Wouldn't it be something if we were able to bring in Manny as our DC? He clearly isn't head coach material, but his defense when coach Richt was HC there was always good IMO. I wouldn't hate it if he came back to his ALMA MATER and coached our defense. What do ya'll think?

Have at it! List any names you want. Just do it all in one thread. In lieu of that, maybe the mods can combine all the various names into one thread. That way the board is not cluttered with the same topic, and those truly interested in discussing new coaching ideas can do one-stop shop.

Last night was a tough one and reminds us of how long of a process this is going to be. Strangely, even after the disastrous season a year ago and last night’s debacle, I still believe in Norvell. Just my gut feel honestly. But this was a BIG step backwards.

What do you guys think he would bring to the table being elevated to defensive coordinator? Given how involved he must currently be in practice, analysis, etc, what's the practical upside besides hoping there's someone that won't go full stupid at rather important moments? ...that's not nothing, just asking.

Apologies if the link has already been shared. Fill your day with some good and watch this. So many great memories: Peter Warrick Sod Talk

This post is to thank every single Nole that was at the game last night. Wow. Doak was rocking and I was so proud of our team but also our fans. I will be at the Wake Forest and UNC games and will try to do my part. Go Noles!!!

smile today. I haven’t been excited about our team for like 4 seasons after the first game, but we are definitely moving in the right direction. My homies that have been giving me s**t the last few years saying FSU football is finished, were actually impressed as well. I even showed them our roster so they can see how young we are & they couldn’t believe it. We’re in good shape boys & gals, we just can’t be blitzing on 3rd and 17 smh lol.

Are they starting this week? With those guys out Louisville will cover the -2.5 easily. If not, FSU can keep it closer.

Happy Friday all,

Here’s this week’s look at Wake. A side note- think the FSU ground game could do a bit of damage to Wake’s front, but given the Deacons’ first two opponents (Old Dominion, Norfolk St.) I left that out of this article.

Hope you enjoy

(NOTE: The ACC notified us that we can't use animated gifs of plays from the broadcast. So we have switched to screen shots, which aren't ideal. We're working on a better solution for next week's installment. Sorry about that!)

They took the Wildcat out of the offense on Saturday.
It didn't matter. The Florida State Seminoles still struggled mightily in short-yardage in the loss to the Wake Forest defense.
And they converted just one third down as an offense.
The third-down woes have to be corrected if the FSU offense is going to find any traction in 2021.

FSU's short-yardage woes impacting entire offense

Of all the problems plaguing FSU's offense, turnovers might be the biggest right now.

Nation-leading 10 turnovers putting clamps on FSU offense

Something that has been thrown out is the possibility of this team looking past JSU and looking ahead to Wake Forest. If this is even remotely true, then how dare this team! The absolute audacity! The unmitigated gall! This team went 3-6 last year, 5-7 the year prior. We trailed this team at the half last year. Who are we to overlook any team, including Savannah State!



I am somewhat convinced that this is the case based on coaching decisions: cute plays, relying on Toafili late in the game instead of Corbin or Ward, trying not to give up yardage for a potential field goal on the last play (especially after the 3&17 fiasco last week), some players not playing with a high intensity, etc.

Hopefully, this is Norvell's rock bottom. I am hoping that this is his wake up call where he truly understands that this is FSU, not Memphis. You cannot take risks and be a little ho-hum about it (he isn't but it feels that way). This team is not good enough to be experimental against anyone. Stick with what works. Kick the field goal, punt if it is 4th and 3 or more in your own territory, etc.

I have not given up on this team nor Norvell and staff. This loss is inexcusable but we cannot give up on this team and program. This is a chance for the team to grow from boys to men. Let's see how this team bounces back next week against Wake Forest. Hopefully, the team eats some humble pie this week and comes out like bats out of hell next week.

Go Noles!!

Conduct an informative press conference. First, you can hardly understand either of them. Willie mumbled and Mike speaks too softly. Regardless, I quit listening to WT’s PC and after MN’s PC after the JSU loss, I’ll do the same. Just a bunch of Coach speak and can’t even admit or take responsibility for coaching errors and bad play calling. For the record, there is no defense or justification for the defensive incompetent scheme called on the last play last night. Gene, Ira, Corey, and Jeff certainly don’t accept his explanation.

Fans are clearly struggling to get their heads around the product that is this year’s football team. Is it the hardnosed, relatively disciplined team that took Notre Dame (who we really don’t know is good yet or not) to the mat with an impressive comeback? Or is it the sloppy, inconsistent, out of sync, hot mess that showed up for the game Saturday? Right now, the answer is both and we are at a critical stage in the life of this program and this coaching staff. One of my greatest disappointments from CMN was that despite saying he takes full responsibility for the lousy, unacceptable performance against JSU, he does not apply the “accountability” to his coaching staff that he so often references for his team.

