Florida State's search should start with Stein, Dillingham, Dickert

A sitting head coach with experience … but not too much experience.That should be Florida State’s plan of pursuit to replace Mike Norvell, who was mercifully fired on Nov. 1 and sent packing with memories of 2023 (13-1 record) and a $50 million buyout.The Seminoles, despite eight years of at least five losses in the last decade (!), are a big boy program playing in a talent-rich state. It is not the job for a first-time coach facing a significant rebuild. Experience in the hot seat should be a pre-requisite.But Seminoles fans should also want somebody who can be a long-term answer.Brian Kelly, 65, wants the job. Jimbo Fisher, 61, would take the job for the federal minimum wage. No thanks.The Seminoles’ search, once they hire an athletic director (which should be done first), should start with three names.I would call Kentucky’s Will Stein just to make sure he says no. If he’s interested in leaving the Wildcats after one year, every single resource should be devoted to pursuing him. Yes, he just has the single season as a big whistle, but he’s worth it.If Stein isn’t in play, my next two calls would be to Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State and Jake Dickert at Wake Forest.Dillingham, 36, is 26-21 for the Sun Devils and was an FSU assistant in 2020-21 and before that, was at Auburn for one year.Arizona State is 4-4 this year.Dickert, 43, has won at Washington State and Wake Forest. Think about that. He was 23-20 at Washington State and 14-5 at Wake (only loss this year is to Miami). A big leap from Winston-Salem to Tallahassee? Yes, but I want a guy who has turned programs around.That’s my list: 1. Stein; 2. Dillingham; 3. Dickert.Jaguars big road favoriteTwelve hours before the Jacksonville Jaguars-Baltimore Ravens kickoff on Nov. 5, the sharps had bet the Jaguars to a 10-point favorite (they opened at minus-8) because the Ravens lost quarterbacks Lamar Jackson (right thumb) and Tyler Huntley (toe) for the season in their Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills.Suffice it to say, being a double-digit road favorite is rare territory for the Jaguars.If the line held at minus-10, it would have marked the first time since Dec. 17, 2000, at Cincinnati when the Jaguars were minus-10 1/2 and lost 17-14.Before the Ravens game, the Jaguars were 4-1 straight-up all-time when a double-digit road favorite and 2-3 against the spread. The largest spread? They were a 14 1/2-point favorite at Cleveland on Dec. 19, 1999, and won 24-14.Eric Murray’s concussion storyLast week, I caught up with Jaguars safety Eric Murray and asked if his concussion sustained in Week 4 at Cincinnati was the first time he had been hurt by friendly fire (safety Rayuan Lane). He said it was and it was also the first time he had been knocked out.According to Pro Sports Transactions, it was Murray’s first documented concussion of his 11-year career. He sustained a season-elbow injury against Indianapolis on Nov. 1 covering the opening kickoff.Back to the Bengals game …“All I remember is rolling over and sitting up and there were a bunch of people around me,” Murray said. “Things were just really spotty. I was in and out.”Spotty?“You’re operating, but there are moments you don’t remember,” he said.Murray remembers “briefly” talking to coach Liam Coen before going into the medical tent.“I remember the conversation in there and then it was like a movie, things were flickering in and out as I made my way to the locker room,” Murray said. “Once I get in there, I went through the assessment for the concussion protocol and after 10-15 minutes had passed, it was like my brain came back online and it was recording memories again.”Among the questions the medical staff asked Murray was the day of the week and say the months of the year in reverse order.“You can imagine, if you have a concussion, that’s going to be hard to answer,” he said of the months-in-reverse question.Murray said he felt 100% “probably a week later,” when the team was in London. He sat out the Week 5 win over Philadelphia.Murray played in the win over Houston, but the elbow injury ended his season.Extra points1. Big debut for UNF: A heckuva win for the UNF men’s basketball team on Nov. 3, 71-63 over Cal Baptist (Riverside, Calif.), a Big West program. Five Ospreys scored in double figures and UNF outscored Baptist 42-20 in the paint. Next up for UNF is No. 22 UCLA on Nov. 6 and then a cross-country flight to Miami to play the 14th-ranked Hurricanes on Nov. 9. UNF’s home opener is Nov. 12 against The Citadel.2. UF-Miami all kinds of ugly: The Hurricanes opened against No. 1 Florida in Tampa on Nov. 2 and the game was, um, er, tedious. Check that, it was a train wreck. The Gators’ 77-67 win took 2 hours, 43 minutes to complete. The telecast was shifted from ESPN2 to ESPNEWS at 8:15 p.m. (2 hours, 15 minutes into the game) to make way for the “Manningcast.” The teams combined for 48 fouls and 65 free throws and every time I looked up, there was an official’s review. It was all around yucky.3. Starting Jones right move: What we’ve learned about the Florida quarterback situation is its 2027 Week 1 starter isn’t on the roster, right? Aaron Philo returned from injury against Georgia and threw one of the ghastliest interceptions you’ll ever see and was soon benched in favor of Trammel Jones, Jr. (Mandarin HS/Jacksonville). Jones had no chance playing behind Florida’s struggling offensive lines. Coach Jon Sumrall is making the right decision to start Jones against Oklahoma on Nov. 7 and give him plenty of leeway the rest of the season to see if Jones can be a part of the mix next year.Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com or on X at @ryanohalloran. Listen to Ryan on 1010AM on Tuesdays (6:35 p.m. on “Into The Night"), Thursdays (1:15 on "XL Primetime") and Fridays ("First Coast Football Friday" 4-7 p.m.).This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida State's search should start with Stein, Dillingham, Dickert