Mike Norvell scapegoats most of Florida State staff for Seminoles disaster

Mike Norvell has purged his coaching staff, but it won’t erase the damage that’s already been done this season. Nothing can take away from the disappointment that is the Florida State Seminoles right now. 

Sure, firing the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and the wide receivers coach probably needed to be done. But any one who believes they were the real problem is mistaken. There’s a bigger issue, and not one coordinator is responsible for it.

Norvell has reached the depths of no return, and firing coordinators isn’t going to make anything better. In fact, Norvell knows his job is secure (for now) because of his lucrative buyout, so I guess making these moves just means he’s finally admitting things aren’t going well. 

But Norvell is the real problem, and until he figures out how to keep this team from repeating the failures of the 2024 season next year, scapegoating his staff won’t solve a thing. 

Can Florida State recover from Mike Norvell's mess?

The problem with what Norvell has to deal with next season is that when he has to replace his coordinators, the work that needs to be done is not appealing. The Seminoles entered 2024 ranked as a preseason Top 10 team. 

They ended last season begging to be put into the College Football Playoff. They’re ending the 2024 season as college football’s biggest disappointment. I’m not quite sure where they go from here.

When they faced Notre Dame this weekend, a win wasn’t expected by any means. But three points? And 52 against. Florida State is in an impossible situation. 

Something needed to be done to start the rebuild in Tallahassee. I guess firing staff members who probably weren’t returning next year is a start. But there’s more that needs to be fixed than new coordinators. The task Norvell has to truly turn this program around will probably be harder than when he first took the job. They might be worse off now than they were when he took over ahead of the 2020 season. 

But I guess that’s why he has a massive buyout and was given a significant extension. Because that’s his job. He just has to figure out where to start.