Norvell’s message to Florida State players: ‘I will be better’

Mike Norvell knows he’s sort of the CEO of the Florida State football team. Even if it’s his players who struggle on the field — and they certainly do — he’s ultimately going to be the one taking the brunt of the blame as the Seminoles’ head coach.

“I can sit in front of you and tell you I wasn’t good enough,” Norvell told media at a press conference Monday (h/t On3).

FSU is currently in the midst of one of the most disastrous starts to a season in college football history. The Seminoles are 0-3 with losses to Georgia Tech, Boston College and Memphis.

No offense to those programs, but Florida State was projected to be a College Football Playoff team this season. It’s not like the Seminoles lost to Alabama, Georgia and USC.

Most people looked at FSU’s early season schedule and saw a 3-0 start to the season. Today, FSU is one of the laughingstocks of college football and there is a chance that Norvell will not be able to pull his team out of that downward spiral.

For what it’s worth, Norvell is confident in his ability to pull his team out of this bad patch, but like everything else, it starts at the top. He has to be better as a head coach so his players can improve as well.

“I can stand in front of our players and confidently say, ‘Look, I’m going to get better,’” Norvell said. “And you know, it’s through work, it’s making sure that, you know, the things that we see, that we try to do… We’ve got to be able to translate that. And so, you know, we’re all in this together. But you know, whatever that may look like, I also know my capabilities and, you know, I’m very confident in what that’s going to be.”

Norvell may be confident, but FSU is at a point where even the next two games against Cal and SMU won’t be “child’s play.” Not to mention upcoming matchups with Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame.

It’s been a rough start, but FSU still has challenges ahead. At this point, a 9-3 win and a CFP berth would be miraculous. For now, the Seminoles might just have to focus on winning one game.