Florida State made a splash hire this offseason by luring in former UCF head football coach Gus Malzahn to be the Seminoles' offensive coordinator. When fans analyzed the pickup, it made sense considering that Malzahn and Norvell had a history together, beginning at Tulsa.
Nonetheless, the Seminoles then went on and grabbed former UCF and Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos in the portal. This was meant to be a serviceable connection, since Castellanos was coached by Malzahn during his freshman year.
Other than the season opener against Alabama, where Castellanos "stood on business" against the Crimson Tide, this was an up-and-down roller coaster ride. Given that Florida State had finished with a 2-10 record, the fan base wanted consistency.
There were head-scratching moments during the season for the Seminoles' offense, where they scored a combined 34 points against the likes of Stanford, Clemson, and North Carolina State. That is unacceptable.
COULD NORVELL CALL PLAYS?
The fan base didn't want Mike Norvell to call plays anymore because they didn't think that he could succeed without the likes of Jordan Travis. While the jury is still out on that theory, there are special quarterbacks that coaches benefit from.
Norvell is now serving as a CEO of the program, and 5-7 won't cut it. During the postseason media session, he didn't rule out coaching staff changes. The Seminoles already added Nick Williams to be their defensive ends coach, and fired defensive backs coach Patrick Surtain Sr.
While there is optimism that offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Tony White could be back in 2026, I wouldn't be opposed to Norvell calling plays next season if they grab quality players in the portal.
Norvell and Malzahn's offensive schemes are similar, and it seems like the move was just to make the fan base happy. Nonetheless, I get that the Seminole fan base is tired of seeing losses stack up because Florida State has six losing seasons in eight years. However, this could be a case where Norvell could go back to calling plays in his last stand of job security with the university.