Mike Norvell describes how Florida State players reacted to staff changes

Florida State opted to make some staff changes this week on the heels of a 1-9 start to the season, giving coach Mike Norvell a chance to hit the reset button a bit.

The Seminoles parted ways with coordinators Alex Atkins and Adam Fuller, as well as receivers coach Ron Dugans on Sunday.

“Well I mean it’s a hard day. Any time there’s change, and you couple that with it’s change with, because of results,” Norvell said. “And our results on the field, there’s joint accountability to that. And it’s players, coaches, everybody involved. And it got real yesterday. Three great men that have poured a lot into this program, their families. I love their families. They poured a lot into this program.”

For Florida State, a 1-9 season simply isn’t cutting it. So Norvell got ahead of the push for change by making some in-season adjustments.

It hasn’t been easy on the players.

“Each of these guys have had that relationship,” Norvell said. “And so it’s hard for them. It’s hard for everybody. But at the end of the day we all still have task, we have responsibilities of what we need to be and what we need to do from here. And for our team it’s to come together. It’s to control the things that we can control in our work, our effort, our improvement.”

While Norvell has an obligation to Florida State, he also pointed out that he has an obligation to his three departing coaches, as well.

Simply put, they were part of building this Florida State squad into what it is. That means they have some ownership in things still, even after they’ve been fired.

“Even though those three coaches won’t be here, I still have an obligation to them. I have an obligation to them to make sure that everything that we’re doing, all the work that they’ve poured in over the last five years — Ron being here for six years — that it’s continuing to build upon where our program’s going, even though they’re not going to be a part of it,” Norvell said. “There’s a lot of effort that they’ve poured into it too.”

But the bottom line is that Norvell is dedicated to bringing winning back to Florida State. At a high level, too.

He has shown he can do that, evidenced by last year’s 13-0 start. Still, that feels like a long time ago.

What the recent staff changes show is that Norvell will adhere to a standard at Florida State.

“We all have responsibilities. For this university, for this program, for our fanbase, it is with every part of my spirit and being to get this right, and we’re going to get it right,” Norvell said. “We’re going to bounce back. We’re going to be on track to where we need to be going. And message to players, message to everybody around the program is that their best is going to be required. And there’s going to be plenty of circumstances that arise. And as we see it through the course of games, you see it through the course of life, sometimes you don’t necessarily feel good about what’s happened. It doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, but I mean you still get to make choices.

“Our choice now is to go fight for our improvement, to believe in each other, to believe in what the standard and the expectation is to be a part of this program, because there will be no let-up and there will be no pull-back. It doesn’t matter who it is. To be a part of this program there’s going to be one way that we’re operating moving forward and I can promise you it’s going to be with everything that I’ve got and all those that surround me.”