Mike Norvell, Florida State
Before Mike Norvell even took the field at Florida State, things got off to a rocky start. Obviously, the Summer of 2020 was a brutal time for a lot of reasons regarding the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the time period marked a harsh introduction for the former Memphis head coach.
Since then, things haven’t gotten much better. Novell didn’t inherit a full cupboard fully the messy departure of Willie Taggart. However, under Norvell — despite some positive moments — FSU has a record of just 8-13 (.381). Some of those defeats have come in rather embarrassing fashion, too.
This includes six wins in 16 conference games. During the 2020 season, opponents outscored Florida State by 92 total points. In each season with Norvell, FSU ranked outside the Top 50 in ESPN’s FPI metric.
After having its incredible bowl steak (1982-2017) snapped in 2018, Florida State has gone to just one bowl game in the last four seasons, losing to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.
Amazingly, Florida State hasn’t even had a winning season since the 2017 campaign, when Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M. That’s hard to believe, especially when you’re aware of the heights this program is capable of.
Moreover, Norvell suffered a rather public loss along the recruiting trail in Dec. 2021: 5-star cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 class who committed to FSU in March 2020, de-committed and signed with Jackson State, coached by former Florida State star Deion Sanders.
In general, recruiting has been OK-not-great in Tallahassee since Norvell took over. FSU’s 2021 class ranked No. 20 nationally, per 247 Sports. That was followed by the No. 19 class in 2022. Most programs would love these types of results; however, most programs aren’t Florida State.