It has to do with the arrival of Willie Taggart as the new head football coach at Florida State University.
Taggart came to Florida State after a year at Oregon, after having left a successful rebuild at South Florida in Tampa. Oregon would have been a wonderful spot for Taggart to settle in at, but in the aftermath of the unusual departure of Jimbo Fisher, Florida State came calling, offering Taggart an opportunity to come back to Florida and lead the team he grew up cheering for; The Florida State Seminoles.
Taggart, a native of the Sunshine States Gulf Coast, jumped at the chance.
Fisher's departure from FSU ruffled a lot of feathers, and his legacy will no doubt be tarnished.
In the later years of the tenure of Bobby Bowden, Fisher added to his offensive coordinator spot the position of head coach in waiting, set to take over the program when Bowden hung it up. Coach Bowden was seemingly pushed out earlier than he had hoped; however, it was obvious that due to age of the staff, or whatever, expectations were no longer being met and it was time to bring Fisher on.
Make no mistake. Bobby Bowden was among the finest football coaches the game of football has seen, at any level. Florida State University rose to prominence, not only in athletics, but as a University, primarily due to him. As good as a coach he was, Bowden is even a better man,and continues to be Florida State's top ambassador.
Immediately, Florida State had superior success on the field and in recruiting once Fisher took over, with in interjection of youth and enthusiasm. Fisher directed FSU to winning it's third National Championship, in 2013,and the Seminoles sat among the nations elite.
While fans celebrated with appreciation, there was some worrisome aspects, as Fisher's name always turned up in post season coaching searches, most with some fire behind the smoke.
An unfortunate personal situation arose for Fisher, as he went through a devastating divorce, not considered to be of his doing per public reports. Never the less, this took a significant toll on Fisher no doubt.
So if Fisher wanted to make a change, while the Seminoles would hate to lose him, it was certainly understandable and we could all part ways wishing each other the best.
But the season fell apart after FSU not only lost to Alabama in the opener, but also lost starting quarterback Deondre Francois. Loses piled up, and finger pointing increased, with players openly questioning the leadership. As the season concluded with a bowl game in question, the Seminoles did rise up for an easy and satisfying win at Florida, but Fisher snaked around, appearing to know he would eventually be off to Texas A&M. Recruiting appeared to stop, and damage was being done.
Fisher did agree to bolt to A&M, but wanted to finish it our with FSU. Not a chance. He was essentially forced to resign, thankfully. Fisher could have departed in a much more amicable fashion, but did not take that route, and as such, his Seminole legacy will take a beating; appropriately so in our view.
Enter Taggart. Taggart, a life long FSU fan, wants to be in Tallahassee as head coach of Seminoles. Since his arrival, he has done all the right things, inclusive of openly embracing the former players and considering them part of the program he is implementing moving forward. Hooray!
It seems unusual to think of FSU without Fisher, but given the events as they unfolded, it appears this change is for the better. An in the aftermath of losing Fisher, it was apparent to us Willie Taggart would be the best option FSU take in hiring a new football coach. Since his hiring, Taggart has been very impressive in every move and gesture.
Taggart closes his tweet out with #DoSomething. Something doing is going on at FSU. Taggart feels right at home leading the Seminoles, all is good, and we cannot wait to kick the season off with Taggart and his Gulf Coast offense!
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