It has been a frustrating season for Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher, who has watched his team stumble to a 2-4 start, including its first 0-3 start at home since 1974.
That frustration boiled over Saturday after Fisher and a fan at Tallahassee’s Doak Campbell Stadium got into a verbal altercation after the Seminoles’ 31-28 loss to Louisville.
As Fisher exited the field, the fan yelled that the Seminoles needed to make changes to their staff. "Get new coaches!" the fan yelled from the first row, The Tallahassee Democrat reported. Fisher walked over to the stands and yelled back, inviting the fan to "walk … down here and say it," the Democrat reported.
In his postgame news conference, Fisher said he should not have argued with the fan but felt obligated to defend his Seminoles.
"Just support, you know what I'm saying," Fisher said. "There's no reason to be nasty. But at the same time, defending players and people you're with, I'm in charge of them. I love them like a father. When they say something to your family, you take up for it."
FSU is now in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since 1982, ESPN reported.
“I mean, I understand (the frustration),” Fisher said. "That's what's part of this. If you're a fan, are you going to be a loyal fan or not? Just keep fighting with us. We ain't quitting on you. Please don't quit on us. We're going to keep fighting, scratching, coaching, playing, and you see the heart and desire of those kids. And understand something: What if that's your kid? If that was one of your kids or your nephew or your cousin or your friend, keep supporting them, you know what I mean? Just keep supporting because it ain't that.
“When success happens, (fans) put you too high, and once failures happen, they put you too low. That goes with the territory,” Fisher said. “We're going to keep coaching the same way because there's no quit in us, either.”
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