Plan, adapt, advance: How Mike Norvell led FSU football through quarantine
Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of stories detailing how Mike Norvell and Florida State's first-year coaching staff worked to lead their players remotely during the first four months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Part 1: An inside look at the most daunting offseason in college football history
Part 2: Long-distance dedication: FSU staff learns to teach, coach, lead via Zoom
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They talk first about his passion and determination.
It's the same whether they have known him for months or for years.
"He's the Energizer bunny. He is the engine that drives this train," says Bruce Warwick, who was hired away from the NFL's Los Angeles Rams in December to serve as Mike Norvell's chief of staff.
“What Coach Norvell is probably the best at -- that I’ve seen -- is saying what he’s going to do and then putting his entire energy behind it. All because he said so.” That's from Jeff Kupper, FSU's director of player development and operations. Kupper worked for Norvell at Memphis for four years and followed him to Florida State.
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They next speak about his ability to gather information, to craft an intelligent plan and then execute it meticulously.
“He has always had a plan,” says associate head coach Chris Thomsen, who was on the coaching staff at Central Arkansas when Norvell was a player and later worked with him at Arizona State and now at FSU. “He likes to plan down the road. He plans a year out down the road.”
"He’s one of the most organized head coaches I’ve ever been around," adds Warwick, whose career in college football and the NFL dates back 30 years and spans nine different organizations.
People who work with Mike Norvell often start with those characteristics because they're the ones that helped him take this lightning-quick journey from young Division-I assistant coach to Power 5 offensive coordinator to Group of 5 head coach to now Power 5 head coach, all by the age of 38.
But as important as those traits are, they might not be the characteristics that served Florida State's football team best during the coronavirus pandemic and these tenuous past four months -- from the time spring practice was cut short after just three days through the Seminoles' first mandatory summer workouts, which started on July 13.
Along with all the hallmarks of his Type A personality, which seems to be a necessity for successful head coaches in modern college football, Norvell also has displayed an impressive ability to adapt to new circumstances, pivot quickly when necessary, and also focus on cultivating personal relationships that provide resilience during difficult situations.
'A QUICK-ACTION GUY'
In the initial days after FSU and other universities were forced to shut down their campuses in mid-March, Mike Norvell and his staff focused almost all of their energy on the welfare of their players.
They made sure the student-athletes were supported academically. They checked in to see if they'd be better off living back home during the quarantine or if they needed to move back into their Tallahassee apartments. They also provided guidance for nutrition and strength training.
At that time, coaches and support staff were not allowed to provide any football instruction or hold mandatory meetings. But once the NCAA ruled on April 2 that college football programs could work virtually with their players for four hours each week, Norvell quickly mapped out all 240 minutes.
“I’ve known him a long time, and he’s always been a quick-action guy,” said Thomsen, who left his alma mater, TCU, where he was serving as offensive line coach, to join the FSU staff. “He thinks things out really well, and then he’s not slow to take action. So he had a really good plan right off the top."
Nearly all meetings between coaches and players would take place virtually via Zoom on weekday mornings, since that time was already blocked off for practices and because most players had classwork scheduled for the afternoons. Then after those early position group meetings, the coaches would spend the rest of their mornings in staff meetings -- typically with the offensive and defensive coaches on separate calls.
On most days, Norvell would bounce in and out of the various meetings to observe how the coaches were performing in a remote teaching environment and to monitor the players' level of participation.
“That’s actually one of the things that I’ve enjoyed most,” Norvell said during an interview in May. “I’ve been able to jump around more than I was able to do if everybody is meeting at once (in person). We’ve tried to break it up so I have a little bit more flexibility -- especially early in the process. I tried to get in on every meeting possible. Just to get a chance to be around those guys. To let them get to see my face and hear my voice.”
After taking an hour for lunch, the coaching staff would come together again to meet about special teams and other topics of the day. Then the rest of their afternoons were spent on recruiting. With the help of director of player personnel Chuck Cantor, the coaches would either work the phones with recruits or check in with high school coaches.
Two weeks after settling into that schedule, the coaching staffs at Florida State and schools around the country received surprisingly good news from the NCAA. Their designated time to meet with players each week was getting doubled from four to eight hours.
“That is not usually their model,” Warwick said in late April, shortly after the new rules had been enacted. “The NCAA doesn't usually move that quickly.”
What that change did was open up time for full unit meetings -- meaning the entire offense and defense could come together after position meetings -- and Norvell also seized the opportunity to add some different items to the agenda.
With the help of Kupper, who is in charge of player development, the Seminoles started bringing in guest speakers to discuss a variety of topics.
“Coach Norvell said from the beginning, ‘With eight hours each week, we can’t just talk football,’” Kupper said. “That’s not what we’re here to do. So he mandated that we used at least an hour a week for specific programming."
Said Warwick: "We focused on different things in terms of player development, whether it was branding or what to expect in the National Football League … just trying to mix some things in there, so it’s not football all the time.”
