Interesting article. This subject is confusing for FSU fans because he did a very solid job with academics, but athletically, he was a mess. Some other issues not noted:
*In 2016, he extended the GOR until 2036, virtually giving away all of the value of FSU football to the weakest schools of the ACC.......for nothing.
*In 2016, he promoted Stan Wilcox , who is widely considered the worst AD in FSU history.
*In 2019, he hired David Coburn as AD, an insider at FSU who had no experience in college athletics and Thrashers college buddy.
*In 2019, he moved the FSU/Boise State game to Jacksonville for non football reasons (that is as nicely as it can be put). It was not well received.
*Booster #s went from over 20K to under 10K during his tenure.
*Thrasher badly mishandled the Childers situation. LOTS of big-time Boosters said goodbye with that one.
FSU has done very well in academics in his time, but like most FSU presidents.....his over involvement/micro management in athletics has only blown up in his/FSU's face.
The arc of athletics: FSU President Thrasher reflects on the highs, lows and way forward
During his FSU tenure, he had the unenviable task of making the first FSU head football coach hire in over 40 years when Jimbo Fisher, who had been the head coach in waiting behind Bowden and led FSU from 2010 through 2017, bolted to take the Texas A&M job.
Thrasher is well aware that the aftermath of that departure may very well be his lasting legacy, at least for the immediate future.
"I know when everybody looks at football, they're gonna say Thrasher screwed football up, I've heard that a few times," Thrasher said.
In the wake of Fisher's departure, Thrasher and then-FSU AD Stan Wilcox moved fast to bring in Willie Taggart as his replacement. The hire of Taggart was officially announced on Dec. 5, 2017, just four days after Fisher left.
Thrasher admits he definitely learned some things from this first coaching search he conducted that helped him better understand the process for the second search that ended with the hire of current FSU coach Mike Norvell. But he's not willing to admit that the quick turnaround of the coaching search was a mistake.
"I wouldn't call them mistakes so much as we thought we had the right guy. I think a lot of people thought that at the time," Thrasher said.
As John Thrasher nears retirement, he doesn't want FSU 'left behind' in college football
In an exclusive sit-down interview with the Democrat, Thrasher talked candidly about what he thinks about the future of college football as well as the ACC and FSU's role in it.
"I just want us to be prepared..." Thrasher said.
"My point to (FSU director of athletics) David Coburn and to (new ACC commissioner) Jim Phillips is I don't want Florida State to be left behind. I consider us as part of the ACC, but I also know that we have a marquee name, Clemson has a marquee name. I think there might be people coming after us, I don't know, but we've got to be prepared no matter what the options are."
Thrasher understands how difficult such a change would be. However, he's also well aware of the big driving force behind these changes and how important it is that FSU doesn't get left behind, either as a part of the ACC or elsewhere.
"At the end of the day, it's all about money. It's about TV revenue, contracts. Nobody can leave a conference without a significant buyout penalty, including us, so it would have to be something very special for us to leave," Thrasher said.
"On the other hand, that doesn't mean we can't attract some other people. I think the ACC, when you put the academic side of what it's about today against any of the other conferences, we're head and shoulders (above), I think. That, to me, is attractive to some of the universities out there. Preparation, options, all that's on the table. We're getting prepared for whatever happens.
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