FSU football: 3 things changed ‘Noles trajectory under Mike Norvell
By Kelvin Hunt
Michael Alford Hire as Athletic Director
David Coburn was the acting Athletic Director when Mike Norvell got hired in December 2019. Coburn was a financial guy, not an athletic director, charged with fixing the mess left by the previous athletic director, Stan Wilcox.
Most folks knew it would be temporary, as FSU would soon transition to a new University President, and Coburn would retire with President Thrasher.
Michael Alford got hired to oversee Seminole Boosters and did a remarkable job getting fundraising back to respectable levels, even while the program wallowed in purgatory.
Related Story. Impact of Michael Alford's First 6 Months as FSU Athletic Director. light
However, it wasn’t until Alford became Athletic Director in January 2022 that we saw real traction on things like investing into the football program again. Alford provided Norvell with more resources to beef up off-the-field staff, helped get FSU off the ground on the NIL front (which helped recruiting), got the program new locker rooms, and made the football only facility a reality.
Alford’s efforts helped FSU compete with the likes of Clemson, who had massive off-the-field staff that dwarfed what FSU had then.
The hires of folks like Darrick Yray as the General Manager of Personnel, Corey Fuller as Director of Football Relations, Gabe Fertitta as a senior offensive analyst, Greg Moss as a defensive analyst were all signs FSU was looking to play big boy football again.