Mike Norvell raves about value Gus Malzahn brings to Florida State staff

There’s no secret that the 2024 season was a disaster for the Florida State Seminoles. Trying to bounce back from that, head coach Mike Norvell made some major staff changes. That included bringing in Gus Malzahn to be his next offensive coordinator.

Malzahn brings with him plenty of experience coaching offensive football, making his name on that side of the ball and winning a national championship as an offensive coordinator. Now, as Norvell explained at the 2025 ACC Football Kickoff, he’s bringing tremendous value to the Florida State staff.

“Having the opportunity to have Coach Malzahn come and be a part of our staff,” Mike Norvell said. “It was special. It’s somebody that I have a 20-year relationship with. All the respect in the world for the man, the coach. He’s somebody that infuses confidence in anybody around him because he knows what he wants to do. He knows what he wants it to look like, but it’s the belief that he’s able to pour into others for what it takes on that journey.”

Gus Malzahn came up as a high school coach in the state of Arkansas before making the jump to college coaching in 2006 to be the Arkansas offensive coordinator. In 2009, he’d become offensive coordinator at Auburn, coaching Cam Newton to a national championship. From there, he’d become a head coach at Arkansas State, Auburn, and most recently UCF. He was the sitting head coach at UCF, coming off a 4-8 season, when he left for Florida State.

Mike Norvell actually worked under Gus Malzahn at Tulsa in 2007 and 2008. There, Norvell was a GA, but the time left a major impression on him. Now, Norvell knows that he can bring in an experienced and determined coach to help the Seminoles next season.

“You talk about the perspective. He does. He’s been a very successful head football coach. The last time he was an offensive coordinator, he did win a national championship. To make the choice and the decision he made to come to Florida State. That is the purpose. That is the reason. We have the opportunity here to really do something special, and I think his focus is there on the offensive side of the ball. He’s one of the best that have ever done it. But he also brings perspective of the big picture. He’ll continue to challenge every element within the organization just to push to be the best,” Norvell said. “And accomplish and do some of the things that he’s been able to do on his journey, and what we all aspire to be.”

Malzahn is tasked with fixing a Florida State offense that finished with one of the worst units in the country last season. The Seminoles were 132nd out of 134 teams in total offense, averaging 270.3 yards per game. They were also 131st in scoring offense, averaging just 15.4 points per game. He’ll also be immediately hit with a familiar foe from his time at Auburn, the Alabama Crimson Tide, in Week 1. So, Malzahn and the Seminoles do need to hit the ground running.