Florida State football spring preview: Will Seminoles improve in 2019?

Biggest reason for optimism: New faces

In order to turn things around, the Seminoles needed to make difficult changes, and Taggart has done just that. There are quite a few new faces on the Seminoles’ sideline, including most notably new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and offensive line coach Randy Clements, both from Houston.

In addition to stripping himself of playcalling duties, Taggart fired former offensive line coach Greg Frey, a Seminole alum, to make room for Clements, who Briles insisted on having as part of his agreement. Taggart has also replaced special teams coordinator Alonzo Hampton and hired Ron Dugans from  Miami to coach the Seminoles’ talented receiving corps.

Coaching changes mean new blood and fresh approaches. But they also mean a learning curve for players. Luckily, Taggart based his “Gulf Coast Offense” on what he learned while studying Baylor at South Florida. The offensive scheme Briles runs will not be much different from the offense Taggart unsuccessfully fielded in 2018.

Which sounds frightening. The difference is: Briles is not the Seminoles head coach, meaning he can focus on the offense entirely as opposed to the million other things a head coach must think about. This offense is also Briles’ baby: his father conceived it and he helped execute it (very successfully) while at Baylor, carrying it with him to Florida Atlantic and Houston.

At all of these stops, Briles has been incredibly successful: in 2018, Houston finished with an offensive S&P+ ranking of 11th among FBS teams. In 2017, at Florida Atlantic, Briles’ offense finished 6th nationally. Before that, at Baylor, Briles’ offense finished 38th in 2016 and, the year before, No. 1. Impressive indeed.

From a purely football perspective, Briles, along with offensive line coach Randy Clements, could not have been better hires for the Seminoles. During the Garnet and Gold Spring Game, it will be interesting to see whether the offense can find its stride. Briles will certainly have to use Blackman differently than the more mobile quarterbacks he’s had at previous stops.