I started workshopping this story in my head, which is where I guess you workshop most things other than actual workshops themselves, about a week ago.
It felt like this was coming for the better part of a month.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell opted to more or less close practices this spring after being lauded by local and national media alike as one of the most transparent coaches in the country. All practices but one scrimmage and some b-roll opportunities have been shut down, which is a stark shift from his previous policy to keep just about every spring practice open in its entirety in addition to what was the rarest of all jewels in the college-football media landscape: Opened practices in-season, twice a week every week permitting that injuries, depth-chart information, and specific plays were not detailed from those observation windows.
Those are gone, now.
At least the spring practices, with fall practices being re-evaluated later. I’ve learned that in most instances in life, when something is taken away from you, it usually isn’t returned…so, we’ll see.
Before going any further, I’m going to pull a B-Rabbit (“spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti”… fellow millennials get it, I think). A couple of qualifiers:
- Yes, I cannot be totally objective on this. I loved going to practices, generally, and felt like I learned a lot from those opportunities especially as the program was ascending in 2021 and 2022. I heard Livin’ on a Prayer just yesterday and told my wife that it reminded me of the time Tatum Bethune was rocking out to it in the IPF early in a practice before a big rivalry game in 2022. As a proud empath, I could sense the energy and confidence that was being compiled week after week regardless of the result of the prior game. Coaches were coaching, players were responding. Development was happening. It was really, really cool.
- Yes, I also cannot be totally objective regarding this point as well: It makes my job harder. I don’t want to come off as a whiny reporter in this instance (I’ve got plenty of other instances left for that), I just can’t spin that any other way. Zach summed it up well the other day, though…we’ll find a way to report and comment on things that matter for FSU football to our audience, we typically always have.
- Yes, my outlet didn’t correctly predict perhaps the most unprecedented single-season drop-off in modern college football. Only Paul Finebaum kind of did, I guess? But regardless of the caveats provided along the way, most of you don’t care when you miss as badly as myself or anyone else who was there for those muggy 2024 summer practices did. We went through spring and summer camps and I still felt like I saw enough from DJ Uiagalelei that you could have a stable offense and that the pass rush could be elite. I was very wrong on those assessments, so trust was rightfully lost among some. It was going to be a long spring of enduring eye rolls when posting practice reports…I get that. Some of you are happy or indifferent that practice is shut down for this reason (some, for other reasons)…I sort of get that.
- “Media member plays world’s smallest violin.” I don’t want this to be that. It’s a losing proposition for me, most of you won’t care what kind of access we get as long as the program wins. FSU football is a big-time business with a substantive economy tied to it. If the guy running it feels like this decision helps him win – which, in turn, drives the economy – I can also at least get that, even if I don’t like the decision.
OK, now that the qualifiers have been qualified, my point. This isn’t supposed to be a think piece about the rights of media access. Rather, it’s about a trend that I feel is important to note and a make-good on something I told subscribers I’d hold myself to this offseason: If I see something, say something.
Mike Norvell distinguished himself as one of the most open, transparent coaches at the P4 level. Practices were open, access to coaches and players was and still is plentiful (he won an award for this from the Football Writers of Association of America in 2023…and this aspect of his program remains, to be fair) but the shift in spring access is remarkable. Not just in that it’s a drastic 180 from what the coach has always done, but FSU’s practice access is probably more restrictive now than most of the program’s in-state peers.
On one hand, change was needed. When you go 2-10, it’s a necessity. New coordinators, many new assistants, 30+ new players this spring. New media policy, to boot.
On the other, in my experience covering two other coaches at this program, reducing media access or threatening to reduce it doesn’t happen when things are going in a good direction.
Norvell said in a statement sent to media about the shifted policy a couple days before camp that “this is not a suggestion that I think last season’s record had anything to do with media members observing our practices.” The whole statement can be read here, and I implore you to do so for the sake of context.
He also said part of the decision was because “in a day and age where so many people have access to our players, I want to create an atmosphere free of outside perspectives during our time of preparation and development.”
It’s a vastly different sentiment when juxtaposed with how Norvell discussed his reasoning for keeping practices open back in the spring of 2021, when FSU was coming off his 3-6 Year 1 campaign during the pandemic:
“I’ve always had a very open approach with media, just because I understand who we are, I understand what we’re about. I get to coach some incredible young men, and for their story to be told for the best illustration of what they go through and do what we do, I believe in the development of it. I’ve always had that mindset. And the job the media does in helping to tell our story is something that can be a great benefit for us in regards to recruiting.
“And we want to help them build their brand and build their identity and help share their message. I’ve always thought that’s a critical piece to telling the story, because these guys, they work extremely hard.
“Our coaches put in so much time. I think it’s a great opportunity, we’re very open with our assistant coaches in all aspects because one day, there’s quite a few coaches on my staff that I think will be head coaches. To help prepare them for that moment to be able to build those relationships with the media and be able to tell their stories, and who they are, so if a recruit does happen to watch they’ll get a sense of who it is they’re going to play for.
“I just think it’s a remarkable opportunity for everybody involved.”
A lot has changed since then, of course. We all reserve the right to change our respective minds with new information or when finding ourselves in a different landscape. If that remarkable opportunity is now just plain ‘ol markable, so be it.
Yet for the coach – a coach who, months after the quote above, sparked hope for the future by turning around an 0-4 team in 2021 by not changing at all – changed. We, I, follow trends.
Norvell, who has so often preached mental toughness while practicing transparency, has decided to hunker down, to isolate his program from the outside world.
One, myself included, could argue that the choice to alienate reporters and by extension many within the fan base – a fan base that is often asked to pay for more than tickets these days, but rather rosters and facilities – still doesn’t keep the outside noise from getting into players’ cell phones and social accounts, if that’s what you’re truly worried about.
It was a calculated decision, one that I’m sure was scrutinized over by Norvell and many within the program before making the final call. And one that, frankly, was uncharacteristic.
Basically, it’s a bummer. For me, yes. But more importantly, for some of you reading this, too.
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