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BigJohn98
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10-13-2019, 08:25 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-13-2019, 08:29 AM by BigJohn98.)
You really can't narrow it down to one thing. There are several reasons why FSU is in the position they are in today.
1. The administration is a joke.
Complete disfunction at the top. You don't have anyone in the administration who has a football-first mentality.
2. Jimbo Fisher
Yes, he helped resurrect this program, but he also drove it into the ground. After FSU won it all in 2013, he lost the fire. There was no more accountability within the program. He refused to make the necessary coaching changes. When Jeremy Pruitt left in the middle of the night, he panicked and promoted LB coach Charles Kelly to DC. That was mistake one. Mistake number two was not replacing Rick Trickett with a competent OL coach.
Fisher also refused to adapt to the times. He was stuck running an offense that belonged in the 90s. He refused to hire an OC, and refused to change any aspect of his offense. He was going to do things his way, regardless of if it worked or not.
His marital problems also threw a wrench into things, and I believe after that happened, he was just ready for a change.
During his last season, he had stopped recruiting, and you could tell he didn't really give a damn anymore. FSU's APR dropped to dead last in the country, as kids were not being held accountable for skipping class. There are rumors that he had been in contact with Texas A&M as early as the spring of 2017, months before the season even started. Once the season ended when Deondre Francois went down against Alabama, Fisher checked out.
3. Striking out at the most important positions in recruiting
It's no secret, FSU has struck out big time when it comes to finding a QB and finding offensive linemen. DeAndre Johnson was dismissed for punching a girl in the face. Deondre Johnson was a piece of crap, as was Malik Henry. That's three highly touted QBs and FSU went 0-3, which is why we are stuck with James Blackman and Alex Hornibrook. The OL struggles have been going on for years. For whatever reason, FSU just can not recruit elite OL, and never really developed linemen either.
4. Hiring Willie Taggart
Yes, Jimbo Fisher put FSU in this mess, but Taggart has done very little to improve on it. Yes, he's turned crappy programs around, but this hire is nothing short of a complete disaster. He had to scramble to hire coaches when he first got the job, and as a result, made terrible hires.
More often than not, this team has looked completely lost and outmatched. 96 year old Mack Brown had UNC one play away from beating the defending national champs. FSU has more talent than UNC, and looked like a high school team going up against Clemson. These players are not getting coached and developed properly. The overall team discipline is terrible, and our players have almost zero situational awareness. Dabo Swinney was tearing into a kicker for missing a chip shot when Clemson was up 28-0. Willie Taggart just stands there looking clueless.
Taggart seems like a great guy and I would love to see him right the ship, but if FSU doesn't fire him, it will cost them more money in the long run.