It all came down to the last play.

The Memphis Tigers needed a fourth-down stop to win the conference championship, and now Coach Mike Norvell wanted to talk through the strategy.

So, he raced over to his defensive coordinator, Adam Fuller, and asked if he wanted to apply a pressure scheme.

When Fuller said no, Norvell simply responded, “Yes, sir,” before stepping away.

Five years later, Fuller still reflects on that brief exchange as the ultimate example of leadership.

“There’s so much trust with him because he works so hard and is so smart,” he said. “In the moment, he’s got ideas, but he’s got humility. He’s everything you want a leader to be.”

Memphis won the game, and Norvell was named the head coach of Florida State weeks later. Fuller has been his defensive coordinator since — and helped guide the Seminoles to an undefeated regular season and an ACC title last year.

The Daily Coach spoke to Fuller about his coaching start in Division III, maintaining buy-in when the results aren’t there, and common missteps of coaches and leaders.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Coach, thanks for doing this. Tell us about your childhood and how it shaped you.

I grew up about 30 minutes outside of Boston, in Tewksbury. My parents got divorced when I was young, so it was my single mother and my brother. There was a big network of uncles, aunts and cousins who really supported us as we grew up.

Every Sunday, we’d go to St. Williams Church, then there’d be a big family gathering over at my grandparents’ house. You’d have the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins on, but I was really the first one in my family to choose a career in sports. Nobody had gone to college for athletics.

You had a good playing career at Sacred Heart. When did you realize you wanted to coach?

When I was about to finish college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I played in an All-Star game at the end of the year in Cleveland, but I realized I wasn’t going to be able to play anymore. Life had to get started, and (football) was the only thing I knew I was passionate about. I went to my college coach and asked him if I could get involved in coaching. I was hoping he’d tell me he got me a job there at Sacred Heart. It didn’t work out that way. He got me a job, but it was at a Division III school, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, making about $2,500.

(A year later), I took a job at Wagner College and worked for Coach Walt Hameline. He became that first mentor for me.

What’d you learn at Wagner and in those early years that you still apply?

I started out as a graduate assistant and each season continued to gain more experience and responsibility. I was the special teams coordinator and the co-defensive coordinator. The staff at Wagner College was made up of mostly younger coaches, and the experiences we had were pivotal in my growth. The head coach or a coordinator would walk in and say, “Hey, somebody’s got to take care of the food this summer for the players.” Then he’d say, “Who’s going to deal with film exchange?” You look up and realize you have a lot of jobs and responsibilities.

It’s the old saying. If you need something done and look at your two buddies — one’s sitting on the couch, the other’s working two jobs — ask the guy working two jobs. He’ll probably be there for you.

As a young coach, I tried to take every job I could and be the best at it. I think that’s helped me move forward, and I still try to do that. The greatest reward is the opportunity to do more. I believe that. It started back at Wagner College.

You’ve had eight different coaching stops. Is there any retrospective advice you’d give yourself or other young coaches about advancing a career?

I had the chance to go to the University of Richmond as the assistant defensive backs coach. I had to take a 50 percent pay cut to take that job and let go of a lot responsibility that I had at Wagner College.

What I’d say to people, and I say to young coaches on our staff, is the last thing you want to do is take a job for status, for title, or for money. You want to take jobs and surround yourself with people who will push you, who will help you grow. That’s the greatest thing in the world — when you can sit in a room and feel yourself improve daily.

Work eats up a big portion of our lives. If you can be passionate and you love what you do, money, location and status come after.

You come to Florida State in 2020, and there are some challenges those first couple of years. What were the keys to building the program and getting it on the right track?

In our second year, we got off to an 0-4 start. We went 5-3 after that and became a really competitive team.

The greatest thing about how it all played out is even after we got off to a poor start, the way our guys practiced and the way we prepared didn’t waver. I think that started with our head coach and filtered down to our staff and players.

At some point, you have to see some results, but when we started to see the winning, I think it met the right time with the roster we had. Our best players were our best workers. When that started to come together, it really started filtrating through the program.

How did you maintain buy-in when the results weren't there initially?

Three of the values Mike talks about are service, sacrifice and respect. He lives those things. He is really consistent with his message.

It’s got to be modeled behavior. Break it down into small things. Go have a great practice. Then, what does it look like after a great practice?... You’re going to (reach) three, or four, or 10 players who will say, “O.K., this is how we react to this.” Then, you do it again on day two. It builds momentum.

The everyday atmosphere you create as a leader absolutely filters down. What happens is we all know that... but (sometimes) you don’t get the results you desire, and you get frustrated and maybe change the modeled behavior. Then, you never develop consistency because you’re constantly chasing whatever the end goal was.

When you get into that race, you look back and say, “I don’t have consistent players. I have to get my own guys in here.” Well, I don’t know what that means, to be honest with you. Very few of us get into sports and say, “It’s all about me.” We all play because we love the team aspect. I think it’s modeled behavior and servant leadership. The hard part is being that.

You finish last year’s regular season undefeated, then there’s the bitter disappointment of being left out of the College Football Playoff. What’d you tell your players?

The 2023 team was so determined and together. We go 13-0 and had made a statement… When that got taken, I think there was a lot of emotion. We as a staff spent time trying to help our players navigate that time. Some said, “Coach, I appreciate it, but I don’t want to hear anything right now. There’s nothing anybody could say that makes this right.”

When you have a group of men who come together for a common goal, and then it gets ripped apart and they don’t really know why — and you’re so good in your program at explaining “why” with everything — you just don’t have a good answer. You had to be honest with them, and honesty was “I don’t know.” Then, it came back to modeling the behavior of what needs to happen now.

Do you use that as fuel at all this year or how do you keep the program moving forward despite the frustration?

It’s fuel, yes, but it’s never referenced. Part of our consistency is it’s never been about anything but showing up every day and trying to be your very best. That’s the truth. We’re all striving for consistency and excellence. The only way to do that is to focus on what it takes.

When you deal with emotional failures and successes, and that dictates your process, you’re going to be (up and down). I see some cheap value in using it… but it’s not referenced because it’s not really important to what we’re dealing with right now. It’s not going to affect tomorrow’s workout or meeting, and it’s definitely not going to affect how we’re going to play this season.

Emotions come and go. It’s always been about the work. I think that’s the best way to create consistency.

Q&A Resources
Adam Fuller ― Bio | Twitter | Instagram | Florida State Seminoles Football

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