Florida State coach Mike Norvell explains viral picture of him with cornrows

Curt Weiler | Tallahassee Democrat

Show Caption Hide Caption FSU football coach Mike Norvell: Video of introductory press conference Here is a video stream of the introductory press conference for new Florida State football coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019.

If you've been following the Mike Norvell saga closely early during his time at Florida State, you may have seen a certain picture of him.

It's a picture that was brought back to light during his appearance on College GameDay when Memphis hosted SMU and the national ESPN college football show back in early November.

The picture depicts Norvell dressed in his football uniform from his time as a wide receiver at Central Arkansas University. His hair, however, is braided into cornrows atop his head.

The viral picture has resurfaced among the FSU fanbase and certain members of the team on social media in the days since it became clear he was the frontrunner to be FSU's next head coach.

Near the end of an appearance on ESPN Radio's Golic and Wingo Wednesday morning, Norvell was asked about the picture, providing context for how it came to be.

“It was really a funny time. I was going into my sophomore year and I’m working an inner-city youth camp right before we start fall camp and we broke up into groups that had competition. I had long hair, and the group that I had said ‘Coach, if we win, we’re going to braid your hair.’ After looking at my group, I thought they had no chance to win, so I made the deal," Norvell said.

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"And I tell you what, I was an unbelievable inspiration because they dominated every competition that they had. I went back to Conway, Arkansas with the cornrows in my hair and then here came the decision, we always had Media Day the first day we reported. And I decided it would be a great idea to keep the cornrows and take a picture to try to be funny."

Years later when the picture reemerged, Norvell used it as a lesson for this team.

"Little did I know, when I’d be standing on the stage on (College) GameDay 20-something years later, that’s what I’d be talking about and little did I know that when I got the opportunity to be the head coach at Florida State, that would be the picture that’s associated with my past," Norvell said.

"So I tell our guys, 'Understand, social media, it’ll come back to get ya.'"

One of the co-hosts of the show, Mike Golic Jr., remarked that a picture like that would make him want to play for a coach like that.

Norvell replied with what he's said to the players who asked him about the picture, saying, "It’s funny, all our players come and go 'Coach, is that you?' and I say, 'Boys, everybody has got a little dog in them, let me just tell you.'"

You can reach Curt Weiler at cweiler@tallahassee.com.