Search Firm: Where does Florida State turn after Jimbo Fisher's exit
— -- Four years after leading Florida State to a national title, Jimbo Fisher is voluntarily leaving town.
It's a stunning move, even in the unpredictable coaching carousel, but Fisher (83-23 in eight years with the Seminoles) is likely heading to Texas A&M, where the resources, facilities and commitment he periodically questioned at Florida State are never lacking. Florida State now begins its first true coaching search since 1975, which ended with the hiring of Bobby Bowden.
FSU remains a premier job with a championship tradition and great access to talent, but Fisher's departure raises questions. ESPN.com's search firm has convened to break down the Florida State situation and the candidates to follow Fisher. Senior writer Mark Schlabach and Florida-based staff writer Andrea Adelson join me to talk all things Noles.
Where the FSU job stands
Andrea Adelson: This is still one of the elite jobs in the country. Jimbo Fisher has gotten frustrated with an inability to keep up with facilities. But Florida State still has some of the best facilities available. They have completely renovated their stadium. They've redone the coaching offices, the meeting space, the locker room. They have a nice indoor practice facility. They just don't have every single bell and whistle. I still think any coach who comes in there has a program ready-made to win with recruits.
Adam Rittenberg: This feels a lot more like Fisher needing to move on and not necessarily being hamstrung by the Florida State job. Whatever FSU doesn't have, it certainly hasn't kept it from signing top-five recruiting classes year after year. If that's the measure of whether you have enough or you need more, it seems like it has enough.
Mark Schlabach: I still think it's one of the top 10-15 jobs in the country. I don't think it's quite as attractive as it was maybe five years ago because the ACC is more competitive now. Before it was Florida State and everybody else. Now it's Florida State and Miami and Virginia Tech and Clemson, so the path to the playoff isn't as easy as it was when Fisher took over. But the recruiting base is there, the facilities are adequate. They've made a commitment to football, despite Fisher annually wanting raises for assistant coaches and upgrades for facilities. The location's fantastic because you can still recruit kids from Miami, and you can pull kids from south Georgia, so you can get all the players you need within a 500-mile radius.
Adelson: FSU has by far the best facilities in the state of Florida. It's not even a comparison when compared to Miami and Florida. Even though Florida has its new facility in the works, I think the gap will still exist because Florida State still has plans for this standalone facility, it just had a problem logistically figuring out where to put it because there's limited space on campus. When Florida State does get that, it will put it even further ahead.
Rittenberg: I know staff compensation had been an issue for Fisher in the past. Is there any sense that would be an issue for candidates, as far as the program's commitment?
Schlabach: In 2016, FSU gave Charles Kelly, Fisher's defensive coordinator, a five-year contact, which is unheard of for a DC. He's making $833,000 a year. He doesn't have $1 million coordinators like SEC schools and Clemson, which has been a complaint, but there's not a lot of Power 5 schools out there making a five-year commitment to an assistant coach.
Adelson: I think the bigger problem is Fisher has been loyal to some assistants that maybe other head coaches would have cut ties with earlier. It's not a question of whether Florida State has a pool of money for assistants. It's about bringing in the right assistants to be able to get these players to play at the level they're capable of playing.
What Florida State wants
Rittenberg: It has to start with continuing this momentum in recruiting. Florida State's past four classes have been ranked in ESPN's top four nationally, including a No. 1 class. It never has a shortage of talent. The top criteria should be someone who can keep that going in the state and the region. I'm curious whether the person they hire has any ties to the school or to the Bowden tree, because there are quite a few assistants on Fisher's staff who have been around for a very long time. Do you keep any of them, or is it a clean break?
Schlabach: I've been told that Stan Wilcox, the athletics director, really would like to target a minority head coach. Somebody who has a connection to the state and the ACC or SEC would be the most desirable. For the most part, they'll take a look at somebody with an offensive background, because that's what worked with Fisher.
Adelson: Recruiting-wise, everybody in the state has upped their game. I think it's even more important that they hire a coach with ties to this state to continue to bring in the elite players. The other thing is they have to bring in somebody who has been able to develop players to reach their maximum potential, because once Jameis Winston left Florida State, that has not happened. If you look at Florida State's accomplishments under Fisher, you can put them in the Jameis Winston category and the everybody else category. Fisher has clearly brought this program back, but there are deficiencies that need to be addressed, predominantly at the skill positions, obviously the offensive line, and quarterback seems to be a problem as well.
