Thursday, December 6, 2007

FSU*

* - where the S stands for "stupid."

Well, I make yet another comeback, as my expected foray back into blogging over the Thanksgiving holiday was... well, sluggish at best. But I'm back to discuss what seems to be a potentially awfully misguided idea.

On Monday, Florida State is set to announce that offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher will succeed Bobby Bowden as head coach of the football team. This doesn't affect me much, personally, nor does it my favorite teams. However, I think letting this revelation out in the open could prove to be detrimental to the F$U program.

First off, I don't see why this announcement is being made now if Bobby Bowden intends to coach until death, nor do I see why this needs to be a public proclamation. Sure, I can understand the university building up a backup plan and/or smoother transition for that (God forbid) unfortunate day, but given Bowden's longevity, he'll be on the sidelines for several more years. FSU won't ever fire Bowden, either, no matter how many 7-6 or 8-5 seasons he strings together. But mark my words, Bobby, just like JoePa, has earned that right, as he is most certainly a legend in every sense of the word.

So, how can FSU have the foresight to predict how Jimbo Fisher will develop at the school over the next 3-5 years when he's only been on the Seminole staff for one? I really don't think he wowed anyone in his first season and he certainly didn't live up to the monumental hype surrounding his arrival and Jeff Bowden's departure. FSU's offense continued to sputter through a 7-5 campaign, and even though yes, they did beat BC in Chestnut Hill, Drew Weatherford and Xander Lee mostly looked unpolished and off the mark.

They'll all look like geniuses if Fisher does turn the Seminole ship around in the next few seasons, but what if it doesn't work out so well? In that case, they've already publicly proclaimed their choice for a head coach when Bowden departs. Do they honor that agreement and stick with Jimbo or do they back out and find someone else, thereby rendering this "monumental" announcement inconsequential?

And what about the effect this might have on the other assistants? I'll admit that I don't know much about the coaching staff at FSU, but how would you feel if you thought you'd have a shot at Bobby Bowden's job in the next few years, and suddenly this new hot shot on the block is guaranteed the spot before it even becomes available? I would assume that one or two of these coaches are hoping for head coach positions in the future. If they're looking for job mobility, wouldn't it be time to look for jobs elsewhere, since obviously FSU would not be interested in hiring? I don't know how many of them were holding out for the head honcho job, but I have to admit I'd slightly be discouraged if I were in their shoes.

I don't know if any of this really makes sense, given that there are lots of "what if"s that need to unfold -- mostly on Jimbo's end, as he really needs to whip this offense into shape before he can really fill Bowden's shoes. But these were just some thoughts that occurred to me, given the inanity of this major announcement. Now don't get me wrong, I won't be hypocritical here because I'm sure Tom Bradley's probably had the Penn State coaching job lined up for some time now. The difference here is that Penn State is being far more discrete and not prematurely blabbing it out for the whole world to hear so they don't look silly if things don't pan out with Bradley down the road.

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