Florida State’s next coach has to be more than a recruiter, more than a playcaller and more than a name on a splashy introductory graphic. The Seminoles need somebody who can build a roster that still works after the stars move on. Glenn Schumann has spent years proving he can do exactly that.
Georgia handed Schumann a massive challenge when Dan Lanning left for Oregon. The Bulldogs had just won a national championship, and five defenders went in the first round of the NFL Draft. Schumann took over the headset anyway.
His first season running the defense told the story fast. Georgia led the nation against the run, rolled to a 15-0 record and held TCU to a touchdown in the national title game. That kind of transition is exactly why his name should be in the mix for Florida State.
The Seminoles know what happens when a championship roster starts to disappear. They won the ACC in 2023, then missed bowl games in the next two seasons and were 3-5 when Mike Norvell was fired Sunday. Whoever takes over in Tallahassee will inherit a problem that goes beyond one recruiting cycle: when the best players leave, who is ready to replace them?
Schumann’s track record gives him a strong answer, especially with linebackers. Roquan Smith won the Butkus Award in 2017.
Nakobe Dean won it four years later. Jalon Walker made it three in 2024.
Then, the next fall, with Walker in the NFL, CJ Allen was a consensus All-American and a finalist for the same award.
That kind of pipeline would matter in Florida State’s sales pitch. A high school linebacker from Jacksonville could sit down with Schumann, ask what he could do for him and spend the rest of the visit watching the answer on film.
Schumann’s background also gives him a rare blend of evaluation and coaching experience. Kirby Smart knew him before any of those awards came along.
Schumann began at Alabama as an undergraduate assistant in 2008, later worked in player development and personnel under Nick Saban, and then followed Smart to Georgia to coach inside linebackers. He was 25 at the time.
Now he’s 36, with six national championships and eight SEC conference championships on his résumé across Alabama and Georgia. That matters for Florida State, because the job is about more than scheme. It’s about knowing which players can hold up when the roster turns over and the pressure rises.
Oregon’s hire of Lanning raised the obvious question about what happens when a defensive coordinator becomes the head coach and has to build an offensive staff around him. Three seasons later, the Ducks answered it by scoring 45 against Penn State in a shootout to win the Big Ten in their first year in the league, finishing undefeated and landing the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff that sent them to the Rose Bowl.
Florida State should be asking Schumann the same practical questions: who would run his offense, who would develop his quarterback and how much authority would he give both men? Those answers matter just as much as what Georgia did to TCU.
And that’s the appeal. Florida State would have something to sell the day Schumann walked in.
In Other News...
Florida State Just Entered A Defining Stretch It Can't Afford To Miss
Florida States football future suddenly sits at the center of a much larger institutional test. The university has moved on from Mike Norvell, and now the Seminoles are trying to line up a new athletic director and a new head coach while carrying a financial burden that was already well over $430 million before the buyout hit the books.
The timing only makes the challenge sharper, with the early signing period looming and a recruiting calendar that does not slow down for administrative turnover. Florida State has to make a hire that stabilizes the program quickly, but it also has to do it while weighing debt, leadership structure and the kind of long-term commitment that can keep the next coach from walking into another crisis before he even gets started. [Read more 🡒]
Florida States Rebuilt Roster Already Looks Ahead Of Schedule
Florida States mens basketball team wasted little time showing how far along this rebuilt roster might be, rolling past Florida A&M in its regular season opener, 112-69. Sebastian Rancik led the way with 25 points, Marcis Ponder added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Anthony Robinson II chipped in 16 points as the Seminoles backed up the promise they had already flashed in exhibitions.
For Luke Loucks, now in his second season, the early returns are encouraging because this group was assembled through a mix of transfers and recruits and already looks comfortable playing together. One game does not define a season, but Florida States blend of production and pace in the opener suggested a roster that may be ahead of schedule as it settles into the year. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Offense Just Lost A Weapon It Couldnt Afford To Lose
Florida States offense took another hit Saturday when wide receiver Duce Robinson went down against Clemson and was later confirmed to have suffered a season-ending ACL tear. It is the kind of injury that changes the shape of an offense, especially for a Seminoles team that was already juggling multiple injuries and trying to patch together production at running back.
Robinsons absence leaves a noticeable void in the passing game and forces Florida State to adjust on the fly. One possible answer is a heavier dose of tight ends, who may need to become a bigger part of the plan as the Seminoles look for reliable targets and a way to keep the offense moving without one of its most important weapons. [Read more 🡒]