FSU must demand same changes from Jimbo they did from Bowden

FSU football is at a crossroads after this weekend’s loss – and the same fans who screamed for Bobby Bowden to make changes need to do the same with Jimbo.

It wasn’t all that long ago that FSU football found themselves at the lowest point in decades – looking at the real likelihood of not making it to a bowl game or having a winning season for the first time since their legendary coach took over the program. It was in that moment in 2009 that calls grew louder for then head coach Bobby Bowden to make changes.

While the biggest chance ultimately was Bowden deciding to “resign” and the Seminoles over to his then-offensive coordinator, a man named Jimbo Fisher, it came from a reluctance over the years from Bowden to make wholesale changes when it came to assistant coaches who were not getting the job done in Tallahassee.

Now, nearly a decade later, Fisher finds himself in the same position with FSU football currently sitting at 2-5 on the season and – barring an epic finish and the Noles rescheduling that cancelled game against Louisiana Monroe – hearing criticism from some that changes need to be made with his staff.

However, Jimbo apologists don’t seem to be screaming for heads in the same way that was done with one of the most legendary coaches of all time. There is a segment of the Seminoles fan base that is completely willing to absolve Fisher and his assistants for the recent slide since the 2015 season or keep their criticism at a hush tone.

In the eyes of some wearing garnet and gold, Fisher and assistants like Rick Trickett, Charles Kelly and others are still deserving of a hall pass considering the Seminoles went 14-0 and won a national title just four seasons after that forgettable final season under Bowden. While there is no doubt that a great job was done with that team, the latest results shouldn’t be buried as a result.

We’ve written it before, but it bears repeating that Trickett and Kelly are the top two targets when it comes to who should be reevaluated at the end of the season. The argument that both played vital roles in that title team masks the fact that they both were working with such talented players that they really didn’t have to do all that much to succeed.

In the past three seasons, the Seminoles have gone from a 39-3 team from 2012 to 2014 with three ACC crowns and a national title to a team that has a 22-11 record with one bowl win and a chance to end those long streaks if things don’t turn around quickly.

What is the common denominator? It’s not the players (who, for the record, I place plenty of blame on for the disaster that this season has become) but the men on the sideline leading the cause. Several of the assistants have been exposed for maybe being hyped up based on the quality of player that was on the roster not that long ago.

For the record before people scream that we are saying Jimbo needs to be canned, that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the truth. While there are plenty of issues with the way he is treating this season and the whole “process”, you don’t replace someone unless you are absolutely sure you can get someone better and Fisher is still one of the top dozen coaches in all of college football.

That being said, the time has come for changes to be made with the FSU football staff – and it’s on the fans and administration and those with power to push for them with the same gusto they did not even a decade ago.

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