College football’s top 25 highest-paid coaches for 2020 season

23. Mike Norvell – Florida State

• 2020 Salary: $4.42 million

Willie Taggert brought a sense of desperation to Florida State University. It wasn’t the good kind of desperation that brings out the best in teams. This is where the Seminoles go from a national powerhouse to a laughing stock in a matter of years. Jimbo Fischer left for Texas A&M and you will see why later on the list. Taggert came from the University of South Florida, but it became clear this was the coach that needed to be the big fish in a little pond.

After firing Taggert, the leaders at Florida State honed in on Mike Norvell of Memphis after a myriad of rumors that included former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. Norvell is paid an ascending deal that averages out to $4.42 million per season. He has a ton of incentives laid out in the contract. He gets paid for making a bowl game, which jumps way higher if it’s a New Year’s Six Bowl. That goes up even higher for the College Football Playoff and the National Championship Game.

This might seem like a lot, but the Seminoles are just happy they’re saving money off of what they paid Taggert last season. He was making $5 million per season and never really showed even a decent return on investment.

It’s clearly way too early to see how this is going to work out. We have to give it some time, but Florida State is going out on a limb with this Norvell contract.