Florida State head coach Mike Norvell tested positive for COVID-19 and will not coach the Seminoles next Saturday at Miami.
Norvell, 38, released a statement Saturday confirming the results, which he said followed two negative tests earlier in the week. He said his wife and daughter were tested Saturday morning and both returned negative results. “My result was surprising to me, but we have prepared for a potential positive result among anyone in our program and we will put that plan in place while I am away,” Norvell said. “I will remain involved remotely as much as possible to help our team continue to prepare.”
In his first season in Tallahassee, Norvell debuted with a 16-13 home loss to Georgia Tech on Sept. 12.
Deputy head coach Chris Thomsen will take over when the Seminoles face the 17th-ranked Hurricanes.
“This is unfortunate, but luckily Coach is feeling fine,” Florida State athletic director David Coburn said in a statement. “We are proceeding with our Covid protocols as we would with any other case. Coach is isolated, and university tracing staff is handling the contact tracing as they normally do. We will continue to test staff and student-athletes as we have been. We have communicated with (ACC) Commissioner John Swofford and Miami Athletics Director Blake James. At this point, based on our testing this week, we have no reason to believe that the Miami game is in jeopardy.”
Norvell was hired by Florida State last December after compiling a 38-16 record in four seasons at Memphis. He led the Tigers to four straight bowl appearances.
–Field Level Media ()