Change. It’s inevitable, it is difficult but oftentimes necessary. After last year’s disastrous season, we ALL wanted change and that is exactly what we got. Florida State brought in new staff, new players, and as of yesterday’s announcement, a new method of how they are going about certain things. For the first time in Mike Norvell’s tenure in Tallassee, practices (at least in the spring) will be closed to media members and there has been quite a range of reactions to the decision.
Most fans seem to support it while others do not. Most outlets seemed to understand it, but some did not handle it so gracefully. I sympathize with the frustrations of those who rely on access for a living. After all, I’ve put countless hours into trying to build PTS as an outlet over the past four years, pouring my heart into chasing this dream.
Sure, I don’t rely on this to feed my family, and no, we aren’t credentialed members of the media (something I hope changes someday), so I don’t have an eye-for-eye understanding of what those who do feel, but the loss of access doesn’t help us either. However, I think I have a unique perspective as a fan who runs an outlet that is directly tied to this program.
With that said, I beg the question, “Don’t we all just want what’s best for the team?” If the man responsible for running the program feels that this will help block out the noise and allow them to focus on winning, then shouldn’t we support that? After all, winning games in the fall is more important than watching practice in the spring.
Mike Norvell had to endure one of the toughest seasons in his coaching career last year. It could be argued that some of it was not his fault after suffering an unbelievable blow at the hands of a crooked committee making a decision that had literally NEVER happened in the history of the sport. It was something that scarred many fans’ love for the game we hold so dearly. Just imagine what it did to the coach who had to deal with the fallout firsthand. It’s pretty evident the way that decision altered the ending of the 2023 season cast a shadow over the program that carried over into 2024.
Of course, he is not completely free of blame, but after last season, he’s also faced with the pressure of winning right now. Whether this policy change is the secret to success or not, we can’t be mad at getting the change we asked for. We can’t be upset that the same coach, who some seem to forget led us to 23 wins, a conference title, and should have been playoff berth over the 2022-2023 seasons, feels this is in the best interest of the program to get back to that level of success. They will still allow the media to watch one scrimmage and get access to players and coaches. His statement on the decision can be read below.
“As I evaluated every aspect of our program this offseason, I came to the decision that the majority of this year’s spring practices will not be open to the media. In my first five seasons here, we provided unmatched access to members of the media to observe practices during the spring, preseason camp and game weeks. I appreciate and respect the media’s role in telling the stories of the people in our program and keeping our fans informed. 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. The availability of our program in terms of post-practice media opportunities and individual requests for players, coaches and staff members will remain the same. This is not a suggestion that I think last season’s record had anything to do with media members observing our practices, especially after we won 19 games in a row in 2022 and 2023 with media at practice. However, this is the best decision for our program at this time.”
There is the argument that they won games before with the media present and that is not wrong, but just like Miami being a successful football program, times change. When what you are doing stops working, it doesn’t hurt to try something new.
There’s also been a theory that this decision was influenced by members of the new staff. I can’t say whether that is true or not, but even if it were, is that a bad thing? When Gus Malzahn was hired at FSU, one of the biggest aspects of the hire that I liked was that he was part of a big-time program that won a national championship. He took that same program back to the title game as the head coach a few years later. He’s sat in living rooms and recruited against the best coaches in the SEC. He knows what it’s like to win at the highest level.
That is something I hope he passes on to Mike Norvell, who frankly came close in 2023 but has not had that same experience yet in his young career. The reason I even mention this is because many top-tier programs across the country follow the same policy. Practices under Nick Saban at Alabama were closed to the media. At UGA and Ohio State, there are very limited periods that the media are allowed to be present. It’s hard to argue with the policies of teams that have won a combined 10 national championships since 2009. Even if it was this staff taking a page from their book, that seems like a good decision based on their level of success. When Jimbo Fisher was at FSU, there was not an open media policy and FSU won plenty of games during his tenure including a national championship.
This is also a new era of college football when tampering, free agency and NIL negotiations are at an all-time high. We’ve seen multiple programs across the country begin to eliminate spring games because of it. If this change helps cut down on that noise and get the players to further buy-in, that can only be viewed as a positive. While I don’t suspect teams heavily rely on practice reports to scout their opponents, not giving free information to other programs in this ultra-competitive time in college football isn’t a bad thing either. Especially during a time when there is a lot of change happening at FSU.
I’m not saying the media being present for practice is what led to the downfall we saw in 2024, but I understand why this decision was made. In the era of social media and a cell phone in every hand, there have never been more distractions than there are today. So, locking in as a team with no distractions for a few hours per week certainly can’t hurt. I will admit that this probably adds some pressure to perform in the fall. If FSU doesn’t make a drastic turnaround, this move will look frivolous in hindsight. However, after last season, I don’t care if they practice on the moon if it means they win games!
The program being successful is good for us as fans and outlets and it’s vital for the economy in Tallahassee. The greater good should be placed above all else. The 2023 season, until that fateful December day, was one of the best of my lifetime. All those Saturdays spent in Doak watching them crush the competition, and all those post-game podcasts talking about wins made for a year I’ll cherish forever versus a 2024 that many of us would love to forget.
Spring is a time for change and new growth to happen. You reap in the fall what you sew in the spring. The start of camp is this program’s first opportunity to put last year behind them and start anew. Only time will tell if this is a smart move or not, but if it helps them avoid repeating what we saw last season, then we should fully support the change. Whatever is best for the program is best for us. It’s not like they will be playing in private in the fall. We will all get to see the fruits of their labor come August 30th inside Doak Campbell Stadium.
I never comment on what other outlets do as a professional courtesy. Nor am I here to tell any fan what to think because that is not my place. However, some of the things that were said in response to this change, as well as some of the things that were done and said during last year’s tumultuous season, simply don’t help anyone including the perception of the program. It’s fair, and expected, to hold them accountable if the standard we expect at FSU is not upheld, but they need our support now more than ever, and building this program up is our way of doing that.
Maybe that’s what makes us a little different at PTS. We are fans first and do this out of our love for the program. I’ve always hoped that was something that has shown through in our content. We are boosters and Battle’s End members. We rode the highs of 2023 and shared our frustrations during the lows of 2024. Our love and support of FSU may have been tested at times, but it has never faltered. All we want is to talk about wins in the fall, even if it means we don’t have much to say in the spring. Besides, we still have a top-10 baseball and softball team to talk about. Thanks for reading and Go Noles!
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