# Jay Norvell
**Jay Norvell** (born 1963) is an [American football](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-football) coach and former player who served as head coach at the [University of Nevada, Reno](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-nevada-reno) from 2017 to 2021 and at [Colorado State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/colorado-state-university) from 2022 until his dismissal on October 19, 2025, compiling a career head coaching record of 51 wins and 52 losses.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) • [2](https://csurams.com/news/2025/10/19/csu-announces-head-football-coaching-change) A former All-Big Ten defensive back at Iowa, he built his coaching reputation on the offensive side of the ball, coordinating attacks at Nebraska, UCLA, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona State before becoming a head coach.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963, Madison, Wisconsin[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) |
| Playing career | Defensive back, Iowa (1983-86); All-Big Ten, league-high seven interceptions in 1985, 10-2 team, Rose Bowl[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) • [4](https://cubuffs.com/documents/download/2024/9/11/CSU_Football_Notes.pdf) |
| Head coaching record | 51-52 (.495) over nine seasons; Nevada 33-26, Colorado State 18-26[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) |
| Bowl record | 2-2 in four bowl games as head coach (Arizona Bowl win 2018, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win 2020, losses in 2019 and 2024)[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) |
| Head coaching appointments | Nevada, hired Dec. 9, 2016 as the program's 26th head coach; Colorado State, named its 24th head coach[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) • [4](https://cubuffs.com/documents/download/2024/9/11/CSU_Football_Notes.pdf) |
| Dismissal | Colorado State announced on Oct. 19, 2025 that he would not return, effective immediately[2](https://csurams.com/news/2025/10/19/csu-announces-head-football-coaching-change) |
| Honor | 2020-21 College Coach of the Year, National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) |
## Playing career
Norvell played defensive back at the [University of Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-iowa) from 1983 to 1986 under [Hayden Fry](https://www.edgepedia.org/hayden-fry). A 1986 graduate, he was an All-Big Ten defensive back and recorded a league-high seven interceptions in 1985, helping the Hawkeyes to a 10-2 record, a conference championship, and a Rose Bowl berth.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) • [4](https://cubuffs.com/documents/download/2024/9/11/CSU_Football_Notes.pdf) He was a member of the [Chicago Bears](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-bears) in 1987 before beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant on offense at Iowa.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
## Assistant coaching career
Norvell's first head coaching appointment in 2016 followed a roughly three-decade assistant career spanning college football's top conferences and the NFL.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) His stops, in order, were:
- **Iowa** (1986-87), graduate assistant on offense[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Northern Iowa** (1988), wide receivers, his first full-time position[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Wisconsin** (1989-94), offensive line, receivers, and special teams[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Iowa State** (1995-97), assistant head coach, quarterbacks, and wide receivers, working with Sage Rosenfels[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Indianapolis Colts** (1998-2001), wide receivers, the first four seasons of [Peyton Manning](https://www.edgepedia.org/peyton-manning)'s career; [Marvin Harrison](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvin-harrison) totaled 385 receptions, 5,376 receiving yards, and 48 touchdowns during Norvell's tenure[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Oakland Raiders** (2002-03), tight ends, on a staff whose offense led the NFL in total yards and passing yards per game and reached [Super Bowl XXXVII](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl-xxxvii)[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Nebraska** (2004-06) and **UCLA** (2007), offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; the 2006 Cornhuskers were one of only two teams nationally in the top 25 in total, scoring, rushing, and passing offense[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Oklahoma** (2008-14), three seasons as assistant offensive coordinator and four as co-offensive coordinator with receivers; he coached three of the top four players on the school's all-time receptions list, including Ryan Broyles, who left as the NCAA's all-time receptions leader, and worked in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Texas** (2015), wide receivers coach who took over play-calling during the season, helping produce two wins over top-15 teams[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
