An 0-2 start has Florida State searching for answers about getting its first win of the season while creating a new set of questions regarding its recent performances.
Eighth-year head coach Jimbo Fisher said his team's latest game -- a 27-21 loss to North Carolina State on Saturday -- came down to execution. Fisher promised during his Monday press conference that both he and his staff will do more so their players can succeed.
Fisher is no stranger to scrutiny, but the latest round of criticism is among the harshest he's faced. In all, Fisher is 78-19 in his career. Lately, he's 14-8 over his last 22 games. Two of those wins came against Football Championship Subdivision -- or FCS -- opponents.
What do Fisher and his assistants need to do to start winning again?
"Keep coaching. Keep coaching," Fisher said in response to hearing his record over the last 22 games. "Do the things we do. Attention to detail, fundamentals, coach them better, get them to play better."
Fisher's press conference was a mixture of reviewing past mistakes with the hope of finding future solutions. He said he liked how the special-teams unit performed, while lamenting his team's offensive struggles and defensive issues. Out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, FSU (0-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) ranks 116th in total offense and 122nd in scoring offense.
The defensive items Fisher addressed honed in on getting off to a faster start.
"Hopefully, we can shut guys down and not get behind in that area," Fisher said. "At times which they played really well, we needed to get the ball back at the end with a stop, and gave up some third-and-longs, a couple there."
Aside from answering questions about his team, Fisher was quizzed about what he and his staff can do when it comes to achieving accountability.
Fisher stood firm. He said FSU's coaching is accountable whether the team wins or loses.
"When we win, all right, but that guy didn't play as well. What can we do to get him to play better?," Fisher responded, when discussing accountability. "Does he need more video? Does he need more time? Does he need more reps on the field? Does he need more walk-through time? Certain players learn differently. So it's a very similar situation win or lose, believe it or not.
"There's no magic dust or magic thing that makes you meet more, play more. We meet and do as much as we can, but we've got to evaluate what we're doing, what works, what doesn't work, and how to get each player to be more successful."
