Mike Norvell Named 2023 Dodd Coach Of The Year

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell was named the 2023 Dodd Coach of The Year, a prestigious award given to the most outstanding college football head coach. He was recognized for his undefeated season along with the ACC title, as well as off the field success such as academics and community outreach.

Mike Norvell took FSU to a 13 win season, which has only been done twice before (2013, 2014). He won the ACC Championship which hasn’t been done by an FSU head coach since 2014. The road to success was not always easy for Norvell.

In Norvell’s first season, the Noles only won 3 games and some fans were already calling for his firing. He inherited a program that was in complete and utter turmoil after former coach Willie Taggart was fired. Culture issues were spread throughout the roster, and over 10 guys transferred to other schools in his first season. Once key players like WR Tamorrion Terry and DT Marvin Wilson did not finish the 2020 season with the Noles. Mike Norvell was cleaning house and trying to flip the culture.

The next two seasons, there was steady improvement. He brought in key transfers such as DE Jermaine Johnson from Georgia and WR Andrew Parchment from Kansas. In 2021, they went 5-7 but ended the season on a 5-3 stretch, which made fans excited for 2022. They also beat the Canes for the first time in 5 years. Norvell then brought on another killer transfer class with the likes of Trey Benson, Jared Verse, and Johnny Wilson. The next year, Norvell and crew doubled their win total, going 10-3 and winning the first bowl game since 2017.

Fast forward to now, in his fourth season, Mike Norvell has managed to absolutely turn this program around to where it once was with legend Bobby Bowden. FSU is now back in the national conversation, and sold out every home game this past season. They went a perfect 13-0.

What Mike Norvell has managed to do at FSU is a testament to his coaching ability as well as his personable qualities. He changed the culture at FSU and it shows. Academics are now a high standard, with the team cumulative GPA sitting at 3.0. All of these reasons show why Norvell won the Bobby Dodd Coach of The Year and we want to congratulate him on this amazing feat!

PHOTO CREDIT: Christian Proscia