Mike Norvell on the hot seat: FSU coach in hot water after Seminoles drop to an all-time low

Mike Norvell saw his struggling Florida State team fall again on Saturday. The Seminoles hosted North Carolina at the Doak Campbell Stadium in a Week 10 game but suffered another disappointing loss as the Tar Heels went away with a 35-11 win.

This is casting serious doubt on his ability to continue as the program’s coach. With the eighth loss of the season in nine games, it’s increasingly unlikely he’ll remain at the helm in 2025.

No one saw this coming for Florida State. Many analysts and college football enthusiasts projected the Seminoles to claim the ACC title. But they are far from that. Nonetheless, Norvell believes he can turn things around in Tallahassee.

“I absolutely believe in it,” Norvell said when asked if the Seminoles can figure it out by the end of the season at the postgame presser. “I've lived it. I've been through it. I've seen the highs and lows in the game of football, and hell, in the game of life, just to be honest with you.

“I know and believe in what can be done, and how it can be done. I don't need a motivational speech or even an encouraging word. I don't care. It doesn't matter to me.”

Mike Norvell’s dramatic fall and possible firing

The decline of Florida State under Mike Norvell in the 2024 college football season is nothing short of dramatic. The coach arrived in Tallahassee in 2020 and transformed the struggling Seminoles into one of the best teams in college football within four years.

Florida State went undefeated in the regular season in 2023, claiming the ACC championship. The Seminoles were controversially left out of the four-team College Football Playoff.

“I know what it needs to look like,” Norvell said after the North Carolina game. “I know how you need to work. I know how you need to apply the lessons that are learned, and I damn sure know that I can do that.”

“I know that I can put together a team and a group that absolutely can respond to that, and we have not done a good enough job of that, and I do believe in those players in there.

While the call to fire Norvell thickens around Tallahassee, that decision will be difficult for the Florida State athletic department. The coach inked a new eight-year contract ahead of the 2024 season and his buyout, if fired, currently stands at a whopping $63.8 million.

After Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher last season, which activated a $77.5 million buyout, it won't be strange if Florida State follows the same route. However, considering Norvell's success in Tallahassee, there's confidence he can turn things around in 2025.