For the second straight season, it was a disappointing season for the Florida State football program. Head coach Mike Norvell had his seat get even hotter following the 2025 campaign. The Seminoles went 5-7 and missed out on a bowl game for a second straight season.
His job status came into question after a loss at Stanford in October, but the school decided to bring him back for the 2026 season, mainly because of his rather pricey buyout. Entering the 2025 season, FSU brought in Boston College transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos and hired Gus Malzahn to be the new Seminoles offensive coordinator.
While both made impacts in the Florida State offense, neither was able to get them over the top and win a sixth game to become bowl-eligible. After just one season in Tallahassee, Malzahn announced on Monday that he was retiring after 35 years in college football to spend more time with his family.
Florida State OC Gus Malzahn retires after just one season with the Seminoles
Malzahn made an impact for Florida State as their offense was sixth in the country in terms of total yards a game with 472.1 and 218.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked 13th in the country last season. Those numbers were tops in the ACC.
"After 35 years, it's time for me to step away from coaching," Malzahn said. "I am excited to spend more time with my family and focus on the next chapter of my life. I want to thank Coach Norvell for giving me the opportunity to coach at such a prestigious program. I will continue to follow Florida State, and I believe great things are ahead for the program under Coach Norvell's leadership and for the offense under Tim Harris."
There better be great things ahead for Norvell at Florida State. This is a move that Norvell had to see coming, no? There is going to be more mounting pressure on Harris in taking over for Malzahn in what feels like a huge make-or-break season for Norvell. He has brought in Auburn transfer QB Ashton Daniels to FSU. We'll see if it ends up working out. After being on Virginia Tech's schedule in 2025, the Seminoles are not on it in 2026.