In his press conference yesterday, most all of his comments were on what players did not do right but he did not acknowledge that fundamentally bad coaching calls were just as responsible for both losses as the players. I for one would have felt better had Norvell and or Fuller stated “we blew the call on the last play by being more worried about a potential game tying play and ignoring the possibility of a winning play”. A junior high school defensive coach calls for a prevent defense or extra safety in that situation 100% of the time. Both Norvell and Fuller defended that call. That is not accountability and that is how you can lose players when coaches don’t walk the talk. Ditto for Dillingham defending the lame deployment of the wildcat on the goal line. Is that really the best short yard play we have?

I will not give up on this team but this week is a make it or break it moment for the program. I want to see the week one team, with improved in game coaching, show up on the road this week and beat a decent Wake team and regain a little respect and confidence. From there, do what so many Bobby Bowden coached teams did, get better each and every week of the season. The players have worked too hard to get to this point and without success to show for it. Take the next step in the climb - Go Noles!

This year I am excited to see if we continue to improve each game.

IDK if last night’s effort will translate to great effort like that each week but I gotta believe it will.

Coaching helped us stay in that game. It helped us have several leads throughout. It helped us come back from an 18 point deficit against a team with much more talent and equally good coaching.

This team played like a TEAM, not like a bunch of former high school stars preening for the pros.

The fans were incredible. This TEAM needs every game to sell out like last night. They deserve it. Students must show up and show out!!

That was an old fashioned Seminole Saturday Night and we are looking good.

he’s making 300k as a Georgia analyst, do it now, save our recruiting class

This goes in tomorrow's mail:
Coach Norvell,
I’ve been a Seminole fan for over 40 years, witnessing many highs and lows over the decades – But nothing has ever been as pathetic as last night’s loss.
You seem like a great guy, with much going for you….but not many high school coaches would have been dumb enough to leave in a base defense on the last play of the game. That blatant display of stupidity was the cherry on top of a night filled will senseless penalties and inexcusable lackluster effort. You have embarrassed the entire Seminole Nation!
I truly hope you find the answers and turn us around. I hope you continue your recruiting success. And I pray you can return us to being a perennial top 10 team again. I’m hoping for all these things because the current state of our program is 100% unacceptable – you need to man-up and fix it!

I think he should come out and say the team is cursed. that they have been researching it after hear rumors and they are true. The team will play horrible all season and that the fans won't have a good team for many years if ever again. We will have lots of penalties and fumbles and bad play calls and nothing else is to be expected.

It’s been a minute. It’s been more than a minute, actually, since we felt this. But, I instantly recognize it. Pain. Heartbreaking, sleep-depriving, hatred-inducing pain. I’m sure the vast majority of you reading this recognize it too. We, as Florida State fans, are connoisseurs of it.

But, here’s the thing - I can only speak for myself, but I don’t think I’ve been invested enough in years to actually feel pain like this. Blown out by Louisville? Meh - who cares. Miami takes us to the woodshed? Yeah it sucks but… I’m over it quickly.

But, this one will linger. And maybe that’s good. Maybe, for the first time in a long time, we saw “us” out there tonight, and the pain that comes with this loss can only exist in the presence of another emotion: hope.

I’m not saying “we’re back.” I’m not saying we have the squad to run the table now. But, I am saying that my emotions are telling me, “you care again,” and that’s a great thing.

The first game I watched was an 18-17 loss to OU in the Orange Bowl after the 1980 season I believe.

That was followed by 6 mediocre seasons.

Then the dynasty started. 13 straight incredible years. They were so fun.

FSU football was and always is one of my favorite things.

I’m so sad for the young people who haven’t witnessed a great string of seasons. And now we have another disappointing start. I’m at a total loss for words as to where to go.

Our only hope is that we can hold together a great recruiting class because that’s one of the 2 ways out of this mess. We are stuck with Norvell for at least 3 more years. I hope the best for him. I like him. But, man, something is wrong with some of these coaches. Coaching is the other way out of this. We’ve gotta have both good coaching and good players to be elite. We have neither right now and that is killing me.

I am wondering who on each side of the ball is leading this team? Specifically players. There seems to be no indication of this from the tv point of view. In the past we have seen this (Jalen, Telvin, Demarcus W, he’ll even Smag.

Thanks for your thought on this. It’s vital we have leaders that are players. Seems absent but maybe I am missing something.

Mornin' fellow Noles! I know this was a rough weekend. Absolutely BRUTAL! Want to blame somebody for what happened Saturday night? Have at it, plenty of worthy targets. After all, that's what boards like these are for, right?

That said, let's all remember to breathe, keep things in perspective and not make the situation any worse than it is. Look, nobody thought we would lose to Jacksonville State and we are all understandably disappointed and frustrated. We should be. But let's not completely lose sight of the big picture. Yes, we should outperform a school like Jacksonville State in every way — all three phases plus coaching. We didn't. But what Saturday night's loss should not and cannot do is become more than what it was — one loss.

