With Florida State sitting at 1-8, thoughts about the Florida State football program have understandably drifted to the pending offseason.

Even though the Seminoles still have three games left, conversations about the Seminoles have pivoted to which members of the coaching staff will be retained, which players will return and what positions need to be addressed most heavily in the transfer portal this offseason.

By now, it seems clear that FSU head coach Mike Norvell won't be making any in-season changes to his coaching staff. There are no in-season changes that can be made to the roster in terms of adding players.

The stagnancy to date from Norvell has frustrated some, especially as more and more losses have piled up this season with no improvements to note in any phase of the team.

For the first time this season, though, he did acknowledge that changes are coming at his Monday press conference to begin Notre Dame week.

"I can tell you that there's going to be a change in what we've seen from this year to this next year coming up..." Norvell said Monday. "I am aware of where we are, the things that have happened, some of the things that I'm evaluating throughout the course of the season, evaluating over the course of the last few years of, one, why did this happen, why have we come up short, and then what are the issues and what can be done, changed, addressed, all of it, that's going to allow us to take a monumental step here this next year and for the future of the program.

"I do believe in the guys that are in that locker room, do believe in the potential of what we have. We've got to do a better job of making sure that the application of the things that we work, the things that we train, the things that we do, that the evaluation of the positions we're putting guys in and sometimes the guys that we have, where can we improve that. All those factors are going to continue to be evaluated."

Throughout the early stretch of this season, Norvell talked often about how the team he saw on the practice field was totally different from the one that showed up in games. Recently, though, talk of something not connecting has largely dissipated as the season became less and less salvageable.

More and more questions have understandably become about the future and rediscovering whatever magic within the FSU football program has been lost this season.

At his Monday press conference, Norvell was about as candid as he's been about how surprised he is about how this season has played out.

"I am shocked in where we are. It was not expected..." Norvell said. "You go into a season and you have a picture in your mind of what things are going to look like. I'm not blind to it. I'm optimistic but I also know challenges. Anybody that asked before the season my concerns, it's what was it going to look like in the moment when things went well or when things didn't go well...

"It really has been shocking some of the things that have kind of evolved throughout this season as we've experienced defeat, as we've lacked the progression of what anybody wants to see. But it's one of those things that I don't always have the answer on why some of these situations or circumstances occurred, but you continue to go to work. You continue to try to put guys in the best position. It does look different than what I anticipated. If you know all the challenges that are going to show up at the back end of it, would you do a couple things different? Would you look at a couple different schemes or things that you can plug in? Yeah, of course. But that's part of going through the process of a season, and obviously it's not gone very well for us and just the different elements that have showed up."

In the immediate aftermath of FSU's 35-11 loss to UNC, Norvell spoke about his confidence that he'll be able to get the program going back in the right direction.

"We're going to push forward, and we will have this program back to where it's supposed to be in a very short time," Norvell said Saturday night. "But apologies don't — it is what it is. I'm sick for everybody that has to watch what we put on display because they deserve better."

While much of that growth may come over the upcoming offseason, Norvell is hopeful it can begin over the final few games of the Seminoles' 2024 season.

"For our fan base, I understand the frustration. There's no fan that's more frustrated than I am. There's nobody that's pouring more into what these players and this program than what our staff is," Norvell said. "I'll watch the work and has it been good enough? No, it hasn't. We haven't had the results that any of us desire or what needs to be expected here. But we are going to pour all that we have into making sure for these games, to finish the season, it's the best that we've got and we put ourselves in a position to go achieve success in these next three games. It all starts going on the road this week."

Quote book: Mike Norvell on UNC loss, preparing for Notre Dame

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