It's official: Florida State is conducting its first football head coaching search since 1976. Renegade is on the carousel.

Jimbo Fisher leaves the Seminoles after eight years as football head coach. He has helped restore both the program and its conference to a more robust, healthy place. Thanks, Jimbo.

Announcement from university president John Thrasher:
http://seminoles.com/official-jimbo-fish...t-seasons/

Appreciation from Tim Linafelt:
http://seminoles.com/linafelt-fsu-footba...g-forward/

By the late 2000s, Florida State needed a breath of fresh air. Fisher proved a forceful gust, modernizing the program from pillar to post in a sweeping overhaul that included those new facilities, new strength and nutrition regimens and a broad expansion of on- and off-field support staff. Along the way, he did something that not so long ago might have seemed impossible to some: He moved Florida State football out of Bowden’s shadow and made it his own.

The wins piled up. At least 10 of them in six of his eight seasons, and 29 straight between 2012 and 2014. That includes three straight ACC championships, five consecutive BCS/New Year’s Six bowl berths, an appearance in the first ever College Football Playoff semifinal and, of course, the crown jewel of Fisher’s reign, the 2013 BCS National Championship.



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Multiple reports place Willie Taggart (Oregon) and Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech) at the top of Florida State's candidate pool. Taggart, like several of his assistants and recruits, has Florida connections. Jason Staples (Twitter @DocStaples) reports that Taggart and Fuente were the first contenders to be vetted.

Neither Scott Frost (Central Florida) nor Bob Stoops (retired, Oklahoma) are expected to be candidates. (Some speculation swirled around Stoops recently due to his presence for other reasons in Tallahassee.)

Longtime assistant coach Odell Haggins will coach the Seminoles' last home game versus Louisiana-Monroe. At stake in the game is the nation's longest bowl invitation streak. Haggins would also coach the team in any bowl game. A bowl win would avert Florida State's first under-.500 season since Bowden's first season (1976).

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FSU needs another breath of fresh air...and so does Jimbo really

I'm excited about the future of FSU football....there is ALOT of talent in the cupboard

(12-01-2017 10:44 PM)EvilVodka Wrote:  FSU needs another breath of fresh air...and so does Jimbo really

I'm excited about the future of FSU football....there is ALOT of talent in the cupboard

Agree 100%. Fisher and the program have done a lot of growing together. It was time. But both leave this partnership stronger than when they started it.

I've always appreciated the way Fisher talks about his players. He talks as a mentor to young adults. Everything that happens is a life lesson.

As a fan you've got to love the lopsided record he gave us over in-state rivals and SEC teams. Win or lose, he never let anyone on the other sideline get inside his head. Let's hope that remains a very lasting legacy!

It was a Fisher-coached Seminoles team that ended the SEC's title reign. And somehow, you always knew that was who was going to do it.

Hats off to Jimbo. We've got many epic moments still ahead.



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/fl...llery.html

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FSU can cross Fuente off their list:

Quote:But, perhaps more reassuring to Hokies fans, head coach Justin Fuente publicly stated that he’s not interested in other jobs at the moment, despite his name popping up on the coaching carousel in the past few weeks.

“For me, it’s been easy. I’ve declined to talk to everybody that’s come along,” Fuente said during a Sunday evening bowl teleconference, when asked how he manages those rumors. “So it’s a pretty easy answer for me. I haven’t been interested in going down that road.”

Fuente has been mentioned as a candidate at Florida State, though that appears to have been more driven from the FSU side. Early reports out of Tallahassee were that the Seminoles identified Oregon’s Willie Taggart and Fuente as two coaches they were interested in. That never gained momentum, however.

“I think everybody knows I’m incredibly happy at Virginia Tech,” Fuente said. “I think I’ve proved it in my short time here. I would never speculate on any other jobs, other than to say we’ve been approached and I’ve declined to talk to anybody. So it’s pretty much been nipped in the bud right from the start.”

http://www.roanoke.com/hokies/sports/foo...1e1e7.html

What is the fascination with Taggart? He was <.500 at WKU and USF. He is 4-5 his 1st year in the P12.

