to be a placeholder of sorts until a formal contract could be finalized, which Florida State said they planned to do "as soon as practicable," according to the article. However, that never happened.
Instead, Taggart spent nearly two seasons coaching the Seminoles without ever signing a formal deal.
That is bound to be a point of contention with a $17 million buyout on the table, as Florida State may be able to legally argue that Taggart was simply an at-will employee. Meaning they'd be able to settle for a whole lot less than that $17 million.
This whole deal is extremely uncommon. The article does point out one similar situation though - after Kentucky decided to let go of head basketball coach Billie Gillespie back in 2009. Like Taggart, Gillespie also never inked an official deal and instead coached two seasons under a basic memo of understanding. That led to suits, and countersuits on both parts, until Kentucky ended up agreeing to pay about half of Gillespie's buyout.
Of course the lesson here is simple and straightforward - dream job or not, insist on signing a legal contract laying out the terms of your employment, and make sure you're also covered in the event that things don't go as you'd planned. Get it all in writing and to the proper folks to make sure it is a legally binding agreement.
There are a number of other issues that the Tampa Bay Times sees with the letter of agreement that Taggart and the school agreed to. Head here to read more.
Stay tuned to The Scoop as this situation continues to play out.
Update>> According to Darren Rovell, Taggart signed the deal. It was the Seminoles who haven't.
Further Update> Florida State officials put it in writing that Taggart did not sign it. So...???