Atkins ready to help as offensive coordinator
Alex Atkins has spent much of his coaching career willing to learn from the best. So, when the opportunity arose for him to join Mike Norvell’s coaching staff at Florida State a few years ago, he jumped at the chance to work with an up-and-coming offensive mind.
That decision paid off as Norvell promoted Atkins to be the Seminoles offensive coordinator on Dec. 16 after Kenny Dillingham left for a similar role at Oregon. Atkins can step into a more prominent role not afforded to many offensive line coaches.
“I saw it as an opportunity to learn from a guy who called plays better than I did,” said Atkins. “To be able to learn offensive football from Mike Norvell, and you look at his track record and guys that have worked for him and gone on to other places, is unbelievable.
“When we first had a conversation, I told him my goals and aspirations. He said, ‘What do you want to do? Like what do you want your career to be? And what do you want to come?’ That was the first, initial conversation.”
Atkins served as offensive coordinator at Charlotte in 2019 and as interim OC during Tulane’s appearance in the 2018 Cure Bowl.
The Chicago native knew he still would need to prove himself to his new coach, so he worked hard to learn about the offense while working as FSU’s offensive line coach. During the last two seasons, the Seminoles showed marked improvement up front, helping the team average 187 rushing yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry.
Atkins makes no qualms that this is Norvell’s offensive scheme and the third-year head coach will continue to call the plays. He plans to soak up as much as possible while lending his voice with game-planning.
“Being a line coach, you’re always heavily involved in the play-calling process,” said Atkins. “But now I’m involved in all aspects of the process.”
Atkins prefers to coach from the sidelines, where he can interact with players, rather than the coaches’ box.
Atkins will lean on his previous stops, including UT-Martin where he learned under head coach Jason Simpson and former offensive coordinator Geep Wade, for his offensive philosophies. He also spoke with several other offensive line coaches who transitioned into offensive coordinators.
“Those are the guys that I saw had done and it made it possible,” said Atkins. “[They] made me have a belief in it. The stigma that line coaches cannot do it because of the responsibility of coaching the offensive line, which is almost not well-thought-out.
“I believe that research shows that O-line coaches are competent, very smart, very understanding of all aspects, not just protection in the run game. I’ve always loved all aspects of football, and I want to know what’s going on, and I want to see routes. I love ball.”
Atkins understands that he’s not a traditional choice for offensive coordinator, and most coaches prefer to hire a former quarterbacks coach to run their offenses.
“That’s the norm, and like in any business there’s a cycle of that’s what it’s always been,” he said. “I give a lot of props to Coach Norvell for thinking outside of the norm and looking to maximize the best resource we can get and also create opportunities.”
Atkins will continue to coach the offensive line. It’s a group that returns a mix of experience, with starters like guard Dillan Gibbons, tackle Darius Washington, transfers Kayden Lyles and Bless Harris, and a handful of incoming freshmen, including Julian Armella and Jaylen Early, Qae’shon Sapp and Kanaya Charlton.
“We’re finally at a point where we’ve got some guys returning and we’ve got a good young class coming in,” said Atkins. “We’ve got some older kids that I believe are taking great steps toward leading our room. We have the pieces needed to have a large, large quantity of success, and it’s just we’ve gone through that process.”
And while it may only be January, Atkins is ready to get started.
“I am fired up for the new position and I’m appreciative of Mike Norvell for giving me the opportunity,” he said.