Multiple outlets are reporting that FSU football plans to hire Blue Adams as its next defensive backs coach. FSU didn’t retain Patrick Surtain Sr. and looked to hire Brandon Harris last week before he opted to go to the rival Florida Gators at the last minute.
Blue Adams is from South Florida and played at Cincinnati before playing in the NFL for a few years. He has spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Northern Illinois, West Virginia, USF, Oregon State, and, lastly, Michigan State.
Adams has spent time coaching in several types of defenses over the years, from 4-2-5, 4-3, and 3-4. FSU defensive coordinator Tony White should be familiar with Adams, as they coached against one another in the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
Florida State is in the process of finalizing a deal to hire Blue Adams as its new cornerbacks coach, sources tell @CBSSports.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 18, 2025
Adams, whom @LaserreMatt first linked to the job, spent the last two seasons at Michigan State. pic.twitter.com/bc67RSmaSS
Is Adams better than Surtain Sr.? He’s from Miami and has developed several guys into NFL Draft picks. He has experience coaching in different college defenses that Surtain didn’t have. Is he a bad recruiter? Not necessarily, since most of his time coaching was at places not known to produce top defensive backs.
It’s not like Patrick Surtain was getting the blue-chip talent he signed on the field to produce either. Surtain’s allowed Edwin Joseph to do whatever he wanted, and that probably played a hand in his not returning. At the end of the day, does it really matter since Mike Norvell probably isn’t going to be at FSU for the long term?
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Adams has stated he likes his guys to play with physicality. If he can get them to do that and play their assignments in the defense, he should be a solid coach for as long as he’s here. There’s enough defensive back talent in Florida and Georgia to sign quality guys with his recruiting background.