In mid-May, a pair of former Seminoles who now work in the NFL -- Brian Xanders and Zack Crockett -- spoke with the players about preparing for the NFL Combine. Later that month, former FSU stars Derrick Brooks, Vince Williams and Ernie Sims dialed in to take part in a Zoom meeting with the linebackers.
While presentations like those were some of the highlights of the quarantine, Sundays were usually Norvell's favorite day of each week. The first-year FSU coach would typically record an inspirational video message for his players that morning and send it to the team via text message.
“A lot of times, these are things that don’t even necessarily apply to the field,” Norvell said during a May interview. “They're things that apply to our growth as individuals.”
Then later on Sunday evenings, everyone in the football program would log onto Zoom for a full team meeting.
The coaching staff would share important messages and updates about the upcoming week, and schedules would be discussed in great detail. But fellowship was often the most important item on the agenda.
“It’s been pretty special, just to see the guys make an effort to get in the meetings early," Norvell said, adding that a voluntary devotional was held before each Sunday meeting. “We have eight hours a week to meet with our guys. If all of that is football -- if that is our only focus -- then we’re missing out on an incredible opportunity. And we truly would not be living up to what we say that we are.
"This is not a program that is built just on what we do between the white lines. This is not football only. This is trying to develop these guys in every aspect of their life -- off the field, on the field, their personal development.”
CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION
Even before he accepted the Florida State job in early December, Norvell knew building strong relationships with these players would be among his most important tasks -- especially after all they had been through the last two or three years.
If he was going to help the Seminoles maximize their talents and improve on recent sub-par performances, he and his staff would need to earn and maintain the players' trust and respect. And he felt great about the strides made in their first few months together.
So when spring practice was canceled after just three days -- and players and coaches were removed from campus for months -- Norvell wasn't merely concerned about how it would affect the team's ability to execute in the fall. He and his assistants were worried about the impact it could have on all of those relationships.
“We spent as much time away from them as we were with them,” first-year defensive coordinator Adam Fuller said. “And there is no replacement in relationships for time.”
One of the many disappointing aspects of the spring cancellation was losing out on the chance to meet face-to-face with each of the current players' families.
Because he and his coaches didn't recruit many players on the roster, Norvell had his staff planning a function to be held in conjunction with the spring game weekend. All player family members would be invited, and they would get to spend time getting to know everyone on the new staff.
When the pandemic caused that plan to be scrapped, Norvell opted to make it a virtual gathering. The coaches invited the families to join them for a massive Zoom meeting, and they set up separate breakout "meetings" with each position coach.
“It was important because so many of the people that the parents had confidence in when their sons decided to come here are no longer here,” Kupper said. "We wanted them to be able to spend time and ask questions of their son's position coaches and Coach Norvell."
Not every player's family participated, but there were enough that the coaches considered the event a success. And it was just one piece of a process that Norvell harped on throughout the entire shutdown.
“I wanted to make sure that we were continuing to get to know them (the players), and that’s a daily process," Norvell said. "I was excited about the growth that we saw through three months. I thought we saw some great strides in all areas -- relationship building, understanding expectations and living up to that standard.”
The approach would stretch from the spring through the summer.
When players would call or text with questions about football-related matters, the coaches would make sure to ask how they and their families were doing. Some conversations never touched on football at all.
“I think that was probably one of the most important things,” running backs coach David Johnson said. “Now, you get an opportunity to find out what makes that kid tick. Who he really cares about in his family, who are the important people in his family, and things like that. Find out what’s going on in their life outside of football.
“I tell the kids all the time, 'Football’s gonna end one day. What’s your purpose in life? What are you looking to do?' I think the kids appreciated that part. We just kind of put football aside and just talked to them."
The strength of those relationships would be put to the test in early June when star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson called Norvell out on social media for misrepresenting his conversations with players about racial injustice and the protests that were sweeping the nation following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.
Wilson posted his comments on Twitter shortly after midnight, and most FSU staffers didn't see them until they woke up for work that next morning.
Norvell quickly set up a team meeting to address the issue, and he spoke with Wilson privately before addressing the team.
“It was a really good conversation,” the head coach said. “It was an opportunity for Marvin to ask some questions and an opportunity for me to ask some questions to Marvin. And it went really well.”
Putting together the team meeting was a bit of a challenge since players were not yet allowed to congregate in large groups on campus. But with the approval of FSU's administration, they came together inside the Seminoles' Indoor Practice Facility.
Players, coaches and staff all wore masks and observed social distancing. They then participated in what Norvell described as a "free forum."
Norvell explained that he didn't mean to imply to a reporter that he had spoken to every player on the team individually about the protests, and he took responsibility for misspeaking. He and his staff also shared how important it was for them to stand by their players and work to end racial injustice and inequality.
The coaches listened to several questions and concerns from the players. And they explained that even before Wilson's tweet, they were planning ways to work with the players to make a positive impact in the community and beyond.
“It was an opportunity for our football team to really come together,” Norvell said. “It is a very emotional time for everybody in our country, and it turned out to be an extraordinary meeting. Our team was able to grow from it. And I think it gives our football team an opportunity to build a relationship and get a true sense of who everybody is and what we’re doing here together.”
