No changes were made to Mike Norvell’s statement that he would stay at FSU.
On Friday, Mike Norvell told ESPN that he chose to stay at Florida State because of “the heart and opportunity of what exists here and what we’re going to expand upon.”
Norvell talked on the phone while on the recruiting trail within Jacksonville, Florida. He said that the last 24 hours had been “wild” and “chaotic” as he thought about his choices.
Norvell wouldn’t say much about his talks with Alabama, but he did say, “You respect the location just as much as you respect the position.”
It all comes down to how well it fits in the end. What makes you able to give it your all continues to come down to where you wish to be and how you can get there.
“At Florida State, we’ve been enabled to do that for the past four years. Our program is getting a lot of attention. It makes me happy to keep building on what has already been done.
ESPN has learned that Washington leader Kalen DeBoer has agreed to take over as Alabama’s coach on Friday. Saban quit earlier this week after winning six national titles with Alabama’s football team.
Florida State said earlier Friday that it agreed on a better deal with Norvell. ESPN has learned that the deal lasts eight years and pays over 10 million dollars a year on average.
Furthermore, the school promised Norvell that it would increase funds for football-related tools, such as the budget for recruits.
Norvell especially mentioned how Michael Alford, the sports director, Richard McCullough, the school president, and Peter Collins, the chair of the board of trustees, are all working together right now.
Soon after Saban quit, Norvell’s name came up as a possible replacement, mostly because of what he did at Florida State for the past four seasons.
In 2020, Norvell took over a school that was in chaos. In his first year, the team went 3-6 and played over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, Florida State started 0-4 in 2021, including a loss to FCS Jacksonville State. This made people wonder about his long-term future as a member of the Seminoles.
Norvell and Alford, on the other hand, never changed their minds about what needed to be done to turn the program around.
Florida State finished 13-0 after the ACC title game, but they weren’t in the playoffs for college football because their main quarterback, Jordan Travis, got hurt and had to miss the whole season. This choice still hurts Norvell and all those involved with the school.
Alabama didn’t waste any time in its search. Shortly after, sources told ESPN that Washington’s Kalen DeBoer was in talks to replace Nick Saban.
Sources said that OU offensive coach Tommy Rees was also going to be asked, but it wasn’t clear right away what the status of that was.
It was Alabama’s sixth and final national title with coach Nick Saban in charge. Saban retired on Wednesday after 17 years of service.
After both Sarkisian and Norvell said they would play for Florida State, the school said it had made an “enhanced” agreement with Norvell. ESPN has learned that the deal lasts eight years and pays over ten million dollars a year on average.
On the other hand, sources told ESPN the Texas Longhorns have been working on extending Sarkisian’s contract. He got a $34.2 million, six-year deal in 2021.
The Texas football team put up a small film of Sarkisian on X on Friday with the words “Just getting started.” In answer to the post, Sarkisian used the “Horns up” image.
In the film, Sarkisian said, “I came here to win championships.” “That’s the point.” Our goal is to be the best and win titles. People will want to be a part of the University of Texas. It’s great to be situated on Forty Acres.
Sarkisian, who is 49 years old, was Alabama’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020 when they went 13-0 and beat Ohio State 52–24 in the College Football Playoff National Championship.