Buster Faulkner looks like the kind of rising offensive mind who will get a head-coaching job soon, and that’s exactly why the Florida State conversation matters. The 45-year-old coordinator is running the best offense in the country, and it’s no surprise his name is already floating around for future openings.
One of those openings could come about 130 miles northwest of Gainesville, where Florida State is expected to fire Mike Norvell eventually. That has already sparked talk about Faulkner taking over in Tallahassee. It would be a big swing for the Seminoles, and it would also yank a top coach away from Florida’s orbit.
But that’s where the fit gets messy. Faulkner should think hard before stepping into that situation.
Florida State still carries the weight of its history. Since Bobby Bowden arrived in 1976, the program has won multiple national titles, produced multiple Heisman Trophy winners and stacked up a 14-year run of top-5 finishes from 1987 to 2000. That’s the standard people still associate with the Seminoles.
The problem is that’s not the program Faulkner would actually inherit.
Right now, Florida State is in a rough place from top to bottom. The athletic director is gone, and Norvell has overseen a decline marked by poor coaching hires, bad recruiting and a general lack of aptitude in all elements of running a football program. Fundraising is down, and the program is trying to stay viable for the next wave of conference realignment.
That isn’t just a harsh opinion from the outside, either. People much closer to the program have been saying the same thing.
A quick turnaround is possible in college football, and Florida is proof of that. Sumrall is changing things quickly, and Florida’s broader athletic picture is in a much better spot.
The men’s basketball team won a national championship in 2024, and Gators baseball was a runner-up in 2023 and a CWS semifinalist in 2024. The football program had underachieved, and the new voice has already mattered.
Tallahassee would be a different kind of job entirely. It would be a rebuild from the studs up, and that’s a big ask in the NIL and transfer portal era.
The roster can change fast, but only if the infrastructure is sound. At Florida State, it isn’t.
There’s no clear vision or direction, and the recent history says as much. Willie Taggart was handed a bare room and lasted 21 games before being fired.
Norvell followed and is on track to have his fifth losing season in Tallahassee since taking over in 2020. If the administration could move on from him right now, it would.
Faulkner would probably get patience there, but Florida State has already shown it can be patient to a fault. That has not produced results, and the program still has to deal with a buyout between $40-50 million for Norvell while trying to raise more money from boosters who are tired of pouring in cash and getting little back.
Timing changes everything. Ten years ago, Faulkner probably would have jumped at the chance. Now, with Florida State struggling to adjust to the realities of modern college football, it looks like a brutal first head-coaching landing spot - even for someone with as much upside as Faulkner.
In Other News...
UCF May Have An Offensive Problem Heading Into Houston
UCFs offense heads into a tough road test at No. 20 Houston with a few familiar concerns, and one of the biggest involves tight end Dylan Wade. Wade has become an important part of the passing game after setting single-season records for a UCF tight end last year, giving the Knights a reliable target in the middle of the field and another layer to an offense that can ill afford to lose efficiency against a ranked opponent.
His availability is now in question after he picked up an upper-body injury in the previous game, leaving UCF to sort through its options at a time when the receiving group is already dealing with other injury-related uncertainty. The Knights do not just need bodies on the field in Houston, they need players who can help keep the offense from becoming too thin in a game where every dependable target matters. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Heads To Houston With A Lineup Problem Fans Know Too Well
UCF is headed to Houston still trying to patch together a lineup that has been missing key pieces for weeks, and the availability picture does not look much friendlier this time around. Scott Frost said in his weekly update that several players remain in the usual gray area of day-to-day and questionable, but the Knights will again have to plan without a few starters as they prepare for the Cougars.
The contrast across the sideline only sharpens the concern, with Houston dealing with a much smaller list of absences heading into Saturday. For UCF, the uncertainty is the more frustrating part, especially with multiple contributors still not cleared and a couple more players sitting in the questionable category after taking bumps in recent games. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Injury Pileup Puts Pressure On Keyone Jenkins Fast
UCFs offense has already had to adjust early, with starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III out and receiver Duane Thomas Jr. also sidelined, leaving the Knights to lean more heavily on backup Keyone Jenkins. Through the first two starts of his college career, Jenkins has given the staff a steady hand, even setting a program record for completion percentage in his second start as the Knights try to keep the passing game afloat.
Help is on the way at receiver with Jonathan Bibbs expected to return, a boost UCF could use as the schedule stiffens against ranked opponents. But the injury list is still a moving target, and the latest concern only adds to the pressure on an offense that has little margin for error while Jenkins continues to settle into the job. [Read more 🡒]