In Part 1 of our recent sit-down interview with former FSU athletics director David Coburn, he spoke about the financial challenges facing the department, his relationship with former university President John Thrasher, the revenue gap between the ACC and other conferences, and more.

You can read that installment right here.

In Part 2, Coburn discusses his confidence in head football coach Mike Norvell, the state of the basketball programs, the university's commitment to women's athletics following the departures of Sue Semrau and Mark Krikorian, and the recent battle over public funding to be used for Doak Campbell Stadium improvements.

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Q: Even though you're no longer on the clock, you still made it out to several football practices this spring. How much do you just enjoy getting out there, and how excited are you about where Coach Norvell has things heading?

A: I love it. I enjoy it. And I think we're gonna be better. You see the same things I see out there. The wide receivers are going to be better. The quarterbacks are significantly improved. The offensive line is better. And I think one year out, as long as we continue to recruit successfully, we can be a lot of trouble for some people.

Q: You mentioned that you didn't envision having to make a change with Willie Taggart when you took the A.D. job. When did you start feeling confident that you guys got the right guy in Mike Norvell?

A: Well, I felt all along he was the right guy. I mean, when you're talking to the guy all the time -- especially when you're going through what he went through with the COVID year being his first year -- and the roster churn that just absolutely had to happen. There was so much poison in that locker room, as you know (after repeated coaching changes). And you listen to him. And you watch him. And every time there was a setback, or a challenge, he just put his head down and went to work. And you didn't hear him complain. Ever.

Q: It's almost like he is endlessly optimistic.

A: And so competent. I mean, a great evaluator of talent. A really good leader. Works so hard and is so smart. And articulate. On the fundraising side, he gets it. He knows that he has to play an important role if we're going to succeed, and he does it. And he doesn't complain about it. He's just a pleasure to work with, in addition to being really good. It can be hard to find that combination in big-time football coaches.

I've never had much doubt.

Q: The men's and women's basketball programs have both been so successful here for so long, but this was a tough year for both of them. The men didn't make the postseason for the first time in a while, due mostly to the rash of injuries, and the women only made the play-in game. And then Sue Semrau retired following the season. Any thoughts on where those programs are at right now?

A: I thought Leonard [Hamilton] did a pretty incredible job of coaching given the circumstances. They kind of faded at the end, but I thought what they did in those last couple of weeks -- beating Notre Dame [and Virginia and N.C. State] -- that was impressive. Leonard will be fine.

Q: And then the transition from Sue to Brooke Wyckoff?

A: That will be pretty seamless, I think. Because I think Brooke knows what she is doing. She knows the university and certainly knows basketball. Very, very happy for Brooke.

Q: The other big development in the athletics program recently was Mark Krikorian's departure as head coach of women's soccer after winning three national championships. You're not in that seat anymore ...

A: And damn happy about it.

Q: Right. And I'm not going to ask you to speak on what happened there, but between Mark leaving and Sue retiring, there are some fans who are worried that the commitment to women's athletics at FSU is changing. Is that something you see as a concern?

A: No, I don't think that has anything to do with it. Nah. As I just said, I think they made an excellent hire with Brooke. We've got an excellent group of coaches. We're making facilities upgrades for several of those sports. I don't think that had anything to do with that situation.

Q: Looking back at your tenure one more time. From a big-picture standpoint, was there anything you didn't get to that you hoped to accomplish?

A: Oh, there were some things for sure. Obviously on the facilities side, there are things that Michael [Alford] is addressing now that we just couldn't get to at the time. Field upgrades. Baseball stadium improvements. Football-only facility. And then the changes we've got to make structurally to Doak.

Q: That process, getting the funding from the local Blueprint board to make those improvements to Doak Campbell Stadium, obviously became a huge hot-button topic. And what once seemed like a formality -- receiving the $20 million for infrastructure improvements -- later seemed to be in danger of not happening at all. Were you surprised about the opposition and how nasty the whole thing seemed to get politically?

A: From my perspective, that was way less about the project itself than it was something that was being used as a wedge issue for some political agendas locally -- that are pretty intense agendas. And I think that just happened to present itself at a point in time where certain players could use it -- or try to use it -- to their advantage and the detriment of others.

And it was really unfortunate. Because by the end, the merits [of the request] didn't matter -- not one iota.

Q: So do you already know how you're going to spend this football season? Are you going to go back to being a fan again?

A: Yeah, yeah. Mary and I have had seats in the Champions Club since they opened it, and we haven't used them once. So we're probably going to use them now. (Smiling)

Q: And you can probably sneak back down to the sidelines when you want.

A: Probably not. That's Michael's business now.

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