Florida State Adds Tom Herman as Offensive Strategist After $24M Texas Exit
The former Longhorns head coach returns to college football in a non-play-calling role as FSU rebuilds its offensive infrastructure post-ACC divorce proceedings.
Published July 18, 2026Source MSN SportsFrom the chopped neck
Florida State Adds Tom Herman as Offensive Strategist After $24M Texas Exit
The former Longhorns head coach returns to college football in a non-play-calling role as FSU rebuilds its offensive infrastructure post-ACC divorce proceedings.
Florida State has hired Tom Herman as offensive strategist, a non-coordinator role that marks the former Texas head coach's return to college football 30 months after his $24 million buyout from Austin. Herman joins a staff led by head coach Mike Norvell, who is restructuring the offensive operation after the Seminoles' public fight with the ACC over media revenue distribution.
The title is specific. Herman will not call plays—offensive coordinator Alex Atkins retains that authority—but will focus on game-planning, opponent tendency work, and red-zone schemes. FSU averaged 21.4 points per game in 2024, down from 33.2 the prior season, and ranked 91st nationally in third-down conversion rate. Herman's Houston offenses ranked top-25 in scoring in both seasons before his Texas hire; his Longhorns teams never finished better than 48th.
The move addresses two problems. First, Norvell needs offensive credibility as FSU prepares for its first season outside the ACC's media deal, a transition that has sponsors and boosters asking what the program's competitive position will be in a 2025 schedule that includes Notre Dame, Miami, and Florida. Second, Herman needed a pathway back. He has spent the past two seasons as an analyst at Florida Atlantic, a role that paid low-six figures and carried no recruiting responsibilities. This position offers visibility without the pressure of coordinator accountability, the same structure that rehabilitated Lane Kiffin at Alabama and Matt Rhule at Temple before their next head-coaching cycles.
The financial structure is not disclosed, but strategist roles at Power Four programs typically pay $400,000 to $650,000, well below coordinator salaries but enough to justify the title. Herman's agent, Trace Armstrong, has been working this angle since late December, when FSU's offensive collapse in the bowl game—a 28-13 loss to Georgia in the Orange Bowl—became a staff evaluation trigger. The Seminoles' offensive line allowed 38 sacks in 2024, and their run game ranked 104th nationally. Herman's Houston teams ranked top-30 in sack rate allowed in 2015 and 2016.
What matters for FSU's institutional position: this hire signals Norvell has the political capital to add a former head coach without threatening his coordinators' authority. That suggests boosters are still aligned, even as the program navigates the uncertainty of conference realignment and media revenue gaps. The school's $15 million facilities upgrade, announced in January, remains on schedule, and Herman's addition gives Norvell a talking point for recruits who remember the 2017-2018 Houston offenses that put up 500-plus yards per game.
Watch for Herman's influence on the 2025 recruiting class, specifically offensive line targets in the spring window. FSU has three official visits scheduled for the final weekend of April, all offensive linemen rated four-star or higher. Herman recruited the No. 3 offensive line class in the country at Texas in 2018, and his presence gives Norvell a pitch to parents who want proof of NFL development pathways. Also watch whether Herman appears in sponsor activations tied to FSU's Seminole Boosters collective, which has been repositioning its NIL messaging around offensive production metrics since November.
The quiet part: if this works, Herman will be a coordinator somewhere by 2026, and if it does not, Norvell will have added a lightning rod who absorbs criticism without damaging Atkins' future mobility. Either way, the phone calls have already started.
The takeaway
Herman's non-play-calling role gives FSU offensive credibility during conference transition without threatening coordinator stability or buyout exposure.
florida statecoaching hiresacctom hermanoffensive strategycollege football
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