Sign of the times, I guess.

We could say the same about Offensive Coordinators.

And about the OL coaches.

And perhaps Special Teams coaches.

And, while we might not be able to say we went from worst —> best with DE coaches, LB coaches, or secondary coaches, we did go from virtually no coaching to very good coaching and teaching.

This is one of those “intangibles” that can’t be quantified or fully understood until we see the results on the field. That’s why comparisons about where we were ranked last year or how much ground teams usually make up year over year are almost useless.

To reduce this intangible to something statistical and predictable, we’d need to know how other teams did in very simlar circumstance— from no coaching to excellent coaching— with comparable player talent and experience to FSU’s. But I don’t know if those data points are out there. FSU’s situation may be truly unique.

Folks can (and do) snark at others who talk about winning against OU because “we’ll be jacked up” and “we have heart”, which naively assumes OU won’t and doesn’t.

But one is not silly, naive, uniformed, or intellectually impovershed because he assumes we’ll be a much better team very quickly due to finally having some coaching, perhaps good enough to beat OU. In reality, folks on both sides of that argument are arguing from ignorance, despite all the hubris.

In fact, if we win, I may just laugh at those who confidently smirked that it would not happen, with no solid data to back up their assumption.

If Gehres manages to start a game or Bright makes one tackle, just one tackle, look out!
I can understand why but our fan base is conditioned to expect the worst and for five years they haven’t been too far off the mark.

but now I’m starting think otherwise learning this sort of stuff. Moreover, I’m beginning to think that last years teams isn’t going to resemble this years team in any meaningful way.

¡Ay, caramba!

I still think 8-4 or 9-3 ( with some luck) is what we will actually end up but I swear the games that were near toss ups, I am growing more confident that we will win every time I read an article like this. BC, Clemson, NC and Miami to me are all very close games but now part of me believes we can win them….I do not think we can beat OU nor UF, just way too far behind those elite teams…it will take a few years. But 10-2, hell, that would feel almost like a national championship in my book.

…we’re an awesome offense even when our running backs don’t know what the hell they’re doing.

People assume, all the time, that because someone was a very good player of the game, that means he will be a very good coach.

And that’s rarely true. Great players seems to be able to do the things they do, just because they can. And it’s been that way in all sports, it seems. Whether it’s what a horrible manager Babe Ruth was, whatever.

Off the top of my head, I can think of one coach that I think is really good who was also a really good player. Much as I hate to say it, Steve Spurrier.

…but was that really Frank D Nole that said in the AC comments, “I heart Dexter Carter…”?

Maybe I am way off base here, but what is the logic behind Dexter Carter being a position coach and Terrell Buckley being a GA? Could it be that Mickey knew that T-Buck did not have the proper experience to be a position coach, yet someone decided it would be a good idea to let Dexter be one? Based on their quality of play, both in college and the pros, wasn’t T-Buck the superior candidate? Great players do not always make great coaches, but neither of these guys had proved themselves as coaches at any level.

I know these guys coached on different sides of the ball. I just find it very odd that 2 former players went down very different tracks on the coaching staff. Maybe someone knows more about this.

Back to T-Buck. I remember when I first saw him working as a GA at practices and on the sidelines and I thought to myself, “Wow, our coaching criteria is so stiff that a 14 yr NFL veteran is a only GA! It must be tough to get into college coaching and work your way to the top at FSU!” That theory got flushed down the toilet when they named Dexter our RB coach…

I wish Dexter the best and hope he does succeed as a coach, not matter where he ends up. Maybe he is not a “failure”, but he failed at the task he was given.

I believe Dexter was hired with the hope he would succeed, and not that he was intentionally set up to fail. Not that anyone has said that he was intentionally set up to fail, or that Bobby knew he would fail, just that the choice of words "set up to fail" is somewhat bothersome to me.

Anyone who has read my ramblings knows that I am not a Bowdenite in any way, shape, or form, but I believe as I posted on AC’s blog, that Bobby hired and promoted with his heart in just about every case, without really looking for the most qualified coach available at the time. I think he always truly believed that all of his hires would succeed.