Seven Potential Candidates For Florida State's Next Offensive Coordinator

Seven early names who stand out in FSU's search for a new offensive coordinator.

Brennan Marion/Twitter

Florida State has fielded one of the worst offenses in the country this season, leading head coach Mike Norvell to move on from offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins. The Seminoles rank at the bottom of the FBS in scoring, second to last in total yards per game, and fourth to last in rushing yards.

Something has to change, and quickly. Norvell has made it clear that he's open to all possibilities, including a change of scheme and handing over play-calling duties.

READ MORE: Florida State Football Receiving “Tremendous Interest” In Open Coaching Jobs

Despite the failures in Tallahassee in 2024, the brand and opportunity to bring Florida State back could be alluring to potential candidates. Here are seven names that have caught our eye early in the coaching search.

— Brennan Marion, UNLV OC/QBs Coach

Marion might very well end up being the No. 1 name on Florida State's shortlist considering his direct ties to Norvell and early success during his coaching career. He played under Norvell, who was at graduate assistant at the time, at Tulsa in 2007-08. The two then worked together at Arizona State in 2015 when Norvell was the offensive coordinator and Marion was a quality control coach.

Since then, Marion has quickly climbed the coaching ladder from the D2 and FCS levels, spending the last five years in the FBS. He coached wide receivers at Hawaii (2020), Pittsburgh (2021), and Texas (2022) before landing his first offensive coordinator job at UNLV. He improved the offense immediately upon his arrival and has the unit ranked No. 7 in the country in scoring and top 40 in yards per game. Marion has developed NFL wide receivers such as Jordan Addison and Xavier Worthy.

What's also impressive is his ability to adapt. UNLV saw quarterback Matthew Sluka depart from the team after an NIL dispute after three games. Since then, the Rebels are averaging 39.3 points per game and have scored 40+ points in three of their last six outings.

— Kade Bell, Pitt OC/QBs coach

Bell is a young up-and-comer, sitting at just 31 years old and running his first offense at the FBS level at Pittsburgh in 2024. With that being said, the results have been impressive with the Panthers fielding one of their most explosive units in years. Bell has the offense ranked No. 16 in points per game (36.7) and No. 36 in yards per game (427.8).

A Gainesville native, Bell played at Jacksonville University under his father, innovative offensive mind Kerwin Bell. He then coached with his father at Valdosta State, taking over offensive coordinator duties in 2019. Bell spent a year at USF as an offensive analyst prior to a three-year stint at Western Carolina as the offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach.

Obviously, Bell's ability to recruit high-level talent is still a question-mark but he's someone certainly worth evaluating.

— Mike Shanahan, Indiana OC/WRs coach

The Indiana Hoosiers are the story of college football this year, ranked No. 5 in the country with a 10- start to the season. New head coach Curt Cignetti has brought a breath of fresh air to the program after a successful stint at James Madison. Multiple players and staffers followed Cignetti to Indiana, including Mike Shanahan. No, we're not talking about the former NFL coach, instead, we're discussing the 34-year-old who is a relatively new name on the scene.

Shanahan worked with Cignetti during his time at James Madison and was the offensive coordinator during his final three years with the Dukes. He's continued to run the offense for the Hoosiers along with coaching wide receivers. Shanahan has Indiana ranked second in the nation in points per game (43.9) and No. 16 in yards per game (453.2).

There is a tie between Norvell and Shanahan, who played under the FSU head coach at Pittsburgh in 2011. Norvell was the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach while Shanahan played wide receiver which means they likely spent a fair amount of time around one another. Outside of Indiana and James Madison, Shanahan has worked at Pittsburgh, IUP, and Elon.

— Joe Craddock, Tulane OC/QBs Coach

Craddock has a wealth of experience as an offensive coordinator at the FBS level. He got his first college job in player development at Clemson and latched on with the program in a graduate assistant role. Chad Morris tabbed Craddock as his offensive coordinator when he left the Tigers for SMU, making him the youngest OC in college football at 29 years old. He continued under Morris as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas for two years.

Following a stint at UAB as the tight ends coach, Craddock was hired as the offensive coordinator at Troy in 2022. Two years later, he finds himself leading a high-octane attack at Tulane with the offense sitting at fourth in the country in scoring (41.0 PPG) and No. 26 in yards per game (442.0). Craddock has developed redshirt freshman quarterback Darian Mensah into a capable signal-caller. After not playing a snap last year, Mensah has completed 141/215 passes for 2,059 yards with 16 touchdowns to four interceptions.

Craddock certainly has traits and past ties that could be useful at Florida State.

— Ben Arbuckle, Washington State OC/QBs Coach

There are plenty of young guns available but not many have worked with potential Heisman candidates. Ben Arbuckle is in his second season as the offensive coordinator at Washington State at just 29 years old. In 2023, he coached current Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who completed 323/485 passes for 3,736 yards with 25 touchdowns to seven interceptions while rushing for a career-best eight scores on the ground.

Arbuckle might not have the seasoning but he certainly knows how to make an offense roll. The Cougars have overperformed in 2024, sitting in the top 25. A large part of that is because Arbuckle has the offense scoring 39.3 points per game (No. 8 in FBS) and recording 452.1 yards per game (No. 17).

Only seven years into his coaching career, Arbuckle is quickly developing into a hot name on the market. After cutting his teeth at Houston Baptist, he was hired as a quality control coach by Western Kentucky in 2021 and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach by the following year. Arbuckle is trending up, and fast.

— Mack Leftwich, Texas State OC

Leftwich is only 29 years old and one of the lesser-proven options on this list. However, you can't ignore the production of the offense at Texas State under his guidance. The Bobcats set multiple single-season program records in 2023 and are averaging 33.1 points per game (No. 33) along with 444.4 yards per game (No. 23) this year. The unit has been quite dynamic, averaging over 240 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game.

Interestingly enough, like Arbuckle, Leftwich also crossed paths with Cam Ward. He was Ward's quarterbacks coach at Incarnate Word for two years in 2020-21. During that period, Ward completed 567/893 passes for 6,908 yards with 71 touchdowns to 14 interceptions along with adding three scores on the ground.

In total, Leftwich spent five years at Incarnate Word, including a season as the offensive coordinator in 2022 prior to his leap to Washington State. He played his college ball at UTEP and began his coaching career there as a student assistant in 2016. Leftwich is green now but it won't be much longer until he gets a shot at a P4 program.

— Mike Bloomgren, Former Rice Head Coach

This one might be a little bit of a stretch but Bloomgren is a Tallahassee native and he graduated from Florida State in 1999. He was recently fired prior to the conclusion of his seventh season as the head coach at Rice after compiling a 24-52 record. It's important to remember that FSU wouldn't be asking Bloomgren to be its head coach and he does have some impressive experience as an offensive coordinator under his belt.

Bloomgren was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Stanford when running back Christian McCaffery starred for the program. From 2011-17, the Cardinal had seven offensive linemen drafted, including three first-round picks (David DeCastro, Andrus Peat, Joshua Garnett). That's the type of production FSU has been missing up-front for years.

With 25 years of experience under his belt, Bloomgren is a proven option. He spent four years with the New York Jets as a quality control coach (2007-08), offensive assistant (2009), and co-offensive coordinator (2010). Bloomgren got his career started with a three-year stint as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1999-2001.

At the very least, Florida State should give Bloomgren a call about the open offensive line job, if he wants to return to coaching quickly.

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READ MORE: Florida State Athletic Department Supporting Mike Norvell Through Changes

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