FSU Football: Jimbo Fisher refusing to change, adapt is hurting Noles

FSU football is sitting with a measly 1-3 record heading into the middle of October. What is the problem and how do the Seminoles fix it?

Less than 5 years ago, FSU football hoisted the crystal ball in Pasadena California to give the program their third National Championship. Since that undefeated season, FSU has appeared in the CFB playoffs (2014), Peach Bowl (2015), Orange Bowl (2016), and now fighting for bowl eligibility.

Florida State is trending down and fans patience with the program is quickly fading. To assess the problem, you must first go back to 2010 when Jimbo Fisher took over as head coach. In the previous season (2009), FSU football finished 7-6 (4-4) which was Jimbo’s third season as offensive coordinator.

Bobby Bowden may have ‘retired’, but his staff remained at FSU under coach Fisher. Something that never made much sense to me. Jimbo stuck with his pro-style offense, which success relies heavily on the quarterback position. In his seven year span, it has been proven it takes an elite talent such as Jameis Winston to successfully operate the offense and win championships with it.

Another problem to look at is Jimbo’s inability to adapt to the modern style of play in CFB. FSU currently ranks incredibly low in all offensive statistics and much of that is due to the play calling. Poor offensive line play mixed with conservative play calling will surely get you a 1-3 start to the season more times than not.

Solution

From my point of view on the situation, I believe FSU football’s problems start from the top down. As in coaching staff down to the talent on the field. As I previously said, much of Florida State’s staff was remains left behind by coach Bowden.

The coach being blasted more than any is Charles Kelly and rightfully so. With a defense as talented as the ‘Noles the product on the field should be much better. Players are not being put in the best position to succeed and it’s ultimately hurting the team on a weekly basis thus far.

Basically what I’m getting at is at the end of this season it would be wise of Jimbo to sit down and review his staff. An average fan can see Florida State’s staff has issues that need resolving. I understand Jimbo and much of his staff are close friends but at the end of the day, this is a business and your job is to win. If you cannot do your job, you are replaced with somebody that can.

I also mentioned Jimbo’s inability to adapt to todays game. Take Nick Saban for an example. What makes Nick so successful on a consistent basis is his ability to adapt to the talent he has. One year, he may hand the ball off 30+ plus times a game and another he may go more read option or misdirection type plays. It all depends on what works best for his team that year.

This is a big part of what led FSU football into forcing Bobby Bowden out of the door – his stubbornness to adapt…and if Jimbo is not careful he could have a similar fate in a shorter time frame.

Final thoughts

I’m not calling for Jimbo’s head but I am hoping he makes some changes after this year. Staff changes are needed and it’s that simple.

Also, unless Jimbo can all of a sudden sign a Jameis Winston type talent every two or three years then he must learn to call plays to the strength of his team. Forcing the pass when you’ve got the No. 1 running back in the country on your roster doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things like that must change and I cannot stress it enough.

Florida State has recently upgraded their facilitates, has multiple top 5 recruiting classes in recent years, and pays their coaches quite a bit of money to do their jobs. It’s more than fair for fans to expect more. Championship or bust is the standard in Tallahassee. Although you can’t expect to win a national championship annually you should absolutely be competing for one.

Only time will tell at this point what the future holds for FSU football. It’s up to Jimbo to steer the program back into the right direction. If his willingness to provide change to the program continues to not happen then it’s up to those that sign his checks to do something about it. The current state of Florida State football is unacceptable.