Mike Norvell seems keenly aware of how important the 2025 Florida State football season is going to be for his long-term future in Tallahassee.
It may not be immediately make or break for the FSU head coach, if for no other reason than because of his gaudy buyout, which remains in excess of $50 million if he’s fired this season.
However, it certainly feels that any long-term path forward for Norvell coming off the Seminoles’ disastrous 2024 campaign would be accompanied by significant improvement this season.
A few of Norvell’s comments during his Tuesday press conference before FSU kicks off preseason camp on Wednesday made it seem like that’s something that is on his mind entering his sixth season leading the Seminoles.
As he does in each of his annual preseason press conferences, Norvell praised his support staff for the job they did preparing players for the upcoming season and praised players for strides they made over the summer.
But he also used a word that I can’t recall him saying much during his time at FSU to describe what he wants to see from his 2025 team. He talked about desperation.
“That sense of desperation, that’s what I want for this team,” Norvell said. “I don’t say it in a negative light or anything else. It’s just being able to get all that we can with the players, the staff, this program that’s in front of us. I’ve got a lot of belief for what that can be, and I don’t want to hold anything back.”
It makes sense that this would be something Norvell harps on entering 2025. Because from the outside looking in, it appeared to be one of the biggest reasons for why FSU’s 2024 went so far off the tracks.
When things started poorly for last year’s FSU team, no one on the staff or roster responded well. There was no evident fight when FSU started 0-3. There was no response – a word Norvell uses quite a bit with regard to what he wants to see from his team – on a week-by-week basis as the Seminoles stacked up uncompetitive losses.
A team that entered the season 10th in the AP poll and was considered one of the more talented teams in the country coming off the program’s 13-1 2023 season finished dead last in the ACC.
Now, there must be a response, both for the sake of the FSU head coach and the program as a whole coming off what is far and away the worst season in modern program history.
Because he realized this, Norvell brought in two new coordinators, six new coaches and a host of new players, flipping the roster with what is perceived to be a more proven transfer portal class and a strong finish to the high-school class.
But as we saw last year, none of that matters if it doesn’t show up on the field. As such, Norvell is making it perfectly clear how high the standards will be around his program in 2025.
He’s accepting nothing less than everyone’s best.
“On a daily basis, what shows up? Are you truly willing to give everything? As important as the one play, the one moment, the one day, the one opportunity that you have, are you willing to give all with a sense of desperation to make it happen?” Norvell said. “It might not look good, it might not feel good, the odds might be stacked against you, but are you willing to rise up and overcome?
“As we go through this process of helping a group of 18- to 22-year-olds, a coaching staff, everybody coming together for this season, are we really willing to go and put it all out there and to live and be what we say we desire? You’ve got to come with a daily focus, a daily edge. That competition has got to drive everything that’s within. You’ve got to eliminate all areas of complacency. You’ve got to eliminate all areas of comfort. You’ve got to be willing to give every bit of it.”
Video of FSU assistant coaches can be watched on the Osceola’s YouTube channel.
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