Among the many downfalls of the Billy Napier Era at Florida was Napier’s insistence on being the playcaller on offense, even though every piece of evidence pointed to the fact that he wasn’t good at it. Napier constantly bristled at any suggestion he should hand the reins to someone else, and in the end, it was Florida’s putrid offense that cost Napier his job in Gainesville.
Just down the road in Tallahassee, Mike Norvell finds himself in a scorching hot seat entering the 2026 season, and it appears he learned nothing from Napier getting fired because he is set to repeat the same blueprint that doomed Napier.
Mike Norvell to call plays in 2026
If you ever feel sad about the state of affairs for the Florida Gators in football, just remember, FSU exists. The Seminoles were dealt a tough blow on Monday when offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn announced his retirement seemingly out of nowhere.
In turn, FSU has promoted Tim Harris Jr. to be their offensive coordinator for 2026. But just like Napier had “offensive coordinators” during his time with the Gators, Brendan Sonnone of Noles247 has indicated that the belief is that Norvell will call the plays in 2026.
This is the same Norvell who had previously been calling plays, then realized he wasn’t good at it and hired Malzahn away from UCF for the 2025 campaign. FSU’s offense had its flaws at times and was shut down by Florida, but it did still finish 40th in points per game in 2025.
So now, facing a do-or-die season in Tallahassee, Norvell is set to follow the same pathway that got Napier run out of town. It’s not saying a head coach can’t be successful if he is also calling plays, but there is a reason more and more are steering away from the role. Unless one is a savant at playcalling, which Norvell is not, it’s hard to justify having to try and conjure up playcalls AND focus on all the other decision-making that goes into a Saturday afternoon.
You do you FSU, just take it from your neighbors to the east that the blueprint set forth is probably going to end in failure.
May the odds forever be in your favor.