Getty Image / Michael Reaves
At this time last year, the Florida State Seminoles were undefeated, looked destined for the College Football Playoffs, and had serious national title aspirations. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
The ‘Noles are 1-9 in 2024 and suffered one of the most humiliating losses in program history on Saturday, losing 52-3 to Notre Dame. Head Coach Mike Norvell decided to fire a bunch of coaches, including both coordinators, on Sunday as Florida State looks to the future.
Norvell and Florida State released this statement on Sunday afternoon.
FSU announces major football coaching changes: pic.twitter.com/XbCTIr1YvK
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) November 10, 2024
“I appreciate the work these three men have provided over the last five years with me at Florida State,” Norvell said. “They are all great men with families who also have poured into our program. We had many great moments together here, and I have never doubted their passion for our players and for Florida State. Unfortunately, we have not upheld the Florida State standard with our results on the field this season. I did not make any of these decisions lightly, but I felt changes needed to be made to elevate our program back to where we all desire it to be.
Seemingly nothing has gone right in Tallahassee in the last twelve months. Star quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a broken leg which gave the playoff selection committee a good reason to keep an undefeated team out of the playoff. They had at terrible offseason recruiting, and lost the college football season-opener to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. It’s been all downhill from there for the Seminoles. They lost some close games in the beginning of the year, and even beat Cal for a win. But, they’ve lost in blowout fashion three games in a row now. It’s not a stretch to say that Florida State is the worst Power 4 team in the country.
The biggest firing, and the one that many Florida State fans wanted the most, was offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins. The offense has been abysmal from the start and has seen three quarterbacks look poor in it. The offensive line has been a sieve all year, and that’s directly on Atkins. He simply had to go.
Quite frankly, I’m not sure a single coach deserved to keep their job. But, somebody has to coach the team in its final two games.
Florida State has a bye this week before finishing their year with consecutive home games against Charleston Southern and rival Florida.