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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Florida State made the decision to fire head coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Seminoles fell 36-24 at home against Clemson, dropping them to 3-5 on the year. It was their third straight loss and continued a disappointing stretch in Norvell's tenure as head coach.
The decision triggered a massive buyout as well, with Florida State owing Norvell $50.3 million, one of the largest figures in the history of college football. The team has already named Rick Stockstill interim head coach while they search for Norvell's replacement.
Former Ohio State and Florida head coach Urban Meyer recently gave his thoughts on Norvell's exit at FSU, saying he was actually happy for him personally, but also wasn't entirely surprised by the decision and that the situation had been building for years.
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"I'm actually happy for the guy ... Move on, go enjoy your family. You made some money there," Meyer said. "I mean, it's been coming for three years. The culture just is constantly shifting when you're having this many players come in every year. You know, you have 40 or 50 every year coming in. I can't even fathom that. You better pick the right ones, man. And your staff better do a great job developing them."
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Norvell's time at Florida State was a dramatic rise and fall. After taking over in December 2019, he gradually turned the program around, culminating in a 13-1 season and ACC title in 2023. However, the Seminoles never got back to that high, winning just 10 games over the next three seasons combined, and never making the College Football Playoff.
One of the biggest issues was player retention. Florida State became heavily reliant on the transfer portal, bringing in experienced players to fill holes on their roster rather than try to retain and develop its own players. According to 247Sports' transfer tracker, more than 80 players transferred into the program from 2022 to 2026, while over 140 players left. That's a net loss of more than 50 players over five cycles.
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Ultimately, the transfer portal can help a program improve quickly, but relying too heavily on it can make it difficult to build a roster capable of sustained success. Florida State saw that firsthand, while also struggling to consistently land elite high school talent, difficult circumstances for anybody to have success with.
Whoever steps in next will need to do a better job of recruiting but also developing players and establishing a sustainable, winning culture. Some early names that have been floated as potential replacements include Duke head coach Manny Diaz, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Wake Forest's Jake Dickert, and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham. Former Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has also been mentioned as a potential wild card.
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