One of the products of that meeting was a plan for the team to do more community outreach with underprivileged children, which the Seminoles have since started through a partnership with Riley Elementary. The players also vowed to register to vote for upcoming elections and to use their platforms on social media to advocate for racial equality.
Defensive tackle Cory Durden also approached the staff about organizing a "unity walk" with the community, which ended up taking place on Saturday, June 13. Hundreds of Tallahassee residents joined the football team and others in the athletics department for a peaceful march from Doak Campbell Stadium to the Capitol.
Norvell described Durden stepping into that leadership role -- and the players' involvement -- as one of his proudest moments since arriving in Tallahassee.
“I had a desire to see our team and our community unified in our beliefs,” Norvell explained in an interview later that week. “But I didn’t want to be the one that brought that to the team. I was excited to see that that was something the team wanted to do together. So it brought me a lot of joy when Cory said this was something he wanted to help organize and lead for the team. It was something that was on his heart.
“I was so proud of him and to see the response (from the community). I just thought it all came together really well. To see our community come together, it was pretty special.”
FIRM BUT FLEXIBLE
Not all of Norvell's efforts during the quarantine went off without a hitch. There were stops and starts, crises and concerns, just like any massive organization would endure during trying times.
But what impressed many staffers in and around the FSU program was how willing he was to consider new information, think things through quickly and then guide the players and coaches accordingly.
“For guys like him -- where organization and detail are one of their strengths -- this is extra challenging," Thomsen said in mid-June. "Because there’s so much unknown."
Jake Pfeil, FSU's head athletic trainer for football, has seen a wide variety of leadership styles during his 20-plus years at the school -- first as a student trainer in the late 1990s and then later as a full-time staff member.
He was there for some of the best years under Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher, and he also spent six seasons as the athletic trainer for Mike Martin Sr.'s baseball program.
Through these first seven months, Pfeil has been blown away by Norvell's ability to navigate unprecedented challenges while also remaining "level-headed" at all times.
“I’ve been extremely impressed -- and grateful -- for how this is going with him,” Pfeil said in early June. “The way he has been through all this. The way he has guided us as a football program … I don’t think you can ask for anything better.”
There have been several moments that led Pfeil to feel that way, but perhaps the greatest example took place when the team was cleared to begin voluntary workouts on campus for the first time.
FSU didn't even know for certain the workouts would start until a few days earlier. Then on the morning of June 1, starting at 6:30 a.m., Pfeil's staff not only had to screen each player individually to participate in those drills, but they also had to conduct physicals on 15 newcomers who were arriving on campus. They also had to staff the workouts to provide any necessary medical or training assistance.
It was a chaotic day, and not everything went according to plan.
When Pfeil explained some of the hiccups to Norvell during the football staff meeting on Zoom later that morning, he was taken aback by the head coach's response.
As badly as Norvell wants his program to run efficiently -- and as much energy as he pours into making sure that happens -- he let Pfeil know in the moment that he understood the logistical issues and appreciated his efforts.
“It hit me right then,” Pfeil said. “As soon as I hit, ‘Leave meeting’ (on the Zoom call), I called him and I thanked him. ... There’s a lot going on. And he totally understands that things aren’t going to go as smooth as we’d all like them to go. We’re all going to try to make it as perfect as we can make it, because that’s the kind of people we are. But things are gonna come up, and he’s understanding of that.”
For leaders in any organization, there's a fine line to walk between demanding excellence and being ready to adapt if needed.
When asked about his leadership style, Norvell said those approaches don't have to be mutually exclusive. Especially when facing challenges like the ones FSU has endured this offseason.
“We’re dealing with a pandemic that nobody has had to experience,” Norvell said. “There’s no point of reference that we can go back to to try to have a plan. We’re here in the present moment. So sometimes you have to leave room for the adjustment or for that flexibility.
"You want to have as much structure and organization as you possibly can, so that we can be efficient in the way that we operate. But there are so many different moving pieces and so many potential options of what could occur and what might not occur. We’ve spent a lot of time making sure that we have a Plan A, a Plan B, C, D and all of the different options that might present themselves. Being organized does not mean that you can’t be flexible.”
COMING UP NEXT
* How FSU's staff worked to construct its first full recruiting class with very few opportunities to see prospects in person or have them visit campus.
About this series
Nearly four months to the day after college football programs around the country saw their spring practices end prematurely due to the coronavirus pandemic, Florida State's players and coaches returned to the practice fields for organized team workouts on July 13. There is still no guarantee that the 2020 football season will be played, but after everything the Seminoles have endured this offseason, they are elated to even have this opportunity.
Over the next several days, Warchant.com will give readers an inside view of what was happening inside the Florida State football program from the time spring practice was halted on March 12 through the start of official summer workouts.
During those four months, Warchant managing editor Ira Schoffel conducted 20 interviews with FSU head coach Mike Norvell, his assistant coaches, top front-office staffers and others inside the program.
These stories are a product of those conversations.
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council