An old Irving Berlin song epitomizes the love fest at Monday's press conference naming Jimbo Fisher as "the coach in waiting." You could almost hear them singing, "Blue skies - Smiling at me - Nothing but blue skies - Do I see."
At the risk of being labeled a wet blanket or worse, I would use the words of Seminole alum Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friends." So what does the announcement do other than put a lot of money into the pockets of Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher?
Nothing has really changed with the exception that we now have a confusing two headed coaching position at the top. It really is difficult for a program to serve two masters and it seems that this deal may serve to create problems that are not needed.
Can we be honest? This entire situation has been created because Seminole great Bobby Bowden has failed to understand that it is time to pass the baton off to someone else. I know that is heresy among some but it really comes down to that. With his adamant refusal and some would say false pride, he has held FSU hostage and forced them into the situation that was announced on Monday.
If anyone thinks that this agreement paves the way for Bobby Bowden's departure, they are very mistaken. Bowden was seen on television indicating that having the most wins in college football is an important goal to him and so we will be subjected to the continuing battle of the two "grumpy old men" seeking the holy grail of college football. He also indicated that he knows he has to win more games. Where have we heard that before? Several years ago, Bowden said the same thing. Yet FSU has continued to lose more games.
And what about Fisher? From all accounts he is a very good offensive coordinator. However, let's be candid. We have yet to see what Fisher can do. If you were giving him a grade this year, very good or excellent would not be used. FSU won one more game than last and lost to a pitiful Miami and was humiliated for the fourth year in a row by the Gators.
It seems to some that FSU locked itself into Fisher in order to have a good recruiting season and fight off the coaching speculation of Fisher looking for other jobs. This may be a short term solution that may not be in the best interests of the long term goals of FSU. Time will tell if FSU was right.
One thing is certain. Fisher must prove himself and it needs to be sooner rather than later. Seven win teams and losses against Wake Forest, NC State, Miami, and the Gators will not endear him to Seminole nation. Many fans, alumni, and boosters are not in the mood for excuses.
So let's hope that blue skies are what we see but it's really too early to tell.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Is It All Blue Skies?
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5 comments:
While I am as avid a fan as you are-we differ in what our priorities are.
Noles winning a football game is GREAT! but more importantly to me is honoring the person who has done so much for our university by letting him decide on his departure time. He is a class act and we should strive to emulate him. He has earned the right to decide when to go. This plan is excellent in that we Noles have the best of both worlds--A class leader and an replacement who is learning from a Master.
Thank you for being a NOLE and for your opinion..
Bob, thanks for your thoughtful response. While we can disagree in regard to Bobby Bowden, we both are Noles.
I have to disagree with Bob. Bobby Bowden has done a tremedous job at FSU. He put Tallahassee on the map. Yet Bobby is not the class act you portray him as. Bobby has given jobs to relatives like JB. He even had to get a state law changed to allow that to happen. Bowden's Treatment of XLee also shows a lack of class. Refering to him in interviews as the other guy while calling weatherford by his first name Drew. Though both arrived on campus at the same time. Furthermore i know of an NFL player that went to Miami instead of FSU. When he was recruited he told Bobby he was not coming to FSU. Bobby called the College Board and accused him of cheating on the SATs. Bowden has done more for FSU than any college coach at any program. But to call him a class act and that he earned the right to stay here is wrong. Maybe 5 yrs ago but today our boosters needed to pay his son to get rid of him and up until recently bobby wanted a 5yr deal and a raise for 5yrs of horrible coaching.
I'm tempting to say "4 more years! 4 more years!" but the fact is, tallynolefan nailed it. Bobby Bowden is either incapable of realizing that the fanbase and school are ready for him to go, or he chooses to ignore it.
This is sort of embarassing. We all know that Jimbo Fisher is essentially FSU's head coach. Yet Bobby Bowden carries the title and gets to log wins based on Jimbo's efforts.
Wel, whatever keeps the current structure in place is fine with me as a Gator. And may Drew Weatherford never graduate. We Gators love him.
As a Gator fan, I feel that if I were the 'Noles I would find a great offensive coordinator who would not ask for an outrageous salary. Schnellenberger is the best Florida coach in my opinion. To top that, he is the cheapest head coach in all of Florida (including FIU's Cristobal) at $331,000. I think that he would make for a great assistant/future head coach or even immediate head coach for any team. He is also a recruiting genius, something that all Florida team need. There are a number of good head coaches and assistant coaches who have turned their teams around such as Ron Zook with Illinois, Greg Schiano with Rutgers, Bryan Harsin (Offensive Coordinator) or Chris Peterson (Head Coach) with Boise State, or any number of coaches who would accept salaries lower than Jimbo and Bowden. I can understand keeping Bowden at coach, I actually think he is a good coach. However, make him the real coach don't keep Jimbo or any other money sucking assistant. You have to choose between one money sucker and not keep both of them.
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