Are there glaring needs for improvement in several areas? Yes. But the truth is, as bad as the effort and outcome was Saturday night, it doesn't change the fact that we competed with and legitimately could have beat a top-10 team the week before in a game that reminded us of the type of passion and performance our once proud program is capable of. When things are going right, we have the ability to do what the vast majority of schools cannot. We can suggest that Notre Dame isn't as good as advertised all we want, but it is still a major program that was supposed to handle us. They didn't. We showed what we are still capable of on the big stage. And, unfortunately, so did the Jacksonville State game. The difference between "good" and "great" is...what? Consistency. We clearly are not and have not been for many years now. But there are enough flashes to know that the embers are still there. Deep down beneath that pile, there is still a fire capable of burning bright — and it will.

I am not suggesting no changes can or should be made. There are always opportunities to improve, no matter how well or poorly a team is playing. But let's not pretend that there is no hope.

Here's the reality; again, we took a top-10 team to the brink just one week ago and we all thought we were on the road back. We beat a top-5 team (North Carolina) last year. Yes, I know we had a huge lead and almost gave it away late in that game, but we didn't. It is important to maintain sight of these things, as they are all small blocks that must be used to continue building upon. This is not an overnight fix, but we are also not facing inevitable doom. If we can keep this recruiting class intact — I understand it will be a challenge — then we have an opportunity to begin putting the pieces back in place the correct way. BUILDING it, not just plugging holes through the transfer portal. What Coach Norvell was able to bring in through the transfer portal was designed to fill some immediate and obvious needs, not to serve as the new foundation for Florida State football.

Here's the reality, this is a four- or five-year rebuild, and that's to make us a legitimate threat in the ACC and to put us in position to be a top-10 team. If anybody is expecting dynasty-era dominance in that amount of time, or less, they are being unrealistic. Yes, I am well aware that we set that standard, but there's also a reason that such a level of success was unprecedented when we achieved it. It was special because it was unheard of. Sure, SOME programs are still able to do it and I believe we, too, can and will someday.

As a fanbase, we cannot let our disappointment halt or reverse the progress that was made, because the reality is, despite our first-ever loss to an FCS school, there are reasons to be hopeful if we are being honest in our assessment. Again, we need more of them and consistency, but we have to start somewhere. Focus on the "wins" and learn from the other. Stay together. Do not write off this staff. We need this staff to maintain confidence and competence — on the practice field, on game days and on the recruiting trail — and they cannot do that without our support. Not just through our words but through our actions — don't stop going to games, don't stop buying merchandise, don't withhold Booster contributions. These only make the staff's jobs more difficult and hurts the program and our efforts to improve far more than Saturday night's loss to Jacksonville State does.

We are all certainly entitled to our opinions and emotions, but we cannot allow them to cloud our vision. The objective is unchanged, and despite how we all feel two days after a humiliating loss, it is still very much a reality. We have enough pieces and if we all stay together, we can add more and begin making true progress. There's the old adage that suggests adversity reveals character. If we judged our character based on what we're writing and reading on these boards, we're in big trouble. I prefer Coach Bowden's mindset: Adversity BUILDS character.

Are we going to join the angry mob and sign our own death certificates, or are we going to rally behind this staff and administration, and help them get where they need to go? I know there will be many on here who say that such faith and support is unwarranted. We'll have to agree to disagree, but I'd also ask what the realistic and beneficial alternative is. This is our hand. These are the cards we have. If you want to fold and walk away, so be it; but I hope the vast majority of us stay at the table and continue to do our part to support the program and help add the pieces we need to become consistent and competitive contenders again.

And I have seen a few posts suggesting that a loss to an FCS school is a death knell to a program, as if it is some insurmountable failure that seals a fate of futility.

Flashback to 2013 when that team in Gainesville lost to Georgia Southern. They seem to have recovered rather well and relatively quickly. Yes, I know they made staff changes, but the point is that it can be overcome fairly simply and swiftly. But not if we all bail. Not if we overreact to this moment. Nothing is forever...not our successes, not our failures.

For performance, we all need patience and perseverance.

We want to hold the players, staff and administration accountable? We must hold ourselves accountable as well.

This team has exactly 1 redeeming quality about it right now. That’s the DL and intensity they have shown on defense. We haven’t had WRs running around wide open on this secondary. We have lost some 1 on 1s with guys in position to make a play. We’ve had one really awful call that should have still resulted in a tackle and game over. But man my god this defense is the ONLY thing worth watching on Saturdays so far….so stop!!!!!!

Felt his decommitment set FSU back 2 or 3 years. Is this year’s team much better if he’s the QB? Love seeing his three end of game incompletions last year.
The kid from Sandalwood, here in JAX, ended up at GT, started at QB, and beat FSU in Tally.