Florida State football has had four losing seasons in six years under head football coach Mike Norvell. Something has to change in Tallahassee to bring a winning culture to a program that is starving for success.
The Seminoles are retaining Coach Norvell for the 2026 season, but some fans don't agree with the decision. Nonetheless, the administration made the choice to save the buyout money and get the team better.
Florida State went through forty-four new players to the roster and six new coaches this past offseason. Those pickups didn't seem to help the Seminoles as they failed to live up to expectations after defeating Alabama in the season opener.
The unfortunate part is that they are having to go to the same philosophy of picking up new players and coaches to generate wins. One of the first coaching staffs was firing defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr.
This was a choice that many in the fan base didn't agree with. They thought that assistant coaches such as John Papuchis and Tony Tokarz should be the first ones to be gone. However, their contracts end on February 2026, so it makes individuals wonder if they will just let them expire.
Fans were surprised that Surtain Sr. was the first one to go. His recruiting efforts were solid and there were players that he has developed. However, Mike Norvell was thought to have his replacement with UCF defensive backs coach Brandon Harris.
This seems like a solid replacement since he had a relationship with Norvell already being on the Seminoles' coaching staff as an analyst in 2020 plus his brother is current wide receivers coach Tim Harris Jr.
However, according to 247Sports Matt Zenitz reported that Harris will be joining the arch-rival Florida Gators. This was shocking to the fan base since he was leaning to Florida State. It is back to the drawing board for the Seminoles. This is disappointing, for sure.