Florida State has hired veteran coach Tom Herman to Mike Norvell’s football staff, according to On3. The Seminoles have not announced Herman’s specific responsibilities, but he joins the program after serving as head coach at Florida Atlantic, Texas, and Houston during an eight-year collegiate head coaching career.
Herman arrives after spending the 2025-26 college football season away from the college ranks. His most recent head coaching stop came at Florida Atlantic, where he led the Owls from 2023 until being dismissed with two games remaining in the 2024 season. FAU finished 6-16 under Herman, including a 3-11 conference record. The Owls opened conference play 0-6 in 2024 and were 2-8 overall at the time of his dismissal.
Before FAU, Herman coached Texas from 2017-20, compiling a 32-18 overall record and going 22-13 in Big 12 play. His best season came in 2018 when the Longhorns won 10 games, reached the Big 12 Championship Game, and ended the year with a Sugar Bowl win. Texas also earned a bowl victory in each of his four seasons under Herman.
Herman’s breakthrough as a head coach came at Houston, where he posted a 22-4 record over two seasons. In 2015, the Cougars finished 13-1, won the AAC Championship, defeated Florida State in the Peach Bowl, and earned Herman recognition as AAC Coach of the Year and FWAA First-Year Coach of the Year.
Herman also owns an extensive resume as an assistant coach. He won the 2014 national championship as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, received the Broyles Award that season, and previously held offensive coordinator roles at Texas State, Rice, Iowa State, and Ohio State. His coaching career stretches 25 years, including one season with the Chicago Bears as an offensive analyst in 2021. Herman has coached quarterbacks and wide receivers throughout his career after beginning as a wide receivers coach at Texas Lutheran in 1998.
The addition comes during another offseason of change for Florida State’s offensive staff. Former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn stepped away from coaching in February, leading the Seminoles to promote Tim Harris into the coordinator role.
With fall camp less than a month away, Herman adds another experienced offensive voice, who is 60-36 overall as a head coach and a perfect 5-0 in bowl games, as Norvell looks to improve a program that has gone 7-17 over the past two seasons after finishing 13-1 in 2023.
Florida State has hired veteran coach Tom Herman to Mike Norvell’s football staff, according to On3. The Seminoles have not announced Herman’s specific responsibilities, but he joins the program after serving as head coach at Florida Atlantic, Texas, and Houston during an eight-year collegiate head coaching career.
