Darnell Dockett, Chris Rix Twitter Spat: Insight into Team Chemistry?

September 29, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles helmets on the bench against the South Florida Bulls during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Florida State Seminoles defeated the South Florida Bulls 30-17. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Those who have been through college now the fun of reuniting with old friends and reminiscing on those days. That was not the kind of trip down memory lane former Florida State Seminoles Chris Rix and Darnell Dockett took on Thursday.

Former FSU quarterback Rix called into Jay Mohr’s radio show, broadcast nationally via FOX Sports, and made unflattering comments about Dockett, now a starting defensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals.

Dockett did not take kindly, unloading a Twitter diatribe that has since been deleted. Rix has been prone to bouts of foot-in-mouth disease, famously taking a run at Johnny Manziel following the eventual Heisman Trophy winner’s outstanding game at Alabama. Worth nothing is that Rix now works as an analyst for the Longhorn Network.

While Dockett’s emotionally charged retort to Rix’s radio slight could be dismissed as heat-of-the-moment rhetoric, there’s some interesting stuff to be gleaned. SBNation saved the content of the deleted tweets for posterity:

"coachrix fuck you bitch I heard u lying on me , no one liked your sorry ass ever, when I see u im whooping yo ass on everything I love.I swear I my dead mother @coachrix when I see you that’s your ass! Period! Fuck bitch lying on me bobby Bowden didn’t like yo sorry ass!"

Dockett’s invoking of former Seminoles and head coach Bobby Bowden are interesting. Of note is that Dockett and Rix played for Florida State teams on the downslide from the program’s apex. Jimbo Fisher is still working to restore the Seminoles’ past greatness, more than a decade later.

It’s been a long, arduous road for FSU, and Bowden’s age has long been attributed to the Seminoles’ collapse. But what else behind the scenes contributed?

FSU was not short on talent in the early 2000s. Was the decline in success related to chemistry problems? If Dockett’s statement was the case — teammates and even coaches lacking respect for the supposed team leader — would cause monumental problems in the locker room that translate on the field.

Chemistry is invaluable. Teammates don’t have to be the best of friends, or even like each other. But mutual respect and being on the same page is critical to a team’s success.