Florida State Adds Dolphins Assistant Patrick Surtain as Secondary Coach, per Report

The Seminoles are reportedly adding the former Dolphins assistant to its football program.

Florida State is reportedly adding former NFL Pro Bowl cornerback and Dolphins assistant Patrick Surtain as its next secondary coach, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Surtain, who played for the Dolphins and the Chiefs during his NFL career, spent the last season serving as a defensive assistant with the Dolphins. Prior to a short stint in Miami, the 11-year veteran led American Heritage High School to three state titles from 2016 to ’21 as the program’s head coach.

A former Southern Miss standout and New Orleans native, the 46-year-old joins a Seminoles’ program that finished 10-3 overall and 5-3 in ACC play. FSU defeated Oklahoma, 35-32, in the ’22 Cheez-It Bowl with a defensive unit that finished the season third in scoring defense (18.7 points allowed per game), first in total defense (307.3 yards per game), first in pass defense (158.9 ypg) but 10th in rush defense (148.3 ypg).

Surtain, a three-time Pro Bowler, played for Miami from ’98 to ’04 and earned all three of his Pro Bowl selections—in ’02, 03 and ’04—in a Dolphins' uniform. He joined Kansas City in ’05 and was released from the franchise in ’09, finishing his career with 538 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks, 7.0 forced fumbles, 37 interceptions and 113 pass deflections in 163 games.