You will get many opinions about almost everything. Norfolk State coaches are all local SE VA guys having either lived or played here all of their adult lives.
I am not sure what you have heard but the biggest change there in the last few seasons is the addition of Wiley Lee to the staff. Coach Lee had a long run locally at GB and when his son Graduated he moved on to the next level. His reputation for being tough and demanding is almost legendary for anyone familiar with SED baseball for the years he coached GB. It was well deserved and he hates losing. If you are not doing it right you will hear about it.
He was known to call timeout and come down and grab bats out of hitters hands and show them how to square for bunts after he failed to get one down or to come across the infield to check on players health after not getting dirty on a pickoff going back to 1st base. Hardnosed baseball, aggressive on the bases, sound defensively and at the plate were the calling card most of the time.
Last season 23-26 was the Spartans best since 2008 & 2009 when they were at .500. They have been mediocre at best every season from 2010-2013 running anywhere from 5-10 games under .500 every year. The roster is heavily flavored with players from Richmond down the peninsula to the South Side. It will be interesting to see if they can take another step and pop back over .500 this spring.