Florida State football was in a much simpler time when former head coach Jimbo Fisher was in charge. Yes, the Seminoles had their baffling losses to North Carolina State, but the program had a solid foundation of sustainable success.
There were cracks in the foundation where it felt like Coach Fisher couldn't change his ways for the betterment of the program. It is difficult for many coaches to do this. You look at a guy like Nick Saban, who was stuck in his ways, but adapted to Auburn's spread-style system that got the best of him, and he won more championships as a result of it.
Like many coaches in their careers, they benefit from having a tremendous quarterback under center, and Coach Jimbo Fisher got the luxury of possessing signal-caller Jameis Winston. These had to be the best two years in quite a while for a program that was craving to win its third national championship in school history.
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher and quarterback Jameis Winston had a successful run
Florida State was fortunate to snatch the former five-star prospect away from the state of Alabama when all sorts of programs were recruiting him. The Seminoles could keep him off the football for too long, as he made his first career start for the program in a road tilt against Pittsburgh.
The Panthers didn't know what hit them in 2023, as Winston completed 25 of his 27 passes for 356 passing yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions (according to sports-reference.com). This set the tone for his legendary redshirt freshman campaign that resulted in a Heisman Trophy and a BCS National Championship.
The greatest duo in the 2010s of College Football! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/6fJxj2vhRE
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) March 17, 2026
Most college football accounts on social media talk about Joe Burrow being one of the best college football players since the 2000s, and they don't even consider Jameis Winston.
While I know that Winston has a gunslinger mentality, and especially had that in 2014, the impact that he had on Jimbo Fisher's coaching career was special, and he lives in the hearts of Florida State fans forever.