Florida State Football: What if Willie Taggart doesn’t work out?

Florida State football expects to keep rolling under Wille Taggart, but continued success is not as much of a sure-thing as the Seminoles might assume.

The repercussions resounding from a rather rough offseason in Tallahassee are finally starting to subside. Jimbo Fisher’s messy divorce from Florida State hasn’t been forgotten, but the hope that comes with any new era is beginning to blossom amidst a proud fanbase. Throughout this process ‘Noles fans have stuck to their mantra: Florida State is bigger than any one coach; it’s a marquee program in college football. That’s a catchy chorus, but what if their declaration only half-true?

Attention has been drawn to Fisher’s last stretch at Florida State. There’s no doubt his standard of excellence faltered on his way out the door. The question is whether or not that decline was a product of coaching quality or a lack of focus?

Jimbo Fisher sputtered to a 20-12 record in his last 32 games. Willie Taggart, the Seminoles’ new head coach, went 24-8 in that same stretch, without the benefit of FSU’s overwhelming talent base. Some Noles’ fans have pointed to the downturn as proof that Fisher had “lost it” or “gotten lucky” with the recruitment and subsequent signing of Jameis Winston who “carried” Fisher to a title.

But Fisher never “lost it” or “got lucky”. Fisher is still the same Fisher that won the 2013 National Championship. To this day he’s one of four active coaches in college football with a national title. Pick whatever stat or timeframe you want, Fisher’s title and six 10+ win seasons at Florida State are the norm, not the outlier.

Taggart, on the other hand, is a much less proven commodity. Hailed for his recruiting connections in the state and his previous success at South Florida, Taggart has already been anointed the next conductor on the unstoppable Florida State title-contending train. He’s shown promise, but he’s never won consistently with this much talent at this level of competition.

It will be assumed that Taggart will pick up right where Fisher left off. But if things go south, the fallout could be devastating. Florida State is always going to be Florida State. They’re a blue-blood school in one of the most talent-rich states in the nation. But the next few seasons will determine whether or not FSU follows the trajectory of Ohio State or Notre Dame.

Both the Buckeyes and the Irish have rich college football history. But Ohio State, unlike Notre Dame, has sustained that success through several coaching changes, always reloading and never rebuilding. It’s been a long time since Notre Dame won a national championship. It hasn’t mattered who was hired or fired, the Irish have only managed to get to the precipice, falling short time and time again to varying degrees.

Next: Where does FSU fit in Preseason Top 25 rankings?

Jimbo Fisher took on a tremendous risk when he left the comfortable confines of Doak Campbell Stadium. But Florida State is in an equally precarious position. Both sides have a lot to gain, and a lot to lose. Perhaps Florida State fans should wait to see how things play out before they assume their reign of success is here to stay. Just ask Notre Dame.