Mike Norvell moves on from a coach nobody thought would be the first to go

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell has a lot of decisions to make regarding which coaches he’ll retain and let go. FSU fans already know who would be at the top of their list if they had their way. Gus Malzahn, Tony Tokarz, and John Papuchis would probably make everyone’s list.

Mike Norvell delayed speaking with the media on Wednesday, the first day of the Early Signing Period, probably because he knew some coaching changes were happening. The first coach he let go came as a surprise to most, FSU defensive back’s coach Pat Surtain Sr.

Surtain joined the program in January 2023 without having any college coaching experience. However, his NFL pedigree and ties to South Florida as a former high school coach at American Heritage made it worth the gamble.

Surtain proves to be a capable recruiter, despite lacking experience, and lands several blue-chip players in 2024. Surtain helped AZ Thomas, Renardo Green, and Jarrian Jones become NFL Draft selections.

The defensive backs have been a mixed bag over the past two years. The blue-chip signees in the 2024 class haven’t made the impact one would hope. There have been injuries that have hampered some of that, and FSU hasn’t had a great pass rush over the past two seasons. FSU also changed defensive schemes that involve more zone coverage under Tony White. Surtain preferred more man coverages like they had under former FSU defensive coordinator, Adam Fuller.

I know some FSU fans will look at this as a death sentence, but FSU will always be able to recruit defensive backs in Florida and Georgia. It’ll be interesting to see who they hire in the position, but it’s not like Surtain was landing ELITE defensive backs, either. They signed Chauncey Kennon a few days ago, but he was a lifelong FSU fan whose sister also attends

It's hard to believe Surtain would be the first go when other positions have been much worse.
FSU. Stay tuned, there should be more to come.