The candidates
Oregon coach Willie Taggart: In hindsight, he probably wished he'd stayed at South Florida one more year because of the jobs that have opened in the state this cycle. He's an offensive guy, he's from the state, he recruits at a very high level. I had several coaches tell me how South Florida looks like a Power 5 team. He would seem to be a really strong fit. -- Rittenberg
This is absolutely who Florida State should target. I know he had some interest in the Florida job as well. If I'm looking to the path to a championship, there's a better path at Florida State than at Oregon. I know the competition has risen in the ACC, but if you look at the Atlantic Division, it's Florida State and Clemson, and I think it will continue to be Florida State and Clemson. Miami's the crossover opponent, but if you can find a way to get past those two teams, it's way easier to get in to a championship. And it's way easier to recruit at FSU than Oregon. -- Adelson
He's got an overall losing record, 47-50, which wouldn't sit well with fans, but he's taken over programs that weren't very good and built them to where they were getting better each season. -- Schlabach
South Florida coach Charlie Strong: He had a really good year, not an exceptional year at South Florida, but still won 10 games. I do wonder how much hesitation FSU would have about what happened at Texas. But most people agree Florida State would be a better fit for Strong than Texas ever was because of his recruiting roots. -- Rittenberg
Strong is one of the best recruiters out there. He deserves another opportunity. I just don't know if enough time has passed between what happened at Texas and now getting a shot at a program like Florida State. -- Adelson
Duke coach David Cutcliffe: He is certainly an outside-the-box name but one who makes sense when you think about it. He worked with Wilcox at Duke, and the two have a good relationship. Going to a place like Florida State, with the resources and natural recruiting base, gives Cutcliffe an opportunity to try to win a national championship before he retires. -- Adelson
UCF coach Scott Frost: If my goal as a head coach is to win a national championship, I'm going to Florida State before I go to Nebraska. Now if he's already given his word to Tom Osborne and won't go back on it, and if he has that much of an emotional pull back to his alma mater to rescue the program, that's one thing, but Florida State is a much, much better job than Nebraska. -- Schlabach
Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente: His name has come up for Nebraska and Tennessee, but it's likely that he remains in Blacksburg with a beefed-up contract. Still, Florida State should explore Fuente's interest level. He's a proven offensive coach who has success with Florida players like former Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch. He took Virginia Tech to the ACC title game in his first season. Fuente is very well respected throughout the profession and could keep things on track in Tallahassee -- Rittenberg
Penn State coach James Franklin: He's definitely a top candidate if they can pull Franklin away from Penn State. I'm just not sure why he would be interested in leaving for Florida State at this point, but he's losing Saquon Barkley and Joe Moorhead, his offensive coordinator. So maybe it's time to make a move. -- Schlabach
Former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin: He has a better head-coaching record (86-43) than Taggart or Strong, but I don't know if FSU could handle hiring the fired coach of the place that just hired Fisher away. -- Rittenberg
Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez: I've heard this would be a dream job for Rodriguez, who bounced back this season after a miserable 2016. His stock is not as high, but he has recruited Florida everywhere he's been. You saw what he can do with a quarterback this year with Khalil Tate. -- Rittenberg
Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz: It seems unlikely that Florida State would hire a coordinator, although it did with Fisher the last time around. Diaz has done a great job at Miami and will be a head coach in the very near future. He's a Florida State alum who knows the recruiting landscape well. He has the look and personality to lead a program, but likely needs to go somewhere else first. -- Rittenberg
The search firm recommends: Oregon coach Willie Taggart
Taggart fits most of the criteria Wilcox and Florida State want to prevent a drop-off after losing Fisher. He will keep the momentum going on the recruiting trail, and his background on offense should serve FSU well. His overall record and lack of championships is a concern, and he's only been a Power 5 head coach for one year. Taggart brings a good mix of recruiting clout, offensive acumen and local knowledge that would serve the Seminoles well in 2018 and beyond.
