Sports
“LOYALTY� IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL: THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIPS
By Nathaniel Wallace, Staff Writer
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“too close for comfort� relationship exists between Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and University of Florida head coach Will Muschamp. The sunshine state rival coaches share a bitter rivalry and a beach house in Pensacola. However, their relationship is hardly an anomaly in a business where loyalty is unrealistic. Fisher and Muschamp’s relationship demonstrates how these coaches became the men they are today, and why it is important FSU students and sports fans to understand a little bit about their not so distant past. Many fans are angered at the betrayal college coaches consistently demonstrate in this mercenary business. It is a fairytale to demand that coaches SFNBJO MPZBM UP B VOJWFSTJUZ POF UIBU XJMM mSF UIFN XJUIPVU CBUUJOH BO FZF UIF moment things turn south. The relationship between Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp was born at Auburn University in 1995. Muschamp, the recently graduated captain and safety of the Georgia Bulldogs, had just landed a gig as a graduate assistant under Terry Bowden (son of Bobby) at Auburn. Jimbo Fisher was Auburn’s quarterback coach at the time and over the next two years, Fisher and Muschamp came to realize their philosophical congruence in managing a program. The two shared an apartment and began to develop distinctive coaching styles. Their similarities can be traced to the time they spent together at Auburn in the mid-1990’s. The transient nature of the college
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coaching profession is evident simply from observing the career paths most coaches take in hopes of landing a gig as head coach at University of Florida or Florida State. Muschamp was a solid safety for the University of Georgia in the early to mid-1990’s. The cries of Benedict Arnold coming from Georgia fans were ubiquitous upon Muschamp’s decision to leave Texas where he had been named the school’s head coach in waiting upon Mack Brown’s retirement. Fisher was also named head coach in waiting, as former Florida State President, T.K. Wetherell bestowed that title VQPO IJN GPMMPXJOH IJT mSTU ZFBS XJUI UIF Seminoles in 2007. While Muschamp has certainly taken the harshest criticism for
his perceived lack of loyalty, Fisher walks a tight rope each day: evident in the sizeable chunk of the fan base that was anything CVU TBUJTmFE EFTQJUF XJOOJOH HBNFT in 2012. Fisher demonstrated immense loyalty to Florida State by resisting overtures from traditional SEC powers Auburn and Tennessee. It is yet to be seen whether Fisher’s loyalty to Florida State is a one or two way street, as I would contend that anything less than double digit wins in 2013 could spell the end for loyalty from the administration and boosters at Florida State. It is clear that coaches, who demonstrate loyalty to a fault, often learn the hard way that loyalty is not a virtue held dear to universities in this day and age. Top tier %JWJTJPO * QSPHSBNT mSF DPBDIFT GBTUFS UIBO ZPV DBO TBZ CPPTUFS JOnVFODF 0GUFO times, one poor season is all it takes in this cutthroat business. Job instability is due to UIF MVDSBUJWF mOBODJBM JNQMJDBUJPOT BTTPDJated with winning and losing. The same Auburn staff that included Fisher and Muschamp also included current FSU offensive line coach Rick Trickett, and was quarterbacked by former FSU quarterback’s coach, Dameyune Craig. Trickett has been everywhere under the sun, coaching at Southern Mississippi, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Glenville