By: Tripp Vistica
Aug. 31, 2020
Coach Mike Norvell and his family are making the transition from living in Memphis to living in Tallahassee, after Florida State University (FSU) hired Norvell to become their fourteenth head football coach in school history.
Before becoming a coach, Norvell played wide receiver for the University of Central Arkansas from 2001-2005. While attending Central Arkansas, Norvell set the school record for the time with the most receptions in a career with 213 receptions. Meanwhile off the football field, Norvell met fellow student, Maria Christina Chiolino, and they were married while both were still attending Central Arkansas.
When Norvell hung up his helmet and cleats after the 2005 football season, he went straight into coaching becoming a Graduate Assistant coach at Central Arkansas in 2006. From 2007-2008, Norvell was Graduate Assistant at the University of Tulsa, and was Tulsa’s Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach/Director of Recruiting by 2010. In 2011, Norvell accepted another promotion from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) to be their co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach/Director of Recruiting and would accept the Offensive Coordinator (OC)/Quarterbacks Coach position at Arizona State University (ASU) in 2012 after only one season at Pitt. Norvell spent four years as the OC/Quarterbacks Coach at ASU until he was offered his first head coaching job from the University of Memphis (UofM) in 2016.
Norvell made a name for himself and became I highly sought-after coach while at the UofM, after all his accomplishments while coaching the Tigers. In 2016 Norvell won eight games which set a UofM record for most wins by a head football coach in their first season. In 2017, he led the Tigers to an American Athletic Conference (AAC) West Division title with a 10-1 record but would lose in double overtime to the University of Central Florida (UCF) 62-55 in the AAC Championship Game. After the season, Norvell signed 5-year $13 million contract with the UofM, making him the highest paid coach outside the Power-5. In the 2018 season, the Tigers would go 8-6 but were still able to win the AAC West, however they would lose to UCF in the AAC Championship Game again.
The 2019 season was the breakthrough for Norvell, leading the Tigers to an 11-1 regular season record. The Tigers won the AAC West for the third consecutive year and beat the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in the AAC Championship Game and receiving an invitation to The Cotton Bowl. However, during the Conference Championship Game on Dec. 3, rumors were swirling that Norvell had accepted the head coaching position at FSU. On Dec. 4, Norvell was officially accepted the job at FSU, so he was unable to coach the Tigers in the Cotton Bowl where the Tigers lost 53-39 to Penn State, a Power-5 school.
Now at FSU, Coach Norvell is the head coach of his own Power-5 team, because FSU is in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made Norvell’s first year at FSU much more challenging, as it has for every college football program in the country.
However, COVID-19 has not just affected Coach Norvell in preparing for his first season at FSU, but it has also affected his family and their move to Tallahassee. So, how is it going for Coach Norvell and his family down in Tallahassee?
“We are doing well!”, said Coach Norvell’s wife, Maria. “Things have been going here about the same as everywhere else, people just trying to find their way through this pandemic. Tallahassee has done a good job with putting protocols in place early on to keep us safe.”
Like everyone else around the world, we’ve all had to find things to during COVID-19, and the Norvell’s are no different. They made the best of the situation with a lot of family time, getting exercise and adjusting to the situation this pandemic has put everyone in.
“We have up and down days as I’m sure many people have. In the beginning it was very weird to just shut everything down and not go anywhere”, said Maria. “Michael was working from March – June. We all played basketball outside just about every evening and went on a lot of walks. We bought bikes and went on bike rides. We cooked a lot and had so many meals together as a family. Those time were very special.”
The Norvell’s were able to move to Tallahassee before COVID-19 hit, so they were able to find their home. However, they weren’t able to get a lot of things done before the pandemic hit, but that allowed Maria to find out something new about her husband.
“We moved right before things started getting canceled, so it did not really affect our move in the beginning. It did keep us from having some work done in our house here for a while, but then we were able to get everything done that we needed to and are happy with how it turned out”, said Maria. “I learned that my husband is in fact very handy! He did so much work himself around the house because he finally had the time to do that.”
COVID-19 has affected the Norvell’s in many more ways than football. It has not allowed them the chance to check out the city of Tallahassee, but they have still found things about the city they like.
“We barely got to explore, we were so busy when we first moved and then when we had the time, we couldn’t explore”, said Maria. “Our daughter’s favorite activity we did get to do a couple of times. The Treetop Adventures at Tallahassee Museum.”
The state of Florida has always been associated with sunshine, beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. However, that’s not what you’ll see in Tallahassee, and the Norvell’s have to have something fun they can do together during this pandemic.
“We just enjoy driving around and seeing all of the beautiful scenery. I never pictured Florida in this way”, Maria said. “The live oaks here are gorgeous, it looks like a scene from Gone with the Wind.”
Sports fans think of FSU and mostly about their football program when they think about Tallahassee. Fans picture Tallahassee as a college town, like Tuscaloosa, Alabama and its’ relationship with the University of Alabama Crimson Tide football program. However, there’s a lot more to Tallahassee than FSU football.
“Tallahassee is also the state capital, so there is a lot more than FSU. There are also other prominent colleges here that have a lot of importance in this area as well,” said Maria. “There is a ton of support for FSU. I see the support in various ways all throughout the city. There is also a lot of support for FAMU (Florida A&M University) and University of Georgia since we are so close to the Georgia border.”
For Coach Norvell and FSU football program, this pandemic has given them a chance to see some silver lining while waiting for the world to return to normal. However, it will be a new normal when this pandemic is over than the normal, we knew before.
The Norvell’s believe, “There have been many challenges to overcome, but they have discovered new ways of doing things which will be helpful forever in some capacity.”
Not only does the UofM miss the Norvell’s, but the city of Memphis greatly misses them. They were a part of our community, so they made many close friend’s that miss and think about. However, it’s comforting to those who are friends of the family to know that they miss us too, and that they want to remain friends despite moving to Tallahassee.
“We will always support that great city and university”, said Maria. “We had some very good years there and met people I will consider friends forever. I miss my friends. I miss Germantown Cleaners. I miss the food. We haven’t had a great chance to find our favorite places here yet, but I know that will come in time.”
Maria added, “Oh yeah, I miss TOM! Most beautiful tiger that’s ever existed.”
Maria is not the only one to miss her friends she made in Memphis, because Coach Norvell feels the same way.
Coach Norvell said, “We built so many friendships in our time there, and we miss seeing our friends on a regular basis.”
Hopefully, both Maria and Coach Norvell know that we miss them too, and them moving to Tallahassee won’t bring our friendships to an end. It will just make it that much more special when we get to see them again. Also, that until we meet again, we wish them nothing but the best. We are part FSU Seminole fans now, because we will always pull for Coach Norvell and his football team. Most importantly, we wish the Norvell family nothing but the best.
“We are just so grateful for the support of the city and the opportunity we had there for four years”, Maria said. “It will stay with us forever.”
Tripp Vistica 