This has been an evaluation season for Florida State, arguably since Week 1, when the Seminoles lost to Georgia Tech. From being thought of as a College Football Playoff contender to now being 1-9 and having one of the worst seasons in program history, FSU’s 2024 season quickly went from hopeful to tragic.
In fact, a case could have been made that it was over in Week 3 when the Seminoles went 0-3 with a loss to Memphis. With two games left, Mike Norvell is simply trying to get his team to three wins.
So yes, it’s been an evaluation season for quite some time. DJ Uiagalelei was quickly found out to not be the answer at quarterback, and now, Norvell has made the decision that both of his coordinators and his wide receiver coach won’t make the cut for next season as well.
Norvell fired offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and receivers coach Ron Dugans on Sunday.
“I appreciate the work these three men have provided over the last five years with me at Florida State,” Norvell said in a statement. “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.”
While firing three coaches with just two games left in a lost season may seem a bit cold, remember, Norvell has to look at this as an opportunity for evaluation. Clearly, something isn’t working at FSU at the moment, and by making this change, he’ll have a better opportunity to try to diagnose what the problem is.
This also gives the opportunity for others to step up, because sometimes, all it takes is an opportunity for someone relatively unknown to rise to the occasion.
At this moment, that would be co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Randy Shannon, who will take over the defensive play calling. Things can’t get worse, so let’s see if things can get better.
