FSU football: Thoughts on Ron Dugans and Odell Haggins extensions

FSU football head coach Mike Norvell has made some tough and unpopular decisions during his tenure.

From players removed from the program to in-game decisions, but more recently, the decision to bring two coaches back for the 2022 season as their current contracts expired at the end of January.

FSU defensive line coach Odell Haggins and wide receivers coach Ron Dugans. Both coaches came from the previous staff, with Haggins coaching at FSU well before then.

Both players are FSU alum who have seen their fair share of criticism over the past three or four seasons.

The criticism has been fair, both on and off the field, but some have been without context. Of course, fans are not privy to everything behind the scenes and fail to remove the emotions of players underperforming or playing with injuries.

The game isn’t a video game where you can insert the next player and expect them to play at the same level without some dropoff.

However, at the same time, the coaches are responsible for the quality and development of those players. Let’s delve into why Odell Haggins and Ron Dugans return in 2022.

Odell Haggins

I’m not upset Odell Haggins returns in 2022. He’s still one of the best defensive tackle coaches in the game. My only criticism of Haggins has been two things.

The poor performances of the defensive line in 2020 and the inability to land difference-making players from a recruiting standpoint. FSU hasn’t signed a blue-chip defensive tackle since the 2018 recruiting cycle with Robert Cooper.

The defensive line was expected to be a strength in 2020 but was one of the most underperforming units on the team. However, Haggins played a role in landing transfer Fabien Lovett, and the defensive line returned to a level of respectability in 2021.

The miss on four-star defensive tackle Tyre West during the 2022 Early Signing Period stung, but I believe that had to do more with NIL than something Odell Haggins could control.

The defensive line expects to be strong again in 2022, and Haggins landed two early enrollee defensive tackles in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

They will need development, but we’ve seen Haggins continue the ability to develop players, with Malcolm Ray and Jarrett Jackson beginning to emerge last year.

Will he finally find his next blue-chip defensive tackle in the 2023 recruiting cycle? He has some targets, so we’ll see how those relationships develop.

Ron Dugans

Ron Dugans returning in 2022 has me scratching my head. I talked about his recruiting failures on the Built For Playmakers Podcast after Early Signing Day. I felt like not signing a single high school wide receiver was a firable offense, not to mention they only seemed to target two the entire recruiting cycle (Kevin Coleman and Devaughn Mortimer).

The fact Mortimer flipped to a place like Louisville on Early Signing Day? I was sure Mike Norvell would make a change, and I believe he tried to. Why he ultimately didn’t I’m not sure. However, I want to be fair to Ron Dugans and provide some context. Recruiting to FSU over the past few years hasn’t been ideal or an easy sell.

The wide receivers signed in 2020 haven’t done much development, and Ja’Khi Douglas seems to be the only one that could contribute meaningful snaps. FSU had the worst wide receiver unit in the ACC last year.

Four-star Malik McClain, Destyn Hill, and three-star Joshua Burrell signed with the Noles in 2021. How much of a role did Dugans play in those recruitments? I’m not sure, but Hill has yet to make it to campus, and Burrell got hurt and missed almost all of last year. The latter two Dugans can’t control.

FSU’s offense has been limited, with mediocre quarterback play the past few years, which would make it difficult to recruit difference-makers at the position. However, failing to land at least one is inexcusable. Now, FSU has signed four wide receivers from the transfer portal. How much did Dugans have to do with that?

I’m not sure, but some have mentioned him by name. The floor of the wide receiver room has been raised significantly, and Jordan Travis showed flashes of progression in the passing game. The offensive line should be better which helps the passing game. Maybe with better talent, better QB, and o-line play, we’ll see the progress needed from the wide receiver group?

In the end, I guess continuity was better than making a risky hire in a year so important to show significant progress in the wins column. Also, the wide receiver talent in the 2023 recruiting class is insane. If the Noles fail to land some of those difference-makers  and the wide receivers don’t take a couple of steps forward this year, this could be a move that costs Norvell in the future. I’m rooting for Ron Dugans because his success equals program success.