Florida State fires Mike Norvell after loss to Clemson

A home loss to Clemson was the final straw for Mike Norvell at Florida State.

The school announced it had fired Norvell Sunday, the day after the Seminoles lost 36-24 to the Tigers. Florida State will owe Norvell over $50 million per the terms of his buyout.

The loss was the third straight for FSU after defeats to Louisville and Miami. Before the game, a plane flying a banner asking for "Novell" to be fired flew over Doak S. Campbell Stadium. The banner drew the ire of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who ripped into the sentiments after the game.

President Richard McCullough said in a statement that former Middle Tennessee State coach and current director of scouting for Florida State Rick Stockstill would be the team's interim coach. According to On3, defensive coordinator Tony White has also been fired.

"We have made the decision to change the leadership of our football program," 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."

McCullough was the one announcing Norvell's firing because Florida State is also in the midst of a search for a new athletic director . Mike Alford was fired in September and no replacement has been found. At 3-5 with four games to go in the regular season, FSU needs to go 3-1 to make a bowl game for the first time since the 2023 season.

Florida State's fall under Norvell was the most drastic decline in modern college football history. After the Seminoles went 13-1 in 2023 and missed out on the College Football Playoff thanks to QB Jordan Travis' late-season leg injury, FSU went 2-10 in 2024.

Norvell kept his job after a 5-7 campaign in 2025, but his near-$60 million buyout assuredly played a role in that retention. That 2023 season earned Norvell a massive contract extension after he was the ACC coach of the year.

Florida State spent all but the first week of the season in the top five of the AP poll in 2023. The Seminoles opened the season with a 45-24 win over LSU and then proceeded to win all but one of their next nine games by 7 points or more.

Travis' injury came in the penultimate game of the season, as he suffered a fractured tibia in a win over FCS North Alabama. With Travis out for the remainder of the season, the Seminoles relied on Tate Rodemaker and Brock Glenn to end the regular season against Florida and in the ACC title game against Louisville.

Both of those games were wins, but FSU's offense wasn't nearly as dynamic as it was with Travis. And that was huge in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee. Despite ending the season at 13-0, the Seminoles got bumped out of the final four-team playoff in favor of a one-loss Texas team that won the Big 12 and a one-loss Alabama that won the SEC.

Myriad players opted out of the Orange Bowl against Georgia, and the Seminoles were rolled 63-3 by a Bulldogs team that saw its undefeated season disappear against the Crimson Tide.

That was an ominous sign of things to come for Norvell's time at FSU. With a roster that failed to reload — especially at quarterback — the Seminoles were one of the worst power conference teams in the country a year after going undefeated in the regular season. FSU scored just 15.4 points per game. Only three teams averaged fewer points per game.

Last season, FSU started 3-0 and stunned Alabama in Week 1. But the Seminoles lost their first four ACC games of the season, and then dropped games to North Carolina State and Florida by double digits to ensure bowl ineligibility.

Norvell is the fifth FBS coach fired midway through the season and the second in the ACC after NC State's Dave Doeren. Sam Houston, Baylor and Maryland have also made coaching changes.