Senior Defensive Analyst hired away from Florida State for first on-field coaching position
Florida State has already made one coaching change this offseason, though that switch was somewhat expected after Marcus Woodson departed for Arkansas and was replaced by Patrick Surtain Sr.
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The Seminoles will be replacing at least one more member of the coaching this offseason.
On Friday, senior defensive analyst Cortez Carter updated his social media to reflect that he had left Florida State to take the linebackers coach position at Louisiana Tech. This is a well-deserved promotion for Carter as it will be the first on-field job in his coaching career.
Carter spent the last three years at Florida State as a senior defensive analyst, primarily working with the linebackers and defensive backs while also contributing on the recruiting trail. Three of the Seminoles' top six tacklers were linebackers, including standouts Tatum Bethune (84 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks) and Kalen DeLoach (65 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 7 pass breakups). He worked with head coach Mike Norvell at Memphis in 2019, when the program won a school-record 12 games.
Prior to his four years under Norvell, Carter was a graduate assistant at Marshall, his alma mater where he appeared in 51 games in his playing career. He worked with the offense in 2016 and the defense in 2017. Carter began his coaching career at Brookpoint High School in 2015.
Carter is the latest member of Norvell's staff to earn a promotion since he arrived in Tallahassee. It's a long list that includes Kenny Dillingham (offensive coordinator, Oregon), Chris Marve (defensive coordinator, Virginia Tech), Randy Shannon (defensive coordinator, FSU), Alex Atkins (offensive coordinator, FSU), Tony Tokarz, (quarterbacks coach, FSU), Marcus (defensive backs/co-defensive coordinator, Arkansas), Tre' Bell (cornerbacks coach, Akron), Carlos Locklyn (running backs coach, Western Kentucky), Mike Treier (assistant defensive backs coach, New York Giants), Marcus Davis (wide receivers coach, Hawaii), and Joe Bowen (defensive analyst, South Carolina).
The natural replacement for his role is Greg Moss, who is already on staff as a defensive analyst. That would give the Seminoles an analyst role to fill on the staff over the next couple of weeks or months and there will probably be plenty of candidates waiting in the wings.
Keep an eye on Carter and his rise in the future. His longtime experience under Norvell could end up being fruitful depending on the positions that open on Florida State's coaching staff in the future.
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