Norvell Adds Tom Herman to Florida State Football Staff

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Florida State football coach Mike Norvell has added
former Houston, Texas and FAU head coach Tom Herman to his Seminoles staff.

At
this time, Herman’s role is unknown. But Herman brings a ton of experience and
success on the gridiron to Tallahassee, and Norvell needs all the help he can
get.

With the retirement of offensive coordinator Gus
Malzahn at the conclusion of last season, Norvell will take over play calling duties
for the 2026 season. Herman can certainly help in that regard, as he knows a
thing or two about winning football games.

Herman was the head coach at both Texas and Houston
over the course of six seasons. In two years (2015-2016) with the Cougars,
Herman led Houston to a 22-4 record, including a 13-1 record in 2015 and a 38-24
Peach Bowl victory over Florida State. That season, Herman was named the AAC
Coach of the Year.

In 2016, Herman led the Cougars to a 9-3 record, with
quality wins over Big 12 champions Oklahoma, with quarterbacks Kyler Murray and
Baker Mayfield on the roster. Murray and Mayfield would go on to win the
Heisman Trophy in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018. Houston also beat
Louisville in 2016, led by eventual Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Lamar
Jackson.

With his success at Houston, Herman was able to trade
up and secured the head coaching job with the Texas Longhorns. Upon his arrival
in Austin, Herman wasted no time giving the fans something to cheer about.
Herman led the Longhorns to four consecutive bowl victories, including the 2018
Sugar Bowl with a 10-4 record. Herman posted a 32-18 record during his tenure at
Texas.

In those six glorious seasons with the Cougars and
Longhorns, Herman posted an outstanding 54-22 coaching record. In addition,
Herman led his teams to four Top 25 rankings, including finishing twice in the
top ten.  

Whatever role Herman will have at Florida State, it would
be in Norvell’s best interest to tap into Herman’s offensive mindset and
utilize that knowledge on how to move the football up and down the field. The
Seminoles will have weapons all over the field on offense, like receivers Duce
Robinson and Machai Danzy, running backs Ousmane Kromah and Texas transfer Quintrevion
Wisner, and quarterback Ashton Daniels. Daniels has been named the starter
after Norvell saw something special in his gunslinger.

But ball security has plagued Daniels throughout his
collegiate career at Stanford and Auburn.

Herman has been known to mentor and tutor talented quarterbacks,
and to get the very best out of them every Saturday.

During his time at Houston, Herman coached a talented
signal-caller named Greg Ward Jr. Ward left scorched earth in his wake as he led
the Cougars to gridiron glory while gaining over 8,000 yards of total offense
and accounted for 70 touchdowns, in TWO seasons.

At Texas, Herman coached quarterback Sam Ehlinger for
four years. Ehlinger went on to accumulate 11,346 passing yards (No. 2 all-time
at Texas) and 94 touchdowns, with 27 interceptions and a career 62 percent
completion percentage.

During the 2018 season, Ehlinger and the Longhorns beat
Oklahoma in the Red River rivalry in a 48-45 win. Ehlinger accounted for 386
total yards and five touchdowns. Seven weeks later, Herman coached Ehlinger and
the Longhorns to a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game in a rematch against
their arch-nemesis and biggest rival, Oklahoma.

Under the watchful eye of Herman, Ehlinger accounted
for 391 total yards and four touchdowns, this time in a 39-27 loss.  

Herman comes to the Seminoles at a critical time.
Norvell has led Florida State to just seven wins the past two seasons. That
must change, and the 2026 schedule does not help.

The Seminoles will play both SMU and Alabama in the
month of September. Whatever role Herman will have with the Seminoles, he needs
to have his skillful finger on the pulse of the Florida State offense if
Norvell wants to get back to winning football games.

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