Ernie Sims pushing linebackers to set the tone for FSU: “We have to carry ourselves with a certain dadgum mindset”

It doesn’t take long to see Bobby Bowden’s impact on first-year linebacker coach Ernie Sims.

Sims, a Tallahassee native, played under Coach Bowden for three years and became a top-10 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. In his interview with the local Tallahassee media on Tuesday, Sims uttered “Dadgum,” a trademark Bowden phrase, four times. He mentioned that before even discussing football with his players, he cared and wanted to cultivate a “connection” above all else. The former FSU great says that now, as a coach, creating an impact is his north star.

“Playing (football) was something different for me…Now that I’m on the other side of it as a coach, my whole perspective has completely flipped. It’s all about impact. That is my objective every single day I walk on the field. It’s about what type of impact can I make with a young man at that particular moment.”

Through the first part of fall camp and in his first season as linebackers coach at FSU, Sims’ impact on his position group has started to turn heads. After multiple rocky seasons under former LB coach John Papuchis, Sims’ ability to instill an identity and intensity into his unit could make the Seminole linebackers one of the best position groups on the team. After practice on Monday, head coach Mike Norvell did not hold back in his praise of Sims through the first half of fall camp.

“When it’s your room, you see the identity of the room take shape. With Ernie, you feel that in his position. The daily approach and edge that he brings with those guys is something that I’ve really liked to see. He challenges them mentally. He challenges them physically.”

“I think he’s done a really nice job making that room his.”

As mentioned, Sims’ experience as a player and coach built him for this moment as an LB coach at his alma mater. After spending eight years in the NFL and two seasons at FAU in an operations role, the Tallahassee native became the USF LB coach in 2021 before going to UCF and taking on the same role in 2023. He then joined FSU’s staff in 2024 as an analyst and was elevated to assistant LB coach in 2025. When the Noles and Papuchis split at the end of last season, defensive coordinator Tony White only needed to look down the hall to find his replacement. Even after only working with Sims for one season and coaching a unique scheme, White believed he would be the right man for the job ahead of a pressure-packed 2026 season.

“He’s just a different cat,” the defensive coordinator said about Sims at Florida State’s preseason luncheon interview at the end of July. “He’s really intense and really on them. Not saying that anybody else wasn’t. It’s just a different feel, vibe, and intensity in that room, and you can feel it.”

Changing the attitude inside the position group was one of Sims’ first orders of business when he took over. Even though not many players have the athleticism and ability he had as a player, he can pass on what mentality a Florida State linebacker must think when they take the field.

“When I came here as a linebackers coach, it was a little bit too passive for my liking. I wanted them to understand what it meant to be a linebacker and that we were going to command the field…I talk to them all the time about being an apex predator. We have to carry ourselves with a certain dadgum mindset.”

One of the top-of-the-food-chain type players FSU brought in during the offseason is LB Chris Jones. The Southern Miss transfer finished in the top 10 in the country in tackles per game a season ago and appears to be as advertised from the way players and coaches talked about him throughout spring and fall camp. Part of the reason Jones stands to make the difficult jump from G6 to P4 is due to the attitude driven into him by Sims.

“Coach Sims says to set the tone, so I try to set the tone every day,” Jones told the local press last week. “Coach Norvell might get in my ear sometimes and say, ‘Calm down, we can’t take them down to the ground today.’ Sometimes I have to hear that, but I just love being physical.”

Along with Jones, FSU’s LBs are an exciting mix of veteran transfers, rising upperclassmen, and intriguing freshmen. Mikai Gbayor also transferred in this past winter and should compete for time with returners Blake Nichelson and Omar Graham Jr. The Seminoles also brought in an impressive crop of first-year players, headlined by four-star Izayia Williams, who could see the field later in the season if they continue on the trajectory they are on. All of the talent and passion in the room make the Seminole linebacking corps one of the more fun positions to hear about throughout the offseason.

“There are a lot of young men in this group who are itching to be that guy. As we go through fall camp and prepare ourselves for the first week, we are still identifying who is going to be the one who is going to roll out there.”

After two years without depth and consistency at the linebacker position, the room seems to have flipped due to the adjustments made by Sims. While it is impossible to predict how the defense will look in 2026, rooting for the success of an all-time Florida State great to find success on and off the field should be one of the positive stories for a fan base desperate to find hope heading into the 2026 season.