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FSU football: Worst head coach hires in program history

By Josh Yourish

Nov 2, 2019; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Willie Taggart during the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2019; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Willie Taggart during the game against the Miami Hurricanes at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports /
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TALLAHASSEE, FL – NOVEMBER 24: Detailed view of the Florida State Seminoles logo during a game against the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 24, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida would win the game 37-26. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – NOVEMBER 24: Detailed view of the Florida State Seminoles logo during a game against the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 24, 2012 in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida would win the game 37-26. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Bill Peterson led the Seminoles from 1960-70 and his tenure included four bowl game appearances and a 9-1-1 season in 1964. Larry Jones was expected to continue that level of success, but instead, he tore the program down to the studs.

Peterson left for Rice for a higher-paying job, so Jones, the defensive coordinator at Tennessee was hired away from Knoxville and was considered a great hire at the time. Jones led FSU to 8-4 in his first season.

Then in 1972, Florida State regressed a bit. Jones led the team to a 7-4 record, but it ended with the Seminoles losing three of their final four games. Jones was disappointed with the season and made it known in the Spring of 1973.

Jones made offseason practices physically grueling which led to the departure of several scholarship players. Eventually, reports came out about those offseason practices and it became known as the “chicken wire scandal” because of the use of chicken wire to keep FSU players in a crouched position during drills.

The FSU program completely fell apart after a 9-7 upset loss to Wake Forest in Week 1 of 1973 and it spiraled into a winless 0-11 campaign.

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