FSU should fire Fisher for meddling in conference realignmen

Jun 25, 2012, 11:24 AM

June 25, 2012 | 6:23 AM
By Chadd Scott

In a podcast recorded 6/20/2012 Chuckoliver.net Senior Writer Ingram Smith (@ingramsmith on Twitter) and I discussed Florida State University’s conference affiliation. I believe FSU should and will remain as a member of the ACC, Smith has sources inside FSU who continue to believe the school has already decided to leave for the Big 12.

I asked Smith (at the 8:30 mark) who inside the FSU community was pushing the agenda for the Seminoles to leave the ACC? Not surprisingly, former FSU Board of Trustees chair Andy Haggard was listed first as a key conspirator. Shockingly, Smith also identified head football coach Jimbo Fisher as a driving force behind the scenes pushing a pro-Big 12 agenda.

“Horrifying” was the word I used to describe this situation: a football coach attempting to steer the eternal course of a major public university.

I personally believe Smith’s sources who contend that Fisher is helping instigate this movement. That makes sense to me. Jimbo essentially tipped his hand to this fact with these comments. And, if you know anything about Jimbo Fisher, you know he is a Type-A micromanager. From what soda is being sold at concession stands inside Doak Campbell Stadium to the university’s conference affiliation, it doesn’t surprise me to hear Fisher believes he should have sweeping powers to make decisions. I get the feeling Fisher wishes he could be head football coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, offensive line coach, marketing director, athletic director, sports information director and school president at the same time.

It also makes sense to me that only someone who views the world primarily through the prism of football could be driving FSU off this cliff from the ACC to the Big 12.

IF Jimbo Fisher is in fact working back channels to stir up sentiment among the FSU community regarding a change of conference affiliation he should be fired by University president Eric Barron effective immediately.

I am struggling to even put into words what a stunning usurpation of power this would be from Fisher. Fisher, as football coach, makes a mockery of the chain of command going over the head of his direct supervisor, the athletic director, his ultimate boss, the university president, and board of trustees. He’s attempting to be a secret dictator. He’s attempting to hijack the future of Florida State UNIVERSITY and steer it toward a course which could ONLY benefit the football program. If Fisher were a member of the government or military acting in a similar fashion he would be guilty of treason.

If this accusation is true. Again, that’s a huge IF, but it passes my smell test which most college football conference expansion rumors don’t.

This is the place within my columns where I typical provide a clever analogy to present greater clarity to the issue I’m discussing. I can’t find one for this situation. A football coach obviously has no official authority or decision making responsibility when it comes to a school’s conference affiliation. At the same time, coaches should be consulted and allowed to voice their opinions. What Fisher understands is that while he doesn’t have an official voice in this process, the power of his position and his bully pulpit as popular, successful, highly-paid football coach gives him tremendous influence regarding this decision. When Jimbo Fisher picks up the phone, calls a board of trustee member or big-money booster and “pisses in his ears” (to use a "Sopranos" phrase) degrading the ACC while lauding the Big 12 (if that happened), that has influence. Great influence. Fisher’s opinions change minds.

Florida State University has over 40,000 students. It has over 100,000 living alumni, thousands of faculty and administrative staffers, thousands of boosters and millions of fans. It also has an athletic director, a president and a board of trustees. A Napoleonic football coach can not be allowed to disregard the school’s chain of command and secretly attempt to exert influence on wide-ranging policy decisions which will dramatically affect the University at large for decades to come.

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our back door? Sacrificing $8 Million in revenue every two years with the forced loss of a home game to accommodate a 9-game schedule in order to subsidize league programs that not only don't contribute anything in football but actually bring the league down? Contributing a significant share of media value to the league through the higher popularity of our football telecasts yet watching that money disperse away? Having our fans trek 1000 miles away now once annually in order to sell 40,000 seats for Syracuse and BC? Having our better bowl invites because we travel well cost us money in the long run in order to make the gig while half the league schools line their pockets from it? Having our SOS ebb away or sacrifice yet another home game annually in order to protect our status in the overall landscape?

There's a lot that's broken with the ACC's revenue structure right now. Add flagship UNC tarnishing the league's sacred cow of academic integrity and the watering down of national traction by spreading games all over creation, and it's hard to blame anyone for fully exploring the waters.

FSU should fire Fisher for meddling in conference realignmen

Re: FSU should fire Fisher for meddling in conference realignmen

I love Dabo, but didn't he do the same thing, except in

agreed....so the employees and coaches can't

Re: I love Dabo, but didn't he do the same thing, except in

then FSU can deal with him if that's the case

Re: then FSU can deal with him if that's the case

probably ticked off at him because they are hearing from

I think it was much more likely that FSU from the top down

Towing the company line and avoiding a lawsuit

agreed...this is an FSU problem only...the only reason

What about the large sucking sound of $$$'s coming out of

Complete agree, almost.

I'm not crazy about a Big XII move unless there's two more

No; he was different

If it had been Bobby ten years ago they'd be gone by now.

Bobby has 2 MNC's and numerous ACC championships ...

Yeah, the writer called Jimbo a highly successful coach.

What did Danny do?

Bimbo is used to the SEC where FB coaches run the school.

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