On Sunday, Florida State University announced they were parting ways with Mike Norvell after seven seasons with the team, following a 24-36 loss against Clemson.
Norvell had signed an eight-year extension worth over $84 million that would have run through the 2031 season; now FSU would owe him about 85% of his contract, roughly $50 million.
FSU also fired defensive coordinator Tony White and safeties coach Evan Cooper.
The Seminoles currently sit 16th in the ACC standings with a 3-5 overall record, only above Georgia Tech, who are 2-6.
The Seminoles’ decline over the last years
This has been a season to forget for the Seminoles; there’s no doubt about that.
The last couple of years have been as well, with a losing record in 2025 and the team’s worst record (2-10) since 1974 in 2024.
But fans will not forget the 2023 season that ended with a perfect 13-0 record, but no playoffs for FSU after missing out on the top-four teams.
It has been a whirlwind of changes since then, with players on and off the transfer portal, OCs and DCs coming and going, but Norvell was always the common denominator.
Now, with a 3-5 record, it’s not crazy to wonder if it would have been better to just wait for the season to end to fire Norvell; why do it when your season is already over?
University president Richard McCullough blamed the constant losses as something he could not keep ignoring.
“We’re at the point now, like, ‘How can we afford not to do this?’
“The time has come. We owe it to so many of our constituencies. We need to put a highly competitive team on the on the field, and we have to do whatever it takes to get to that place,” McCullough said.
Who’s handling Florida State now?
The Seminoles announced Rick Stockstill as the interim coach for the team.
Stockstill arrived at FSU as director of scouting in 2024 after spending 18 seasons as Middle Tennessee’s head coach.
The interim HC held his first press conference this Monday, where Stockstill emphasized how close FSU is to getting where they want to be.
“I know people may disagree. It’s not broke; we got some dents in it we got to get fixed.
“But I really truly believe, and I’m not saying this because of my love for Florida State, but Florida State is close. We’re close, and we’re going to get there.
“But it’s going to take everybody pulling the rope in the same direction.” Said Stockstill.
Analysis: What’s next for FSU
DAZN CFB writer Ana Gonzalez
After that 2023 season that left everyone both surprised and disappointed, I did believe that FSU was going to become a threat in the coming years; instead, they went in the opposite direction.
This season is definitely gone; unless they win the remainder of their games, the Seminoles will not be having a bowl game this year.
There won’t be much room to start fresh either until they find their next head coach, should Stockstill not remain as Norvell’s permanent replacement.
So really, it’s pretty much about getting through what’s left of this year with a record that’s not worse than what they have right now and see if next season they are able to get some coaching staff changes and hit the transfer portal.
Watch every NFL game and extensive NCAA College Sports coverage only on DAZN
Game Pass is the only place where you can watch every moment of the 2026 NFL season.
Features include options for both localised and American commentary, RedZone, NFL Network, Game in 40, Sunday in 60, Multiview, and more.
DAZN also offers extensive NCAA College Sports as a separate subscription, and flag football is available for free.
For more details and to sign up, click here for NFL Game Pass on DAZN or here for NCAA College Sports.
Source link
