Florida State, Miami Football: Situation Critical in the Sunshine State

Two men separated by 37 years and almost 500 miles.  Two men at opposite ends of their coaching career.  One man a national coaching legend, the other a little known local coaching commodity.

Two men, united in one goal—restoring the luster to the Sunshine State Triumvirate.

Florida, with the hire of Urban Meyer, has shown the ability to hold up its end of the Florida Football Trio.  However, Miami and Florida State have been less than impressive in the last five years.  As the Gators surge, the 'Noles and 'Canes have looked incredibly pedestrian.

Is Talent the Problem?

Overall talent isn't the issue here—both the 'Noles and the 'Canes have graded out at the top of the college football world in terms of recruiting, as well as sending players to the next level.

Since 2002, FSU averages the No. 9 or No. 11 and Miami the No. 8.9 or No. 8 recruiting class, according to Rivals and Scout respectively. 

During that same period, here's how other schools fared in terms of average recruiting rankings: USC (2.3, 4.6), Oklahoma (7.3, 9.6), LSU (8.9, 8.1) and Notre Dame (18, 13.3), again from Rivals and Scout respectively.

Talent in recruiting isn't the issue here—FSU and Miami are running neck and neck with the LSUs and Oklahomas of the college football landscape.

If it's not talent, then what is the issue?

The rosters of these teams are littered with talent and more speed than 95% of the teams in the college football world.  There is one reason they haven't been able to win, and one way they can return to prominence.

Developing a Quarterback

For FSU the skid began when Mark Richt took the Georgia job in 2001.  Since Chris Weinke's senior Heisman campaign, the Seminoles have struggled mightily to find a viable quarterback option.

Chris Rix, Drew Weatherford, Xavier Lee, and Wyatt Sexton all stumbled through the last seven years, never achieving a completion percentage above 57 percent.

The low point was during the 2007 season with the Lee and Weatherford tag-team disaster project.  Lee threw for a 53.2 percent completion rate while Weatherford boasted a 118.5 AB rating—both less than admirable.

Down I-95 in Miami, the problems began after the departure of Ken Dorsey in 2003.  The Hurricanes quarterback merry-go-round has consisted of Kyle Wright, Kirby Freeman, Brock Berlin, and even Derrick Crudup.

The highly-touted quartet has been unable to produce a conference championship for Coral Gables, the longest drought the 'Canes have seen since the 1970s.  Much like in Tallahassee. the problem hasn't been reeling in the talent—it's been developing the quarterbacks to produce the proper results.

Enter Patrick Nix and Jimbo Fisher—two men tasked with the most important job during the process of restoring Miami and FSU to national relevance.

These offensive coordinators come from very different backgrounds—one an SEC star quarterback, just cutting his teeth in big time coaching; the other a legend of sorts, set to take over for the Godfather, Bobby Bowden.

Nix enters Randy Shannon's staff from Georgia Tech after the firing of Chan Gailey.  The former Auburn quarterback helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a first place finish in touchdown receptions in 2006 and bowl games each of his three seasons as offensive coordinator.

Jimbo Fisher is a proven teacher in the world of the college football.  He's tutored All-SEC performers JaMarcus Russell, Josh Booty, Rohan Davey, and Matt Mauck.  Fisher also boasts three 3,000-yard passers on his resume, and his offenses have produced five first round draft picks at the skill positions.

Both Bowden and Shannon get solid players on both sides of the football—their skill position coffers are loaded with some of the top talent nationwide.  The lines are quality, with the defensive lines being the focal point of an always solid defense.

Their most glaring issue is the inability to develop a collegiate quarterback since the 2002 season.

College football is truly about the quarterback.  With the same skill and talent levels, the 'Noles and 'Canes used to be contenders.  The difference in the '80s, '90s and early 2000s—they were playing with Heisman candidates at quarterback.

The U and Bobby Bowden went from Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke, and Ken Dorsey to incredibly underdeveloped Kyle Wright, Xavier Lee, and Kirby Freeman.

The onus is on Fisher and Nix to bring big time quarterback play back to this anchor of the college football world.

Redshirt sophomore Christian Ponder looks poised to take the reins for the Seminoles.  Under the tutelage of Jimbo Fisher, and armed with a strong skill set, Ponder has a chance to restore the winning tradition in Tallahassee.

In Miami, Robert Marve is set to be the first Hurricane freshman since Bernie Kosar to assume the starting role.  The talented freshman hopes to restore Miami to its days of Quarterback U when talents like Jim Kelly, Gino Torretta, and Vinny Testaverde were the norm.

Ponder and Marve have a slew of four- and five-star recruits stationed throughout the skill positions to assist them in resurrecting the programs.  They need their respective OCs to help slow the game down, set attainable goals, and hopefully reduce the pressure of being "the guy" at Miami and FSU.

Richt and Coker were the keys to the success of the QBs in years past, and their successors must waste no time in rising to the occasion and restoring the luster to the lagging members of the Florida Football Triumvirate.