Evidence continues to support FSU football made a great hire with Mike Norvell in December. He ranks well in the latest Power Five Coaching Rankings.
I’ve documented my monthly observations with FSU football head coach Mike Norvell. He’s been dealt an incredible hand of things to deal with as a first-year head coach at a place like FSU.
He handled the 10-day window during the early signing period well, and by all accounts has implemented some organization over the program.
The biggest concern among FSU football fans probably revolves around recruiting, which was probably the biggest question mark with the hiring of Norvell.
Frankly, it’s impossible to fully evaluate how well the Noles are doing on the recruiting trail. On one hand, I understand some fan’s concerns with where the Noles are ranked.
However, I also understand barriers standing in the way of this coaching staff without the coronvirus impacting things.
Of course, we can’t evaluate anything until we see the product on the field which will be impacted by this coronavirus shutdown. But, FSU football fans should be optimistic that lots of people with no dog in the fight are rating Mike Norvell as one of the better coaches in college football.
CBS Sports announced their latest Power Five Coaching Rankings and placed Mike Norvell at No. 29:
"Mike Norvell: It’s a sign of respect for everything that Norvell accomplished at Memphis that he begins his tenure at Florida State ranked so highly. He went 38-15 in four seasons, 24-8 in conference play with the Tigers. Now, he finds himself at a program that needs a little rehab but has all the potential to compete for national titles. Clearly, our voters believe the Seminoles made a smart hire. 2019 rank: N/A"
Thoughts
For comparison sake, Miami head coach Manny Diaz is ranked No. 58. He was ranked No. 57 before last season and the Hurricanes went 6-7. Norvell is also ranked higher than Jeremy Pruitt at Tennessee and Justin Fuente at Virginia Tech.
The latter is who Norvell replaced at Memphis before taking that program to the next level. He’s also rated higher than Dave Clawson at Wake Forest and Louisville’s Scott Satterfield, who’s looked to have improved the Cardinals a lot in just one year.
I think No. 29 is fair until Norvell can prove he sustain his success at the Power Five level. The FSU football team is talented enough to win eight or nine games in 2020. If that happens, I think Norvell could leap into the top 20 in 2021.