FSU Football: The pros and cons of hiring Odell Haggins

Chop Chat’s Sam Tschida explains the reasons for and against hiring Odell Haggins as the full-time head coach

We are now almost two weeks into the Florida State coaching search and FSU football fans everywhere are still speculating who the new head ball coach will be. It seems that Bob Stoops is the frontrunner for the job, but despite what many Twitter accounts will tell you, a deal has not been made yet.

Many other names have been thrown out, like PJ Fleck, Matt Campbell, Brent Venables and Mark Stoops (who I wrote about here), all of which carry certain pros and cons with them. But one name that has slowly risen to the top of the potential coaches list is currently interim head coach Odell Haggins.

During FSU’s last coaching search in 2017, Odell took his name out of the running quickly, as former FSU AD Stan Wilcox had his sights set on Willie Taggart. Now two years later, Haggins has reportedly put his name in the running to be named the permanent head coach. With a record of 3-0 and an extensive history at Florida State, Haggins is already a strong candidate.

Florida State Seminoles Football

So what are the pros and cons of hiring Odell Haggins, and should Seminoles fans really expect to see him as the permanent head coach? Let’s break it down.

A Seminole through and through

First and foremost, Odell Haggins is an institution at Florida State and should be retained as a defensive line coach if he’s not hired as the head man. Aside from a brief stint in the NFL with the Bills and 49ers, Haggins has been a player or coach on almost every FSU team since 1988.

Haggins was an All-American defensive tackle at FSU during the late 1980s, earning an honorable mention in 1988 and making the consensus list in 1989. After the NFL, he returned to Florida State in 1994 as a TE/OL coach, before taking over as the d-line coach in 1996.

Since Haggins has been the d-line coach at FSU, he has coached 19 total defensive linemen that have been drafted into the NFL. Recent draftees include Derrick Nnadi, Demarcus Christmas, Timmy Jernigan, and Eddie Goldman. Haggins was also the primary coach of Andrew Wadsworth, who was drafted 3rd overall in 1998.

College accolades have decorated Haggins’ defensive linemen as well. Forty linemen at Florida State have received all-conference honors under Haggins tutelage, the most recent recipients being Marvin Wilson and Demarcus Christmas last year.

Haggins is not just a great position coach, but also a great recruiter. Haggins has been named one of the top recruiters in the country by 247 multiple times and has been instrumental in flipping five-star defensive linemen like Demarcus Walker and Marvin Wilson to Tallahassee.

Along with his long history as an assistant at FSU, Haggins does have experience has a head coach. He led the ‘Noles to a bowl game in 2017 after they finished the year 5-6 with Jimbo Fisher, beating UL-Monroe and then Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl. After Alabama State, Haggins is now 4-0 as FSU head coach.

He also has a lot of support from the FSU players. Many have come out in support of Haggins, including freshmen Jaleel McRae and future top draft pick Marvin Wilson.

Is he too inexperienced?

Along with all the reasons that were previously mentioned, many FSU fans are clamoring for Haggins as head coach due to the success of another beloved defensive line coach. LSU head coach Ed Orgeron took over for Les Miles following the latter’s firing midway through the 2016 season. While just the interim, Orgeron led LSU to a 6-2 record and received the permanent head coaching title.

After a bit of a rocky 2017 season that included a loss to Troy (albeit a good Trojans team), Orgeron has returned LSU back to the pinnacle of college football once again. The Tigers just beat Alabama for the first time in eight years, and are now the #1 team in the country.

The similarities between Haggins and Orgeron are numerous. Both are former defensive line coaches who are known for their recruiting prowess; both have deep connections to their school, with Haggins as a former player and Orgeron being the most Louisiana person that God ever created; and both originally started out as interim coaches.

However, for all the comparisons between the two, there are some key differences proponents have left out. For starters, Orgeron’s first stop as a head coach was at Ole Miss from 2005-2007, and he was absolutely terrible. He won 10 games in three years, never beat his rivals, and his organizational skills were reportedly terrible. It took another few years before Orgeron had time to learn from his mistakes, and succeeded at USC as an interim before taking over LSU.

Haggins is similar to Orgeron in 2005, as he is a career assistant coach who has no experience as the head coach. Yes, Orgeron is currently succeeding, but it took his first stint as head coach for him to learn from his mistakes. FSU does not have that luxury of letting Haggins learn on the job. The next head coach is vital in determining the future of the program, and expecting Haggins to be similar to Orgeron is taking a major risk.