(12-04-2017 03:03 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  What is the fascination with Taggart? He was <.500 at WKU and USF. He is 4-5 his 1st year in the P12.

Harbaugh coaching tree .. and he turned around programs that had struggled mightily before he got there, and he left them in great shape to continue being solid programs.

Builds programs the right way.
Recruits well. (Just look at Oregon's class this year so far).
No off-field issues.

And for Florida State, he's a Florida native, so he would be a home run hire for any program in Florida.

Taggert should be FSU's #1 target, IMO.

(12-04-2017 03:03 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  What is the fascination with Taggart? He was <.500 at WKU and USF. He is 4-5 his 1st year in the P12.

Going with a new coach is always a roll of the dice, short of Uban Meyer and Nick Saban.

I'm good with Taggart because:
1. Recruiting
2. Many years of head coaching experience at three programs
3. Recruiting
4. FSU is his dream job
5. Recruiting

Mediocre coaches can win titles with talent (hey Gene Chizik!), but no matter how great a coach is, you don't win it all without talent.

There is no guarantee that Taggart will work out, but unless everything we think we know about him in terms of recruiting is wrong, the floor is likely to be a Ron Zook situation...leaving the cupboard absolutely stocked for the next guy.

To me, that makes it actually one of the safest picks out there. The fact that he actually has a pretty great record of success with some miserable programs is just all the better.

The scary thought is that as well as FSU has recruited under Jimbo Fisher, there is an argument to be made that he actually underachieved in terms of recruiting. There are areas of Florida (Tampa) that have basically been closed off to FSU. We have recruited a great average star level, but not gotten too many whales in recent years either.

I'm not going to break into tears if this doesn't get done, but I hope it does.

I'd love to see an ACC in which FSU dominates recruiting North of Tampa while Miami dominates South of Tampa. The Gators can find talent in Gainsville.

(12-05-2017 11:01 AM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-04-2017 03:03 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  What is the fascination with Taggart? He was <.500 at WKU and USF. He is 4-5 his 1st year in the P12.

Going with a new coach is always a roll of the dice, short of Uban Meyer and Nick Saban.

I'm good with Taggart because:
1. Recruiting
2. Many years of head coaching experience at three programs
3. Recruiting
4. FSU is his dream job
5. Recruiting

Mediocre coaches can win titles with talent (hey Gene Chizik!), but no matter how great a coach is, you don't win it all without talent.

There is no guarantee that Taggart will work out, but unless everything we think we know about him in terms of recruiting is wrong, the floor is likely to be a Ron Zook situation...leaving the cupboard absolutely stocked for the next guy.

To me, that makes it actually one of the safest picks out there. The fact that he actually has a pretty great record of success with some miserable programs is just all the better.

The scary thought is that as well as FSU has recruited under Jimbo Fisher, there is an argument to be made that he actually underachieved in terms of recruiting. There are areas of Florida (Tampa) that have basically been closed off to FSU. We have recruited a great average star level, but not gotten too many whales in recent years either.

I'm not going to break into tears if this doesn't get done, but I hope it does.

That makes sense. I guess I was expecting FSU to go big.

(12-05-2017 01:23 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 11:01 AM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-04-2017 03:03 PM)Wolfman Wrote:  What is the fascination with Taggart? He was <.500 at WKU and USF. He is 4-5 his 1st year in the P12.

Going with a new coach is always a roll of the dice, short of Uban Meyer and Nick Saban.

I'm good with Taggart because:
1. Recruiting
2. Many years of head coaching experience at three programs
3. Recruiting
4. FSU is his dream job
5. Recruiting

Mediocre coaches can win titles with talent (hey Gene Chizik!), but no matter how great a coach is, you don't win it all without talent.

There is no guarantee that Taggart will work out, but unless everything we think we know about him in terms of recruiting is wrong, the floor is likely to be a Ron Zook situation...leaving the cupboard absolutely stocked for the next guy.

