Florida State fires Mike Norvell: Big buyout can't save Seminoles coach after disastrous three-year stretch

Norvell was 41-39 in seven seasons and fell to 3-5 in 2026 after Saturday's loss to Clemson Nov 1, 2026 at 3:39 pm ET • 2 min read After months of speculation about Mike Norvell's job security, Florida State decided to make a change and fired Norvell in his seventh season as coach of the Seminoles, the university announced on Sunday.For weeks, the sense from those in and around Florida State was that Norvell might be safe due to his enormous $46 million buyout and an athletic department in flux. However, those factors couldn't save Norvell."We have made the decision to change the leadership of our football program," FSU president Richard McCullough said in a statement. "We thank Mike Norvell for his commitment and service to Florida State and wish him and his family the very best. We understand the deep passion of Seminole fans and share their high expectations for this program. We are confident in Rick Stockstill's ability to provide steady leadership during this transition. We will conduct a thorough national search for the program's next leader, someone who embraces Florida State's tradition of championship athletics and our standard of excellence."Apparently, the final straw for the power brokers at Florida State was Saturday's 36-24 loss to Clemson at home. The Seminoles weren't competitive for much of the game, and the Doak Campbell Stadium crowd dwindled in the second half. The optics of a "Fire Mike Norvell" banner flying over the stadium prior to kickoff certainly didn't help, even if Dabo Swinney came to Norvell's defense.Florida State hired Norvell in 2020, and he made noticeable progress in each of his first four seasons on the job. That culminated in a 13-1 season in 2023 in which the Seminoles won the ACC Championship but were left out of the four-team College Football Playoff after quarterback Jordan Travis went down with a late season-ending injury. That year, Norvell won Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year and ACC Coach of the Year.Since then, it's been a steady spiral downward for Norvell and the program as a whole. The 2024 season began with high expectations, but big whiffs in the transfer portal resulted in a disastrous 2-10 campaign. Over the last two seasons, Florida State has been well behind the curve on the NIL market, and it's struggled to compete at a high level. Since the start of that miserable 2024 season, Norvell has led the Seminoles to a10-22 record with no tangible signs of progress.Perhaps a coaching change will prompt a bigger investment into NIL and help Florida State close the gap with some of the biggest spenders in the ACC and college football at large.Norvell exits Tallahassee with an overall record of 41-39, and based on his track record prior to the 2024 season, he will get opportunities elsewhere. Prior to his Florida State tenure, Norvell had a successful four-season run at Memphis in which he compiled a 38-16 record and an American Athletic Conference championship. Former Florida State quarterback and current director of scouting Rick Stockstill will take over as interim coach. Stockstill spent 18 seasons at MTSU and led the Blue Raiders to an overall record of 113-11 with 10 bowl appearances.Norvell's numbersYear-by-year record for Mike NorvellYearTeamRecordPostseason2016Memphis8–5Boca Raton Bowl (Loss)2017Memphis10–3Liberty Bowl (Loss)2018Memphis8–6Birmingham Bowl (Loss)2019Memphis12–1Cotton Bowl (Loss)2020Florida State3–62021Florida State5–72022Florida State10–3Cheez-It Bowl (Win)2023Florida State13–1Orange Bowl (Loss)2024Florida State2–102025Florida State5–72026Florida State3–5Memphis total4 seasons38-16FSU total7 seasons41-39Career total11 seasons79-55