There are better ways to fire someone. We can all agree on that.
Willie Taggart could have let Greg Frey go back in December when he hired Kendal Briles, knowing that the new offensive coordinator wanted to bring in his own offensive line coach.
He could have let him go at any point in the last two or three months, before most of the vacancies around the country were filled. He could have let him go long before he asked Frey to make recruiting trips to pitch Florida State to prospective recruits. Only to fire him a couple of weeks after National Signing Day.
It could've been much cleaner. You could argue it should've been much cleaner.
We've all known for about two months that Briles' guy Randy Clements, who has worked with him for years, was expected to join the staff. But as we made our way into mid-February, I just assumed that Frey was going to stay on staff as well, and be a co- offensive line coach -- just like he was back at Michigan.
After seeing all the pictures of him in those FSU polos visiting recruits, I figured he was going to be back in some capacity in 2019.
But nope.
On Friday, Taggart came out with this statement:
"This morning I informed Greg Frey that we are moving in a different direction with our offensive line coaching position. I appreciate the hard work and expertise Greg brought to our program and understand how important it was for him that FSU be successful. I wish Greg and his family the best as he continues his coaching career. We are working to fill this position quickly."
Nobody said coaching was an easy business. And I feel for Frey. I truly do.
He left a good job in Ann Arbor to come back home, to try to rebuild the Florida State offensive line into something worthy of this school's tradition.
That didn't happen in Year 1. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, his offensive line was the worst one in the United States.
But we all understand that wasn't solely his fault. Not even close. He was left with a depth chart that read like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books -- except that nothing you chose mattered because you were going to die regardless.
You couldn't watch the Florida State offensive line in 2018 and say to yourself, "Wow, those guys are extremely well-coached."
But you also couldn't watch the Florida State offensive line in 2018 and say, "Man, look at all that talent! That coach is wasting so much potential. He's got to go!"
Blaming Frey for Florida State's failures up front is like blaming a chef for not being able to make a five-star meal out of Hormel Chili and jelly beans.
Then again, it could have tasted a bit better, right? He didn't just have to take the chili and jelly beans and throw them into a burning garbage can (I feel like I've taken this metaphor as far as it can go).
Like Alonzo Hampton, Greg Frey's unit drastically underperformed in 2018. When that happens, like Hampton, there's a chance you're going to get fired. That's just how life works.
And if Willie Taggart's program continues to underperform, guess what? He's next. And he knows that.
