Florida State had a successful 2023 season and was one of the best teams in the country despite being denied a spot in the College Football Playoff. Head coach Mike Norvell and the Florida State coaching staff must revitalize the Seminoles for the 2024 campaign after players left for the NFL and entered the transfer portal.
Florida State Seminoles Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Mike Norvell
Mike Norvell enters his fifth season as the Seminoles head coach after an undefeated 2023 season and disappointingly missing out on the College Football Playoff. The Florida State head coach won national honors for his achievements last season, including the Dodd Trophy, Bryant Award, and ACC Coach of the Year.
Since being named head coach in Tallahassee in 2019, Norvell has a record of 31-17, had back-to-back winning seasons, and has developed some of the top players in the sport. Norvell has had 19 former players selected in the last seven NFL Drafts.
Norvell was hired after four outstanding seasons as head coach of the Memphis Tigers. He led them to a program record 12 wins in 2019 and held a 38-15 record in the AAC — giving Norvell a 69-33 record overall in his head coaching career. However, he is 1-5 all-time in bowl games.
Not only has the Florida State head coach developed talented players, but he has also developed talented coaches. Norvell’s coaching tree is always expanding, with 42 Division I coaches in 2024 — including five head coaches and 13 coordinators — having worked under the Seminoles’ head coach.
Defensive Coordinator: Adam Fuller
Adam Fuller is also entering his fifth year with the Seminoles after following Norvell from Memphis in 2019, and his defenses have seen some of the best in the country in that period.
In 2023, the Florida State defense set a record by allowing only 48.3% pass completion to opposition quarterbacks, the lowest allowed by a Power Five school since 2016. The unit was also sixth in the country in average sacks per game while leading the nation in pass breakups.
With over two decades of coaching experience, Fuller started coaching in 1998 at Worchester Polytechnical Institute before moving on to Wagner (1994-2004) and Richmond (2005-2007). In 2008, Fuller got his only head coaching role with Assumption in Division II but finished the year 1-9 and left the Greyhounds to become defensive coordinator with Chattanooga.
After spending three seasons with the Mocs, Fuller was named assistant head coach of Marshall, where he also coached defensive line and special teams between 2013 and 2017. He was then made defensive coordinator with the Thundering Herd in 2018 and led a defense that was among the highest-ranked in the FBS.
- Worchester Polytechnical Institute (Linebackers, 1998)
- Wagner College (Linebackers, 1999-2000; Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs 2001-03; Co-Defensive Coordinator, 2004)
- Richmond (Defensive Backs, 2005; Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers, 2006-07)
- Assumption (Head Coach, 2008)
- Chattanooga (Defensive Coordinator, 2009-12)
- Marshall (Assistant Head Coach/linebackers, 2013-17; Defensive Coordinator/Safeties, 2018)
- Memphis (Defensive Coordinator, 2019)
- Florida State (Defensive Coordinator, 2020-Present)
Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach: Alex Atkins
2024 will be Alex Atkins’ third season as offensive coordinator in Tallahassee and fifth year as offensive line coach.
Under Atkins’ leadership in 2023, Florida State had 20 different players score a touchdown, leading the ACC with 61 touchdowns and 13.5 yards per pass completion.
A former all-conference guard for UT-Martin between 2003 and 2006, Atkins has held several offensive line coaching roles since becoming a graduate assistant with his alma mater in 2007. He was promoted to tight ends coach in 2008 but left the Skyhawks to become a graduate assistant with Marshall in 2009.
Atkins’ coaching career would lead him to Itawamba Community College, where he started coaching the offensive line. That experience then saw him get offensive line coaching jobs in Chattanooga (2012-2013) and Georgia Southern (2014-2017) before being hired by Willie Fritz at Tulane as the Green Wave’s assistant head coach and offensive line coach.
Atkins was also allocated as running game coordinator with Tulane and turned the Green Wave from one of the least effective rushing teams to one of the best.
The Florida State OC then spent 2019 in Charlotte before joining Norvell on the Florida State coaching staff as offensive line coach before being handed the keys to the offense in 2022.
- UT-Martin (Graduate Assistant, 2007; Tight Ends, 2008)
- Marshall (Graduate Assistant, 2009)
- Itawamba Community College (Offensive Line, 2010-11)
- Chattanooga (Offensive Line, 2012-13)
- Georgia Southern (Offensive Line, 2014-15)
- Tulane (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line, 2016-17; Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line, 2018)
- Charlotte (Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line 2019)
- Florida State (Offensive Line, 2020-21; Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line, 2022-Present)
Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Ends Coach: John Papuchis
John Papuchis is another member of the Florida State coaching staff who was hired in 2019 and has been with Norvell since the start of his journey with the Seminoles.
Acting as Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Ends Coach, Papuchis has influenced many of the Seminoles’ best players since the start of the 2020 season and has helped mentor players including Jermaine Johnson II, Jared Verse, and Patrick Payton.
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While the defensive ends have earned Papuchis a stellar reputation, so has the special teams unit. In 2023, the Seminoles kicked 58-of-58 PATs, and kicker Ryan Fitzpatrick successfully converted 19 of his 21 field goal attempts.
