The Florida State Seminoles are entering the most important season of Mike Norvell’s tenure in Tallahassee. He is firmly on the hot seat after back-to-back losing seasons and desperately needs to get things back on track in 2026 to save his job.
It was yet another offseason full of change for the Seminoles, who have once again turned to the transfer portal to try to improve their roster and have shaken up the coaching staff. They had 35 players transfer out and brought in 33 to replace them, to go along with 34 high school signees.
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With Gus Malzahn retiring as offensive coordinator, Norvell is back to being the playcaller, with Tim Harris Jr. getting promoted to offensive coordinator. They also have five new position coaches in Kam Martin (running backs), Austin Tucker (quarterbacks), Nick Williams (edge), Ernie Sims (linebacker), Blue Adama (cornerbacks), and a new special teams coordinator in Adam Scheier.
All the moves have not impressed ESPN’s staff, which ranked FSU’s offseason as the ninth best in the ACC. They highlighted FSU’s losses through the transfer portal and lack of returning production as things that went wrong.
Florida State avoided a coaching search by giving Norvell another year but still endured significant roster attrition this offseason. The Seminoles are returning only seven of the 24 players who started five-plus games in 2026 after losing eight starters to the portal and nine more to graduation. The secondary took a hit with the loss of Little (Ohio State) and Edwin Joseph (Ole Miss); linebacker Justin Cryer transferred to Texas; and two of Florida State’s top four pass catchers transferred within the conference, with receiver Lawayne McCoy going to Louisville and tight end Randy Pittman Jr. joining SMU. A total of 33 scholarship players exited via the portal this offseason. The Seminoles pursued a trio of transfer QBs in DJ Lagway, Anthony Colandrea and Daniels in January before signing Daniels, a former two-year starter at Stanford who made three starts at Auburn in 2025.
It wasn’t all bad for the Seminoles, as they were impressed by their ability to convince star wide receiver Duce Robinson to return for one final season and prevent running back Ousmane Kromah, defensive linemen Mandrell Desir and Darryll Desir, and defensive tackle Kevin Wynn from transferring after their freshman seasons.
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU football’s offseason ranked in bottom half of the ACC by ESPN
