Florida State Football: the 10 Most Important People in the Program

The Florida State Seminoles boast one of the finest athletic programs in all of intercollegiate athletics, as evidenced by their fourth place standing in the latest Director’s Cup rankings. 

At the heart of the Seminoles' excellence in athletics is the football team, which will play in a bowl game for the 30th consecutive season, currently the longest streak in the NCAA. 

The reasons for Florida State's continued run of success on the gridiron is because of the efforts of several people behind the scenes, on the sidelines and on the field. 

While FSU fans may not be satisfied with the team’s results this season, the football program is in great shape thanks to the efforts of those involved in its daily operations. 

Here are the 10 most important people in the Seminoles program:

10. Mark Stoops

After his remarkable job in turning around the Seminole defense in his two years in Tallahassee, Stoops would be rated higher on this list if he was not rumored to leave for a head coaching job in the near future.

Stoops has transformed the Seminole defense into a ferocious unit that finished the season ranked sixth in total defense. 

Auburn and several other schools were reportedly interested in luring Stoops away from Florida State before he announced he will remain at FSU for at least the 2012 season. 

Considering the Seminoles are loaded and capable of having a big year in 2012, and with his stock already soaring, look for Stoops' name to be mentioned prominently for coaching vacancies at this time next year.  

9. Derrick Brooks

The legendary former Seminole and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker is an integral part of merging FSU’s storied past with its present and future. 

Brooks was appointed to Florida State’s Board of Trustees in 2003 by former Florida governor Jeb Bush. 

One of the key cogs during the dynasty years under former head coach Bobby Bowden, Brooks remains actively involved in the football program. 

The school retired Brooks’ number 10 jersey last year, making him only the eighth Seminole player to have his number retired.  

8. James Coley

Coley was brought in by Bobby Bowden in 2008 at the request of then head coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher, who had worked with Coley previously at LSU. 

Immediately, Coley was a hit with fans, recruits and players due to his energetic personality and relentlessness on the recruiting trail.

Coley’s reputation as an ace recruiter was validated when ESPN.com named him the top recruiter in the ACC in 2010. 

When Fisher took over as head coach last season, Coley was promoted to the offensive coordinator position.  

7. Odell Haggins

With all due respect to fellow assistant coach and Florida State alum Lawrence Dawsey, no one on the Seminole coaching staff bleeds garnet and gold more than defensive line coach Odell Haggins. 

After a standout career as a defensive tackle for FSU from 1986-89, Haggins enjoyed a short stint in the NFL before returning to Tallahassee to begin his coaching career in 1994. 

17 years later, Haggins has established himself as one of the top defensive line coaches in the country, and has churned out several NFL draft choices that benefited from his tutelage. 

His recruiting pitch to high-school prospects about Florida State resonate strongly with them because of his love for a school he has served for over 20 years as a coach and a player.  

6. Bob LaCivita

After stints at N.C. State and Florida, LaCivita joined the Seminoles as the team’s Director of Player Personnel in 2007. 

His main influence on the program comes in his handling of daily administrative responsibilities in recruiting for the FSU football team. 

During his time at Florida from 2005-07, he was instrumental in helping Urban Meyer build the foundation for what would become a recruiting juggernaut that led to two national championships for the Gators.

Since his arrival in Tallahassee, Florida State has regained their foothold in the state of Florida and has restored its reputation as being one of the premier destinations for the nation’s elite prospects.  

5. Vic Viloria

Casual observers who have watched the Seminoles over the last two seasons probably caught a glimpse of a short, bald-headed man jumping and waiving a towel feverishly on the sidelines for the entire game and wondered who he was and where his energy comes from.

That man would be FSU strength coach Vic Viloria, who has brought that same enthusiasm in transforming the ‘Noles strength and conditioning program over the last two seasons.  

A disciple of respected weightlifting coach Gayle Hatch, Viloria has brought the “Hatch System” to FSU, which focuses on the use of free weights and plyometrics amongst other tactics focusing on improving a player’s explosive abilities. 

His efforts helped the Seminoles become a bigger team without sacrificing strength or speed, and the results (especially on defense) have been overwhelmingly positive.  

4. EJ Manuel

In professional sports, a team’s best player or leader is always viewed as the “face of the franchise.” 

At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Seminoles starting quarterback EJ Manuel is fully capable of shouldering that responsibility. 

The redshirt junior earned his degree in media and communication studies over the weekend and has embraced the duties of setting an example for his teammates to follow. 

Judging by how he has handled himself in his time at Florida State, fans of the Garnet and Gold should beam with pride that Manuel represents their program. 

3. Randy Spetman

Spetman was named the athletic director of FSU in 2008 after serving in the same position at Utah State for the previous five years. 

Under Spetman’s guidance, all 19 of the Seminoles’ athletics programs participated in the postseason of their respective sports last season, which made FSU the only program in the NCAA to accomplish that feat. 

The ‘Noles have repeated that feat this season and are on pace for their highest finish in school history in the Directors' Cup standings.  

2. Eric Barron

Since being named president of FSU in February of 2010, Barron has taken an active role in the expansion talks revolving around the ACC. 

Spetman served on the ACC’s expansion committee, but Barron was an instrumental part of the discussions surrounding the talks.

Despite rumors of being courted by the SEC, Barron publicly maintained the school’s loyalty to the ACC while also focusing on a strategy that allowed Florida State to deal with expansion matters in a proactive manner.  

1. Jimbo Fisher

Fisher stepped into the legendary shoes of former coach Bobby Bowden and wasted little time generating a buzz around a program that had become almost dormant. 

He also managed to change the culture of the program while reinvigorating the fan base. 

Fisher has gone 18-8 in his first two seasons at the helm and the fruits of his labor on the recruiting trail are poised to emerge next season when the Seminoles should return a bevy of experience on both sides of the ball. 

While Seminoles fans will never forget the legacy that Bowden created, Fisher has clearly put his stamp on the program and in the process he has become the central figure associated with the Seminoles football program.