If you know me you know that I love Florida State football. A little too much as my friends would tell you.
Today's news is something we were expecting for the past few week, but it still hurts.
Over the past 8 years, I have payed close attention to Jimbo and his teams. I read all the articles, attended open practices, watched every snap of every game, rewatched every snap of many games, and fell in love with the players and culture that he instilled at FSU.
Since he has been here he has done wonders for this program. He modernized our program's facilities, he dominated our rivals, he gave us one of the greatest seasons in the sports' history, and more than anything, he gave us countless, priceless memories as fans. There is no doubt in my mind that even after this season, Jimbo Fisher is a top 5 coach in the nation based on experience, philosophy and accolades.
But this season the can of worms was opened. A ridiculously talented roster was wasted. I beleive it was a mixture certain circumstances (Irma) and a poor coaching staff, but six losses with any FSU team much less this one is beyond disgust.
For the third straight year, Jimbo has dangled a job offer over our heads to squeeze more funding out of our administration. His intentions may have been good, but his antics are old, and on top of it, his timing could not have been worse. If this is the game Jimbo wants to play every year, it may have been smart to sit this year out. FSU is no doghouse in the facilities department. Six losses is unacceptable and isn't the result of us not having a football-only facility. Jimbo picked the wrong battle and it cost him.
I'm not sure Jimbo ever really wanted to take the A&M job. It certainly wouldn't make sense to want that job over Florida State, regardless of how stale his message has gotten with the players. He had the talent stockpiled, the record over his rivals, the job security, and the respect implemented and in place at a school that some other guy from West Virginia made history at for over 25 years. Why flirt with a program that hasn't won anything since before the Second World War? Especially after turning down other jobs like Texas and LSU.
Part of me feels bad for Jimbo because I don't completely think this is what he wanted. The theme with beat reporters is that he badly misplayed his hand and it backfired on him. But the other part of me hates him. I mean this really hurts.
Despite Jimbo asking fans to stay loyal after a 35-3 loss to BOSTON FREAKING COLLEGE he makes Florida State look like a stepping stool job. Reports of recruits not hearing from the coaching staff for weeks, players threatening to transfer if he is back, and a fan being shoved out of Jimbo's call-in show after questioning his loyalty. The hysteria this week has brought could all have been avoided if Jimbo had handled it better by simply addressing the job offer. Instead, he continuously declined to comment, and people started writing the narrative for him. On top of all of this, players are now flooding social media saying Jimbo never told them he was leaving.
It's been an ugly week for Jimbo Fisher, and if his offseason strategy is to entertain job offers from other schools, it is not something Florida State fans want to deal with annually.
So good riddance Jimbo. And good riddance to young talent being wasted, tunnel screens every 3rd down, overly complex plays, blaming terrible offensive performances on inches, calling out fans in the stands, and a 10-10 ACC record to finish your career.
There was plenty of good that Jimbo brought to Tallahassee, but the handling of his last week puts a huge black eye on that.
So now what? Many say Willie Taggart of Oregon, a Florida boy who has a history of turning programs around with far less talent than what consistently comes through Florida State. Taggart grew up an FSU fan, so if he accepted the job I don't believe we would have to deal with this drama every December.
That would be nice. We will see.
Regardless of who is given the keys to this Ferrari next year, Florida State will be Florida State. It will be 14 straight top 5 finishes in the 90s and 29 straight wins in 2013 and '14. It will be legends like Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward, Derrick Brooks, Jameis Winston and Dalvin Cook. It will be Cheif Osceola and Renegade, it will 80,000 fans yelling the tomahawk chop late in the 4th as the defense takes the field. It will be garnet and gold, and it will be football in Tallahassee.
#InThrasherWeTrust
