Florida State Seminoles

FSU Football: Top 3 Negatives Of Firing Charles Kelly Right Now

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:17 p.m. ET

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Dec 31, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive coordinator Charles Kelly (C) reacts against the Houston Cougars in the second quarter in the 2015 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

FSU football is in need of a change over its defensive leadership. However, firing Charles Kelly right now could do more harm than good.

I want a change at defensive coordinator just as much as you do. I was at the UNC game on Saturday, and it was infuriating to watch UNC gash a defense with such talented players on it.

At one point I could pretty much tell where they were going to attack. Why can’t the players on the FSU defense?

Everyone has FSU defensive coordinator Charles Kelly on the hot seat, and rightfully so as his defenses have underachieved all three years.

Yes, even last year they underachieved in my opinion.

Jimbo Fisher is a very intelligent coach(for the most part), and he has gained the trust of the FSU fans (for the most part) through great coaching hires and recruiting which has equated to a huge number of wins in his first six years at FSU.

There’s a reason why Jimbo Fisher has not made a change at defensive coordinator. I’m not sure what the reason is, but here are three reasons that are likely factors in the decision-making process.

Firing Charles Kelly Will Not Make The FSU Defense Better

If that were the case, that would mean there’s someone on staff that could fix the battery of problems the defense is experiencing.

If there was someone on staff that could fix the problems. Then the next question would be, why hasn’t Fisher used those staff members already to try to rectify the problem?

Sorry folk, there’s no quick-fix with these problems. The missed assignments, lack of ability of line up properly and other problems obviously will be present the entire season.

Can Kelly fix some of them? It’s possible, but I doubt the will be fixed consistently.

It’s just something FSU fans will have to live with for at least seven more games.

Offenses FSU Will Face Rest Of The Season Will Not Be As Good As Those In First 5 Games

Listen, this FSU defense has been awful and there’s no question about it. However, it has faced a murderer’s row of offenses in four of the first five games.

Don’t believe me? According to S&P + metrics at Football Outsiders, the FSU defense has faced the following:

The remaining teams on the schedule are ranked as follows:

If FSU football can somehow come out of the Miami/Clemson games at 1-1, then finishing with eight or nine wins is certainly possible.

There’s no way the FSU defense could possibly get worse than it already is right?

Oct 1, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive end DeMarcus Walker (44) and defensive end Jamarcus Robinson (11) along with defensive coordinator Charles Kelly look on during the game against the North Carolina Tarheels at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Firing Kelly Could Cause Dissension Within The Team

Coach Jimbo Fisher was asked if there was dissension among the FSU players and Fisher denied that there was.

I’ll say this. I saw DeMarcus Walker walk out onto the field on Saturday and dap up the entire offensive line during a timeout when FSU was trailing by a lot of points.

The FSU offense has not quit in any of the games that the defense has not shown up. I wouldn’t count the Louisville game because that was just a weird game in general.

However, if there was dissension among the players, I don’t think the offense would come out and fight the way they do when the defense gives up touchdown after touchdown.

There are FSU defensive players that have been very vocal in their support for Charles Kelly. A change at mid-season could cause those players to feel like Coach Fisher is throwing the season in the trash so to speak.

The FSU football team is big on family, and casting out a member of the ‘family’ could cause certain players to check out even more.

Oct 1, 2016; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive coordinator Charles Kelly talks to his defense during the game against the North Carolina Tarheels at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Conclusion

So read this, I do think a change needs to be made at defensive coordinator. I’m just not sure how much good it would do to make a change now.

Who would the internal person be to assume the interim position? If they could fix the problem, don’t you think Fisher would have already make sure they were working with Charles Kelly to rectify the problems?

Again, the slate of offenses FSU is scheduled to face on the back end of the schedule is considerably easier than the first five games. So naturally the defense should look somewhat improved just because of the efficiency or inefficiencies of those offenses.

The FSU football team is all about family, and what type of message would it send to the players for Fisher to make a change mid-season.

A change that wouldn’t help anything. Imagine what Miami and Florida recruiters would tell potential recruits?

So in actuality, firing Kelly could potentially cause more harm than good. Ask yourself this as a FSU fan. If Fisher fired Kelly, what problems would that solve? If he fired him, how many problems could that create?