Mike Norvell shares what he’s seen from Gus Malzahn back in offensive coordinator role

Two weeks into having Gus Malzahn as his offensive coordinator, Mike Norvell is loving what he is seeing. Malzahn put together a great game plan to help Florida State take down Alabama before taking care of business against East Texas A&M this past Saturday. Making the whole thing come together has been Norvell’s favorite part thus far.

“It’s nice because he’s a machine,” Norvell said. “He really is. It’s just the way he can go about his vision of what he wants it to look like, tying it to our players and what you can do, and then understanding what it needs to look like. Really, he’s done an outstanding job. He’s having fun… As we’ve gotten into the season, it’s a joy for me.”

The hiring of Malzahn raised a few eyebrows across the college football world. At the time, Malzahn was the head coach of a power conference program, UCF. Not too many times have we seen someone trade in a job of that caliber for a coordinator position. Having a prior relationship with Norvell definitely helps make the move possible.

Going into this season, both guys knew adjustments needed to be made. Norvell wanted to preserve his methods while incorporating Malzahn’s influence. So far, the plan could not be going any better if they wanted it to.

“I know it would be a lot of change,” Norvell said. “I mean, you go from being a head coach for however many years to now, being a coordinator. There’s some dynamics of things of working through how we do it and also things of how he does.”

Florida State now goes into a bye week, an early one for the Seminoles. Another game many expect them to win takes place on Sept. 20, going up against Kent State. If Malzahn can produce another solid offensive performance, there should not be too much doubt about the result.

ACC play then begins the following week — Florida State’s first road game of the year against Virginia. But Oct. 4 is the contest everyone in Tallahassee circled in red marker after the respective Week 1 results. The Miami Hurricanes come to town for another edition of a bitter rivalry. A little more than just bragging rights are likely on the line this go-round. That will be the type of moment you hire someone like Malzahn for, potentially firmly establishing a College Football Playoff campaign.