![Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell smiles to the crowd after the game against the Florida Gators at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_16,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/23cebaa1474d8340cce8bd16255af726c3c90da8b8041e0cad6243dd709dcfe9.jpg "Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell smiles to the crowd after the game against the Florida Gators at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
3. Mike Norvell is a lesson in patience
There is an epidemic of impatience in college football. Mike Norvell, however, is the prime example that patience pays off.
How many coaches have been fired after just two seasons? It makes sense in the NFL, but in college, it’s entirely unrealistic. That doesn’t matter, coaches are given pink slips year after year whose rosters are still full of someone else’s players.
In Norvell’s first two seasons in Tallahassee, he was 8-13. It didn’t seem to matter that there was a year-to-year improvement, and it didn’t seem to matter that he took over ahead of the Covid season, a chunk of fans were done with him.
Since then, he is 23-3. His team is undefeated and likely headed to the College Football Playoff. The rankings of his recruiting classes have improved every single season he’s been at Florida State.
Patience doesn’t mean giving someone a decade to turn things around, but at least three seasons sounds fair, right?
Sure, sometimes things are drastic, like Bryan Harsin at Auburn a season ago, but under normal circumstances? Just breath. Things are likely going to get better.