Jimbo Top 5 Coach?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
College football is just a little over 2 months away from taking over the sports landscape in the South during the fall and into the first couple of weeks of January.
One coach that I feel doesn’t get enough credit for the job he is doing is Jimbo Fisher at Florida State.
Jimbo took over a program in 2010 that was in a steady decline under FSU legend Bobby Bowden. I know that will not sit well with my Seminole friends but it is what it is.
FSU was losing 4, 5, 6 games a year late in the Bowden tenure. Jimbo in his first year in 2010 won 10 games a feat that had not been accomplished in Tallahassee since 2003.
From December 2012 until the January 1st, 2015 loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl in year one of the college football playoff FSU won an incredible 29 games in a row.
Yes, Fisher had Jameis Winston as his QB during the run, but if a head coach is going to shoulder the blame for losses then in my book the same credit goes the head man’s way for wins.
Let’s take a look at the 2015 season. FSU is sailing along at 6-0 then the fluke loss to a bad Georgia Tech team in Atlanta on a blocked FG returned for a game winning TD. A hard fought loss to Clemson at Clemson and a loss to a hot Houston team in the Peach Bowl. FSU finished at 10-3 in what was supposed to be a down year on the Panhandle.
Through 6 years at FSU, Fisher has 68-14 record with 3-ACC Championships and a National Championship. He has a .829 winning % which is the highest in school history.
Fisher in this writer’s opinion is top 3 in the country just behind Saban and Meyer. The flavors of the week in the coaching circles for media types right now are Harbaugh, and Dabo.
Jimbo owns Dabo currently with a 4-2 head to head record. Fisher is the most accomplished member of the Saban coaching tree and he was Saban’s Offensive Coordinator at LSU during a national Championship season in 2003.
In fact look at these stats below. Fisher’s record against the big 3 on the FSU schedule is as follows:
Miami: 6-0
Florida: 5-1
Clemson: 4-2
That is a combined 15-3 record against teams you get paid big money to beat more than they beat you.
Yes, I’m going to say it Seminole fans, but Bobby Bowden ended his career with losing records against Miami, and Florida while at FSU.
Now let’s look at 2016. FSU is ranked in the preseason top 5 in many polls, but Clemson is ranked 1-2 in the same polls so the Clemson game will most likely determine whether FSU makes the 4 team playoff.
That game on October 29th in Tallahassee will be one of the biggest in the country this year.
The ACC while known for basketball is a great football conference and both FSU and Clemson could possibly make the 4 team playoff this year.
Back to Jimbo, he is animated on the sidelines, and will not hesitate to get in the grill of one of his players if needed. That is a refreshing quality you don’t see much anymore.
Jimbo Fisher is an elite football coach who just doesn’t get as much press as other great coaches.
