The Florida State football program is looking for a new head coach, after the firing of Mike Norvell. Two candidates are getting mentioned in a new report from On3. These two candidates have ties to the school's new athletic director, Jeff Purinton.
“One name on the first On3 hot board with ties to Purinton is Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. Both were at Alabama from 2008 to 2015. While Purinton was working in communications and working closely with (Nick) Saban, Schumann worked his way up from a student assistant to director of football operations before eventually following Kirby Smart to Georgia,” reporter Pete Nakos wrote.
The second candidate is a current head coach, who actually works in the ACC.
“Another name already on On3’s hot board with a connection to Purinton is Duke’s Manny Diaz. An FSU alum, the two worked for the Seminoles in the late 1990s under the Bowden era. The former Miami head coach, Diaz, is in his third season with the Blue Devils and is coming off an ACC championship. He’s 6-2 this year,” Nakos wrote.
Norvell was fired in the midst of the 2026 season, after a rough start to the campaign.
Florida State has a new athletic director
Purinton just took the AD job at Florida State. His football coach hiring will be a monumental decision. Florida State has been down in recent years, after winning national championships under Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher.
Article Continues Below“Florida State is home to me in so many ways,” Purinton said in a statement released by Florida State. “It's where I went to school, where I got my start in this profession and where I learned from people who helped shape the way I've approached my career.”
Time will tell who Florida State goes with as head football coach for the 2027 campaign. Other names getting mentioned include Fisher, who was fired a few years ago at Texas A&M.
The Seminoles are currently 4-5 on the year. Florida State next plays Pittsburgh on Friday.