- **Arizona State** (2016), wide receivers and offensive passing game coordinator[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
## Nevada (2017-2021)
Norvell was hired as the 26th head coach in Nevada program history on December 9, 2016, his first head coaching job.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) His first team went 3-9, with his first career victory a 35-21 win over Hawaii on October 7, 2017.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) • [3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
**The program improved steadily.** Nevada went 8-5 in 2018 and won the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl 16-13 in overtime over Arkansas State, only the sixth bowl win in school history, a five-game improvement over the previous season.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) After a 7-6 season in 2019 that included the program's first road win against a ranked opponent, a victory over No. 24 San Diego State, the 2020 Wolf Pack finished 7-2 and closed with a 38-27 win over Tulane at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) • [3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) The 2020 offense averaged 30.8 points per game behind quarterback Carson Strong, the first Nevada player named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, and a school-record 15 players earned 16 all-conference honors.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) Nevada went 8-4 in 2021, and Norvell left with a five-year record of 33-26 and a 2-1 bowl mark.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html)
## Colorado State (2022-2025)
Norvell was named the 24th head coach in Colorado State history, moving within the Mountain West from Nevada to Fort Collins.[4](https://cubuffs.com/documents/download/2024/9/11/CSU_Football_Notes.pdf) He installed a version of the Air Raid offense, a spread passing system, blended with NFL-style under-center schemes and a downhill running attack.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644) • [5](https://thednvr.com/rams/rams-film-room-the-air-raid-has-arrived-in-fort-collins/)
His first two seasons went 3-9 and 5-7. In 2024 the Rams improved to 8-5 and earned a berth in the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl, which offered name, image, and likeness payments to every player on both teams; Norvell called the NIL component "the future" of the sport. Colorado State lost the game.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) • [6](https://apnews.com/article/81f2a7f80a80479efd9332e87ae28ba9) The 2025 team opened 2-5 through seven games, and Colorado State announced on October 19, 2025 that Norvell would not return as head coach, effective immediately, leaving his CSU record at 18-26.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) • [2](https://csurams.com/news/2025/10/19/csu-announces-head-football-coaching-change) • [7](https://collegian.com/articles/featured/2025/10/category-sports-culture-doesnt-cut-it-csu-parts-with-jay-norvell/)
## Records and discrepancies
Sports [Reference](https://www.edgepedia.org/reference) credits Norvell with a 51-52 career record (.495) across 103 games at major schools, with a 2-2 bowl record.[1](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html) The CFBTrack coaching database lists a 51-57 record from 2017 through 2025 across nine countable seasons, a difference of five losses that the two sources do not reconcile.[8](https://cfbtrack.com/coaches/222-jay-norvell)
## Personal life
Norvell is from [Madison, Wisconsin](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-wisconsin). He and his wife Kim have a son, Jaden. He is the author of *Complete Wide Receiver*, published in 2012.[3](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
## References
1. [Jay Norvell College Coaching Records, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/jay-norvell-1.html)
2. [CSU Announces Head Football Coaching Change, Colorado State Athletics](https://csurams.com/news/2025/10/19/csu-announces-head-football-coaching-change)
3. [Jay Norvell, University of Nevada Athletics](https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/jay-norvell/644)
4. [2024 Colorado State Football Game Notes](https://cubuffs.com/documents/download/2024/9/11/CSU_Football_Notes.pdf)
5. [Rams Film Room: The Air Raid has arrived in Fort Collins, DNVR Sports](https://thednvr.com/rams/rams-film-room-the-air-raid-has-arrived-in-fort-collins/)
6. [What Snoop wants: Arizona Bowl gives NIL opportunities to players, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/81f2a7f80a80479efd9332e87ae28ba9)
7. [Culture doesn't cut it: CSU parts with Jay Norvell, The Rocky Mountain Collegian](https://collegian.com/articles/featured/2025/10/category-sports-culture-doesnt-cut-it-csu-parts-with-jay-norvell/)
8. [Jay Norvell, CFBTrack coaching database](https://cfbtrack.com/coaches/222-jay-norvell)
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*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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