To me, that makes it actually one of the safest picks out there. The fact that he actually has a pretty great record of success with some miserable programs is just all the better.

The scary thought is that as well as FSU has recruited under Jimbo Fisher, there is an argument to be made that he actually underachieved in terms of recruiting. There are areas of Florida (Tampa) that have basically been closed off to FSU. We have recruited a great average star level, but not gotten too many whales in recent years either.

I'm not going to break into tears if this doesn't get done, but I hope it does.

That makes sense. I guess I was expecting FSU to go big.

Yeah...I'm not sure who "big" would be in this case though. Fuente was mentioned, some hints that Franklin might be interested. Patterson just signed a big contract...that was probably the biggest name that was going to be out there. Frost was already delivered. Kelly was off the market.

I'm OK with it. Fuente is established as a better coach I think, but I'm not sure I'm totally comfortable that he's an elite recruiter. I'd probably prefer him if he even was interested in leaving VT, but not by miles.

James Franklin is definitely a bigger name, but I can't stand the guy.

FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

(12-05-2017 03:01 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

Ha. Don't worry about that. It's official just now.

(12-05-2017 03:51 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:01 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

Ha. Don't worry about that. It's official just now.

Congrats to FSU on landing Taggert. The Vols should be taking notes on how a coaching search should be done.


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(12-05-2017 03:51 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:01 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

Ha. Don't worry about that. It's official just now.

Congrats on a good hire.
I look forward to another VT/FSU ACC CG in the near future! ;-)

(12-05-2017 04:49 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:51 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:01 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

Ha. Don't worry about that. It's official just now.

Congrats on a good hire.
I look forward to another VT/FSU ACC CG in the near future! ;-)

Thanks. I'm not going to go overboard and say this was an upgrade over Fisher, a guy that's probably a top 5 coach. But it should be an upgrade over the last 12-24 months, and it's a breath of fresh air.

Let's just say it should at least be different, in a lot of ways that definitely needed to change.

(12-05-2017 04:55 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 04:49 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:51 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:01 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

Ha. Don't worry about that. It's official just now.

Congrats on a good hire.
I look forward to another VT/FSU ACC CG in the near future! ;-)

Thanks. I'm not going to go overboard and say this was an upgrade over Fisher, a guy that's probably a top 5 coach. But it should be an upgrade over the last 12-24 months, and it's a breath of fresh air.

Let's just say it should at least be different, in a lot of ways that definitely needed to change.

I think you have hit a home run with this. Dude is 41. From Florida. Harbaugh tree (which means pretty sound football - Shaw at Stanford is underrated). He was recruiting like a monster for Oregon this season.

There is definitely talent on the roster. I bet he does well from the start.

(12-05-2017 04:55 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 04:49 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:51 PM)Lou_C Wrote:  

(12-05-2017 03:01 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  FSU don't start acting like Tennessee, when picking your coach. Just saying.

Ha. Don't worry about that. It's official just now.

Congrats on a good hire.
I look forward to another VT/FSU ACC CG in the near future! ;-)

Thanks. I'm not going to go overboard and say this was an upgrade over Fisher, a guy that's probably a top 5 coach. But it should be an upgrade over the last 12-24 months, and it's a breath of fresh air.

Let's just say it should at least be different, in a lot of ways that definitely needed to change.

Fisher was a very good coach (TAMU thought worth $75M!), but FSU was no longer feared in the ACC. Taggert is the kind of coach who could (potentially) bring that fear back, IMO.

DG ON JIMBO FISHER: “HE’LL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW FAR FSU WENT TO TREAT HIM FAIRLY”

Link
https://accsports.com/acc-news/dg-jimbo-fisher-fsu/

Taggart's advantages may be theoretical, but this isn't: Jim Leavitt will be coming along to be the new Defensive Coordinator at FSU [LINK to TomahawkNation article].

Quote:In just one season under Leavitt, the Ducks’ overall S&P defensive ranking went from 119th before his arrival to 58th.

Some of you remember the defenses he put together at USF as well. It just got real...