Gabe Fertitta signed a one-year letter of understanding with Florida State to be an assistant coach/offense with a $315,000 annual salary through Jan. 31, 2027.
That places Fertitta’s salary in a similar range to the one-year deal that Austin Tucker agreed to in his promotion to quarterbacks coach. Tucker will be paid $325,000 through Jan. 31, 2027.
Fertitta will also receive a Nike Elite allotment ($1,250), car allowance ($650), cell phone and a $20,000 signing bonus toward transition/moving expenses. He’s also eligible for performance incentives. These are similar to the perks that FSU includes for assistant football coaches.
On Thursday, Fertitta was announced by FSU as the director of football strategy and offensive assistant. That’s a new position with time split among a number of responsibilities, but Fertitta will again be active with FSU’s offensive line and supporting assistant coach Herb Hand.
“I look forward to working with the outstanding young men in our program, not only to develop them as players but also to guide them into becoming great representatives of Florida State University,” Fertitta said in the statement from FSU. “I’ve always viewed coaching football as a ministry, and the chance to pursue that at Florida State under Coach Norvell is an incredible honor.”
Fertitta’s roles, according to the FSU position requirements, include time spent supporting coach Mike Norvell in a variety of roles. Those include:
Responsible for assisting the head coach in the management and administration of a sports program in a manner that upholds the philosophy, mission, and objectives of the Department of Athletics. Assists the Head Coach with personnel (including hiring and supervision of staff, undergraduate/graduate assistants and volunteers) and their responsibilities, budgeting, scheduling, travel, meals, recruiting, scouting, purchase and care of equipment, coaching, giving appropriate direction to student-athletes as it relates to academics.
Assists the head coach in implementing policies and guidelines for all football personnel and student-athletes, design academic guidelines for student-athletes within the framework of the NCAA, ACC, Athletics Department, and University rules and regulations.
Assists Head Coach in determining the scope and purpose of the football program. Assists with establishing and implementing recruiting, academic, athletic, and community service policies for student-athletes. Assists with football summer camp. Maintains current skills and techniques in coaching, recruiting, training, and general management of a Division I-A program.
Internal business contact for this position includes frequent contact with sports information, marketing, Seminole Boosters, game operations, academics, sports medicine, equipment, strength and conditioning, student services, and compliance staffs. Fertitta could also be asked to make public speaking and appearances to booster groups, alumni, community members, media and recruits.
Assists the head coach in the direct supervision of all student-athletes that participate in the football program. Provides leadership and instruction in a student-athlete’s personal and athletic development, to include counseling in academic, disciplinary, and personal matters, when appropriate. Assists the Head Coach in supervising support staff to include paid, volunteer, undergraduate and graduate assistants to ensure their compliance with applicable policies and procedures.
Conclusions
With Gus Malzahn’s retirement, FSU has added football coaching salary budgeted for 2026 to use at the discretion of Norvell and athletics director Michael Alford.
As Norvell takes on the role of offensive play-caller, his time will shift toward the offense and away from the CEO role that he held in 2025. Fertitta is a respected coach within not just the offensive line room but also the locker room. He will be able to handle a variety of responsibilities for Norvell when considering Fertitta has been a high school head coach and was Nicholls State’s offensive coordinator in 2025.
“I’m excited to have Gabe and his family back in Tallahassee,” Norvell said in Thursday’s statement. “Gabe brings valuable perspective from his experience as a head coach and offensive coordinator, and he has a familiarity with our program that will allow him to have an immediate impact.
“Gabe has strong values that align with how we operate, and he has a deep knowledge base of successful offensive production. He will be a great asset to me, Coach (Tim) Harris and our entire program.”
Fertitta had previously worked at FSU from 2022-24 as an analyst and focused his attention on the offensive line.
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