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Florida State fires DB coach Pat Surtain

Untitled design (2)by: Sam Gillenwater3 hours agosamdg_33

Staff changes were likely to come in one way or another this offseason at Florida State. One has now come, with a major name being moved on from on the Seminoles’ staff.

Florida State has reportedly fired Patrick Surtain, who was the defensive backs coach for FSU, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. That’s after three seasons having been on staff in Tallahassee.

After previously working at American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida, as well as being a defensive assistant for the Miami Dolphins in the NFL, Surtain came to Florida State in 2023. However, he’s now among the first coaches to be taken off staff this offseason for the Seminoles.

Over Surtain’s three years as defensive backs coach, Florida State had some decent seasons in pass coverage, as it allowed 57.7% completion for 190.6 passing yards per game. However, that was up in the past two years as the entire defense slipped off a bit. The ‘Noles gave up 62.5% completion for 196.1 passing yards per game.

When it comes to pass coverage, few names, though, are more qualified than Surtain. He posted 13 interceptions in his collegiate career at Southern Miss, before going on to have an 11-year career in the NFL, where he posted 105 pass deflections and 37 interceptions, two of those going as pick-sixes, with the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs. That includes three consecutive seasons as a Pro Bowler and two as an All-Pro, one of those being as a selection to the First Team, in Miami from 2002 to 2004.

Since then, Pat Surtain has passed that down to Pat Surtain II, who is now one of the best players in football today in the NFL. Surtain II ended up as an All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the time his college career ended at Alabama, and is now five years into his pro career with the Denver Broncos, where he has twice been First Team All-Pro and was AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.

With Florida State eventually deciding to retain Mike Norvell, there was no guarantee of who else would be back on the sidelines, with changes expected as the team is 7-17 (.292) since last season, next fall for the Seminoles. Among those changes at FSU is now going to be Surtain.