Report: Syracuse EDGE coach Nick Williams hired at Florida State

Syracuse EDGE coach Nick Williams was hired by Florida State in the same role, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He spent two years with the Orange but will now move down south. On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed the report.

“Sources: Syracuse edges coach Nick Williams has agreed to become the next edges coach at Florida State,” Thamel wrote on Twitter. “He’s been at Syracuse two seasons coaching the edges, including seventh-round pick Fadil Diggs. Prior to that, he spent a year at Colorado, two years at Texas A&M and five seasons at Georgia. He’s from Bainbridge, Ga, which makes this a homecoming for Williams.”

Williams had prior stops at Colorado, Texas A&M and Georgia joined the Syracuse football staff a couple of years ago. In his first season with the Orange, he helped guide Syracuse to a 10-3 season and top-20 finish in the final Associated Press poll. Defensive end Fadil Diggs starred under Williams’ tutelage, earning All-ACC honors and an invite to the NFL Combine. 

Williams spent the 2023 season coaching Colorado’s defensive line unit, where he was a member of Coach Prime’s inaugural staff. He helped land a top-30 recruiting class within just two weeks after being hired prior to the first signing period. Williams spent the previous two seasons at Texas A&M, working as a defensive analyst. While with the Aggies, he helped Texas A&M land the nation’s number one recruiting class in 2022.

Williams will be tasked to help bolster a Florida State under Mike Norvell that’s been under fire the last two years. After a 2-10 campaign in 2024, FSU went 5-7, despite being playoff-bound Alabama Week 1.

Norvell was previously asked directly about his communication with athletic director Michael Alford. With speculation about his future intensifying at the time, Norvell made it clear that the two remain in constant dialogue as the Seminoles stumbled toward the end of a disappointing 2025 season.

“I mean, Michael and I, we talk all the time,” Norvell said. “He’s there. He’s at practice every week. He comes out, he’s actively around the program like he’s always been. I understand the expectation. I understand what we have to do. And we didn’t get it done tonight. It’s constant communication like we always have been.”