My take on why Mike Norvell didn't retain Patrick Surtain Sr.

The news broke a couple of days ago that FSU defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr. would not return to FSU for 2026. The terminology used to describe the situation ranges from dismissed, fired. Patrick Surtain himself called it “fired,” but the fact of the matter is his contract was set to expire in about a month.

Whether you want to call it a firing or deciding not to renew his contract. It’s semantics. The optics of the news of Surtain as the first coach not to return were awful. It rubbed many FSU fans the wrong way since many believe Surtain was one of the better coaches. Did he deserve to be the first coaching casualty?

Absolutely not.

However, when we look at his overall contributions. It was more good than bad, and Mike Norvell basically said as much in his press conference on Friday.

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Was Patrick Surtain Sr. one of the better recruiters? Maybe, but it’s not like it's hard to land blue-chip defensive backs in the Southeast at FSU, especially when you’re known as “DBU.” Surtain landed a trio of blue-chip defensive backs in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but not a single one of those signees has become a meaningful contributor. FSU had to go into the transfer portal before the 2025 season to land Jerry Wilson as a starting quarterback.

The defensive back position is usually one where talented freshmen can play earlier. Can FSU find someone who can recruit at the level of Surtain? More than likely, but I think the biggest issue was with that position group as a whole. The defensive back group was the only one that had a player who seemingly disregarded what Mike Norvell had to say in a game (Stanford game). That same player went on social media and made a post a week or so later, which he ultimately deleted after receiving some heat from fans. That same player consistently got beat on slant routes in the red zone. Transfer Jerry Wilson got cooked a lot this year. The only defensive back who played at a high level was Ja'Bril Rawls.

Was Surtain holding that unit accountable? We could probably ask the same of other FSU coaches, and why I say it’s not a great look that Surtain was the first to hear he wasn’t coming back.

However, Surtain immediately ran to social media to voice his displeasure and opinion on the matter:

Maybe I'm old school, but running to social media to post that when you're nearly 50 years old? It makes me wonder what possibly happened that led up to him being the first to hear he wasnt' returning. Mike Norvell didn't say anything about any of the coaches when he fired several last year, but he took the time to thank Surtain and give him credit for his contributions in his press conference on Friday.

It's a weird situation and was surprising at first. However, upon thinking on it, it could be a move to try to start over with a new voice from an accountablity standpoint.

That's ironic, considering Mike Norvell has failed to hold anyone accountable over the past few years.