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How Mike Norvell rebuilt Florida State into College Football Playoff contender
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- How Mike Norvell rebuilt Florida State into College Football Playoff contender
In a span of two seasons, Florida State coach Mike Norvell went from being on the hot seat to being a potential replacement for the legendary Nick Saban at Alabama .
Under Norvell, the Seminoles have posted a 23-4 record in the past two seasons following a 3-10 start to his tenure in Tallahassee (which included a shocking upset loss to then-FCS Jacksonville State in 2021 . Now, fresh off an ACC championship and 13-0 regular season, Florida State opens its season in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin against ACC rival Georgia Tech on Saturday.
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Over the last two-and-a-half seasons — since an 0-4 start in 2021 — Norvell has led the Seminoles to a 28-7 record, which includes a Cheez-It Bowl victory in 2022 and an undefeated regular season in 2023. Led by No. 19 overall pick Jared Verse , FSU had 10 players selected in the 2024 NFL draft after seeing just one player selected in each of 2022 and 2023.
Now, Norvell and the Seminoles enter the 2024 season as a favorite to win the ACC and clinch a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. FSU is coming off a 13-1 season, which ended in a 63-3 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl following several opt-outs due to a CFP snub .
Here's what you need to know about Norvell and his rebuild with Florida State football :
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Mike Norvell Florida State rebuild
Norvell took over an FSU program that had struggled following the 2016 season, the last full year in which former coach Jimbo Fisher led the program. Following a 5-6 start to the 2017 season (one which saw the Seminoles start the year ranked inside the top five), Fisher departed to take over at Texas A&M.
The Seminoles finished the season 7-6 after Odell Haggins went 2-0 as interim coach, including a win in the Independence Bowl. However, the program struggled to find footing under Willie Taggart, whom FSU hired from Oregon . He went 5-7 in his first season in 2018 and was fired following a 4-5 start in 2019.
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Haggins again took over as the interim coach, this time leading the Seminoles to a 2-2 record and berth in the 2019 Sun Bowl, where they lost 20-14 to Arizona State. The Seminoles went 11-14 during the two seasons under Taggart.
FSU then turned to Norvell, a former collegiate wideout who had just led Memphis to a 12-1 record and berth in the 2019 Cotton Bowl.
However, Florida State continued to struggle on the football field early in his tenure: He led the Seminoles to a 3-6 record in his first, COVID-impacted 2020 season. He started the 2021 season 0-4, including a loss to then-FCS program Jacksonville State to cap off a 3-10 start to his Tallahassee tenure.
Norvel and FSU responded with three straight wins and a 5-3 record over the last eight games to finish the 2021 season at 5-7 — giving fans some hope for the future. That hope was realized in 2022, when a Jordan Travis-led Seminoles squad posted a 10-3 record, the program's first double-digit-win season since 2016. FSU reached the 10-win mark with a Cheez-It Bowl victory vs. Oklahoma .
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The Seminoles then entered the 2023 season with high expectations. With a veteran roster, they went through the regular season undefeated before capturing the first ACC championship since 2016. However, FSU was snubbed from the College Football Playoff following a devastating Travis' season-ending injury vs. North Alabama.
REQUIRED READING: 'He's absolutely crazy': Inside Mike Norvell's rebuild of Florida State football
Mike Norvell record
Norvell is 69-32 for his career heading into the 2024 college football season. He has won two conference titles, one in the American Athletic Conference and the other in the ACC, and has led the Tigers six bowl games (where he has a 1-4 record after opting not to coach in Memphis' 2019 Cotton Bowl berth).
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Below is Norvell's year-by-year record, beginning with his four-year stint at Memphis and first four years with the Seminoles:
Memphis (38-15)
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2016:8-5 (5-3 AAC)
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2017:10-3 (7-1 AAC)
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2018:8-6 (5-3 AAC)
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2019:12-1 (7-1 AAC)*
* Won conference championship
Florida State (31-17)
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2020:3-6 (2-6 ACC)
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2021:5-7 (4-4 ACC)
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2022:10-3 (5-3 ACC)
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2023:13-1 (8-0 ACC)*
* Won conference championship
Mike Norvell transfer portal use
Norvell has used the NCAA transfer portal to help rebuild his Seminoles program, adding 67 players since taking over in the 2019 offseason, according to 247Sports .
Jermaine Johnson was the first significant addition from the portal, breaking out for 70 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a fumble returned for a touchdown in 12 games in 2021.
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"What captivated me was he (Norvell) said, 'I just need you to come here and be Jermaine Johnson,'" Johnson said. "That really connected with me because I wanted to be myself and I wanted to be free and I wanted to see what I could do both on the field and then in a leadership role."
Norvell has continued to hit on portal additions with defensive end Verse ( Albany ); wide receivers Keon Coleman (Michigan State) and Johnny Wilson (Arizona State); running back Trey Benson (Oregon); tight end Jaheim Bell ( South Carolina ); and defensive tackle Braden Fiske (Western Michigan), with all playing major roles on the team in 2023. Moreover, all six were among FSU's 10 selected players in the 2024 NFL draft.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State) and Alabama transfer wide receiver Malik Benson are among the 17 players added to the portal's roster this season who are expected to play a big role for the Seminoles.
Mike Norvell age
Norvell was born on Oct. 11, 1982, in Irving, Texas. He is 42 years old.
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Mike Norvell contract
Norvell agreed to a contract extension that runs through Dec. 31, 2031, and will pay him $11.05 million in the final year of his contract. Norvell had his contract extended with the Seminoles after he was a candidate for the Alabama football coaching position following Saban's retirement.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How FSU's Mike Norvell rebuilt Seminoles football to CFP contender