Papuchis’ coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Kansas between 2001 and 2023 before he became an intern at LSU between 2004 and 2007.
In 2008, he was named special teams and defensive ends coach with Nebraska, and Papuchis held several roles in Lincoln. In 2011, he was also given run game coordinator responsibilities before becoming defensive coordinator between 2012 and 2014.
Between 2015 and 2018, Papuchis was with North Carolina as a linebackers coach before being promoted to DC. There was one final stop as special teams coordinator/defensive ends coach with Maryland before Papuchis landed on the Florida State coaching staff.
- Kansas (Graduate Assistant, 2001-2003)
- LSU (INtern/Graduate Assistant, 2004-2007)
- Nebraska (Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Ends Coach, 2008-2011 and Defensive Coordinator, 2012-2014)
- North Carolina (Linebackers Coach, 2015-2016 and Defensive Coordinator, 2017-2018)
- Maryland (Special Teams Coordinator, 2019)
- Florida State (Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Ends Coach, 2020-Present)
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach: Randy Shannon
Randy Shannon has been on staff in Tallahassee since 2021 and was promoted to co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2022. A three-time National Championship winner with the Miami Hurricanes (once as a player, twice as a coach), Shannon has an extensive coaching resume since starting as a graduate assistant with the ‘Canes in 1991.
Between 1991 and 1997, Shannon also held roles as defensive line coach and linebackers coach before being hired as a defensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins between 1998 and 1999. In 2000, Shannon was promoted to linebackers coach with the Dolphins before returning to the Hurricanes in 2001 as defensive coordinator.
Shannon stayed as defensive coordinator with the ‘Canes until 2007, when he was promoted to head coach, replacing Larry Coker. After four seasons and a 28-22 record as a head coach, Shannon was fired, and soon after, he took linebackers coaching positions with TCU (2012) and Arkansas (2013-2014).
In 2015, Shannon headed to the Florida Gators, where he became interim head coach for four games in 2017 following the firing of Jim McElwain. Between 2018 and 2020, Shannon held the position of defensive coordinator and linebackers coach with UCF before linking up with Norvell and FSU in 2021.
Deputy Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach: Chris Thomsen
Chris Thomsen has also been on the Seminoles staff since Novell was hired in 2019, and 2024 marks his 30th year in coaching. The FSU deputy head coach and tight ends coach started his career in 1994 with Abilene Christian, the team he would return to in 2005 as the head coach.
With the Division II side, Thomsen held a 51-21 record over seven seasons as head coach. His only other head coaching experience came as an interim with Texas Tech in 2012. At FSU, Thomsen has developed tight ends into significant contributors, including a standout season from Jaheim Bell in 2023.
Associate Head Coach/Defensive Tackles Coach: Odell Haggins
The 2024 season marks Odell Haggins’ 31st on the Florida State coaching staff, making him the longest-serving assistant coach in the sport. Haggins played for the Seminoles between 1988 and 1990 and joined the coaching staff in 1994, initially mentoring tight ends and the offensive line.
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The long-time college football coach has coached defensive tackles in Tallahassee since 1996 and has developed outstanding talent, including Braden Fiske, Joshua Farmer, and Fabien Lovett in 2023.
Wide Receivers Coach: Ron Dugans
Ron Dugans is a Florida State legend. He grew up in the Tallahassee area and played for the Seminoles between 1995 and 1999. He now coaches the wide receivers at FSU and has turned prospects such as Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson into potential pros.
His coaching career started in 2005 as a graduate assistant at Florida State, followed by stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Georgia Southern Louisville, South Florida, and Miami as wide receivers coach.
Running Backs Coach: David Johnson
David Johnson joined the Seminoles just weeks after Novell was hired as head coach and enters his fifth season in Tallahassee in 2024. The running backs coach has developed prospects into NFL Draft picks in each of his last six seasons, including Trey Benson and Jashaun Corbin in recent seasons.
Quarterbacks Coach: Tony Tokarz
2024 is Tony Tokarz’s third season as quarterbacks coach but his fifth on the Florida State coaching staff. Tokarz was a senior offensive analyst in 2020 and 2021 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach.
Under his leadership, Jordan Travis developed into one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and won the ACC Player of the Year award in 2023. Tokarz will work with DJ Uiagalelei in 2024 following the QB’s high-profile transfer from Oregon State.
Defensive Backs Coach: Patrick Surtain Sr.
Patrick Surtin Sr. joined the Seminoles in 2023 as defensive backs coach after a successful playing career in the NFL and foray into coaching high school football. The defensive back was a three-time pro bowler in the NFL and won the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 1997 with Southern Miss.
KEEP READING: 2024 ACC Weekly Football Schedule
Surtain also spent six seasons as head coach of American Heritage High School, where he proved his ability to produce talent. Six former Surtain pupils were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft alone. The FSU DBs coach is continuing the trend of developing players, with Renardo Green and Jarrian Jones excelling in 2023.
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