In 2020, Florida State faced a crucial decision: selecting a new head coach to take the Seminoles back to the mountain top of college football.
After interviewing several candidates, Florida State chose former Memphis head coach Mike Norvell.
Initially, this decision appeared to backfire, as Norvell’s first two seasons resulted in a disappointing 8-13 record, with the team failing to qualify for a bowl game in either year.
Norvell began to turn things around in 2022, guiding the Seminoles to a 10-3 record. The momentum continued into the 2023 season, which saw Florida State finish the regular season undefeated with a 13-0 record.
However, the magic from last season has completely vanished, as the team now sits with a shocking 1-6 record in 2024, sparking conversations about Norvell’s future at the helm.
Interestingly, Dan “Big Cat” Katz from Barstool Sports believes that Florida State may be making a run at Deion Sanders once the season is over.
āFlorida Stateās in a lot of trouble too, because Mike Norvell,ā Big Cat said. āOkay, so Iāll put, I think, Auburn might be, Auburnās probably second to last. Oklahomaās last. Auburn second to last, because theyāre in a lot of trouble. And the same problem with the SEC, Florida State, not in the SEC. And I know that people will say Iām biased here, but doesnāt it feel like Florida State has the magic bullet if they need it and itās to just get Deion Sanders?ā
Opinions vary greatly on Deion Sanders. Probably more so than any other coach in the country.
āColorado is a lot better than people think this year. Travis Hunter, I should legally say should be Heisman. I know that heās got to get a couple more stats going, but I do have a 40-1 ticket on him, so I say it on every show I go on.,” Big Cat continued.
“But I feel like you have that just hanging out there. And I donāt know if Deion would want to go to Florida State. I know there was probably some bad feelings last time around, when they were had an opening. I donāt know what heās going to do when Shedeur leaves, all this stuff, but at least you have the hope of, āOh, that guy could maybe fix it and bring us to the modern era.ā Whereas, Auburn doesnāt feel that way, Oklahoma really doesnāt feel that way.ā
Ironically, Sanders was in the running for Florida State’s head coaching position in 2020 but didnāt land the job. During his time at Jackson State, Sanders discussed his near-miss with the Seminoles.
“Florida State was one of the ones that I interviewed for last year, one of the big two,” he said. “And let me tell you I knocked it out of the park. Youāve got to understand, Iām getting ready to recruit in the state of Florida and presented them with a wonderful scenario, but God didnāt see fit for me to have that. So iām here and Iām happy and Iām elated. So Iām not even thinking about tomorrow. Iām trying to dominate today.”
Of course, Deion-to-FSU is certainly nothing new. It’s been talked about at length for a while now. While Norvell still has plenty of supporters in Tallahassee, some fans feel he’s not the long-term answer for the program.
By the way, this certainly doesn’t mean that Coach Prime is the answer either. There are many voices in the football world who feel like he still has a ton of areas to improve on as a coach.
What are your thoughts on the messy situation at Florida State?
Are Norvell’s days indeed numbered? … If so, would Deion be the right move for the Noles???
