By Tom Suiter
Remember the days when the Florida State "war chant" sent the shivers down the spines of the rest of the ACC?
Florida State football was menacing, all right. They won, and they won big, and the players were more than willing to let their opponents know they were getting drubbed. Yes, the chant was intimidating – but more so the players wearing the garnet and gold.
Times are changing, and the fabled "war chant" now just seems, if anything, more annoying. Florida State has lost 22 times over the last five seasons, including last year's 7-6 record. They are striking fear in no one.
The legendary Bobby Bowden, he of the 366 career wins (293 in 31 years at FSU), knows that it must change.He knew it so much that he let his son Jeff be forced out as offensive coordinator. Bobby Bowden knows that the program he built and loves cannot continue to crumble. He even says that if things don't change, he will step down.
He's in his late '70s and he wants to bring FSU back. He admits it. He wants another national title. He loves coaching football.
Word out of Tallahassee is that Bowden and his overhauled coaching staff are running a tough camp, that they are tolerating no nonsense.
Even former N.C. State head coach Chuck Amato, now back at FSU as linebacker coach, laid down the law. Amato, whose teams' undisciplined play helped cost him his job at State, has told each player that every towel, every pair of shoes, all pads and all clothes must be placed in a certain way. If not, there will be a price to pay.
After a scrimmage last weekend, new offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher was so irritated he wouldn't let the players on his side of the ball talk to the media. And while Fisher was fuming, longtime defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews kept his unit on the field for extra work.
So far, from what we hear, the defense is ahead of the offense as Florida State, like a lot of ACC teams, still isn't sure who will be quarterback. Neither Drew Weatherford or Xavier Lee, who says he would have transferred after last season if Fisher hadn't been hired, were that good last season, but those are the choices again.
Fisher who previously ran the offense at LSU, is supposed to be a savior. He rants, he raves, and the players know he means business. He wants his unit to be aggressive.
Weatherford talks about how Fisher called out Mickey Andrews after safety Myron Rolle leveled a hard hit on unsuspecting tailback Antoine Smith.
"Since I've been here, nobody has said anything like that to Coach Andrews," recalled Weatherford. "It's definitely a different feel and something we haven't experienced before. Our players responded."
Almost immediately, the FSU offense carved up the defense in a 7-on-7 drill.
"We're trying to develop accountability and dependability," say Fisher. "And when they don't accept it, I'm not going to tolerate it."
And here's a switch for showboating Florida State:
"If you celebrate, Coach Fisher says you won't play," pre-season all-ACC wideout Greg Carr says. "If you celebrate on one touchdown, it might be your last, depending on what you do."
"He's extremely intense," says Weatherford, "very much in your face."
Adds Lee, "If you don't do it his way, he doesn't like it. Every day you're going to be cussed up. He's trying to make us better players."
Fisher says he wants to run the ball, something Florida State just hasn't been able to do lately. They wound up 103rd in the country last season. The 'Noles have averaged fewer than 100 yards per game on the ground in each of the last two seasons.
New offensive line coach Rick Trickett knows what his job is. He coached the line last year at West Virginia, which was second in the nation in rushing. He says Florida State's big boys have the talent, but they're lacking something else.
"I just wish we were more mentally tough," Trickett says. "We're not anywhere close to where we need to be, mental toughness-wise. I've had guys with way less ability and won a lot more ball games."
How many times have the television cameras caught defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews scowling on the sidelines? He's a tough customer to be sure, and he hates the way his defense has been pushed around. He has a veteran secondary, but there are holes elsewhere. Andrews philosophy is: "See the guy with football, run to him as fast as you can, and knock the daylights out of him."
He says hasn't seen that much of that so far.
"We don't have enough hitters," says Andrews, who's been on Bowden's staff for 24 years. "We don't have enough guys who lay it on the line. We don't have enough guys who will fight their britches off to win a ball game."
So, Florida State battles to get back. They have talent, of course, but it's not the talent they used to have.
Yet for all the problems, there's something about Florida State. The aura may be fading, but it's still there.
Florida State is expected to be good – picked to win the Atlantic Division and play for the ACC championship, a championship they used to own – but the schedule is daunting. Their non-conference schedule includes games at Colorado and Florida plus Alabama in Jacksonville. The league schedule is no patsy, either with road games at Clemson, Wake Forest, Boston College and Virginia Tech. Miami comes to Tallahassee.
In the past, Florida State teams would take on this schedule with relish. That's how Bowden got the program going. He would play anybody anywhere. Those teams though were not just talented, they were good and they knew it.
I don't know about this bunch.
"We're trying to bring back that old swagger," says safety Roger Williams.
Trying and doing are two different things, though.
Bobby Bowden likes his job. Only winning big will keep him around.
The Seminole war chant will rain down again this fall.
Will the FSU players make it chilling again?
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