We’re not even to the first official week of the college football seasonm and we already have a coach on buyout alert. You guessed it: Mike Norvell, welcome back! Norvell has been under fire since he and Florida State tried to fight the College Football Playoff selection committee for omitting them after losing Jordan Travis. While they were genuinely robbed, it’s been all downhill since.
Florida State got whooped by Georgia in the Orange Bowl and has proceeded to win a combined seven games over the last two years, including a 2-10 season in 2024. To say Norvell entered 2026 on the hot seat would be an understatement. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the only reason Norvell hasn’t been fired yet is because the Seminoles are tired of paying coaches to not coach.
His team's Week 0 debut, a 34-17 win over New Mexico State that was way nervier than it should've been. didn't help. The Seminoles started the 2026 season with the same questions as the 2025 season: How long will Norvell last? Florida State survived the Aggies' upset bid, but the same problems have arisen once again.
How much is Mike Norvell’s buyout?
It’s a question Florida State’s fan base has been asking for two years. Entering 2026, Norvell’s buyout sits at $51 million — still an absorbent amount of money to be responsible for paying a coach to not be on the sideline. But putting aside the Noles' financial issues, at what point does Florida State no longer accept Norvell’s ceiling?
An opening win he should have gotten won't change anything about his standing. The most important stretch will be the next two games, first at home against SMU and then on the road at Alabama. More than that, Norvell will have to prove that he can withstand a hot start. Last year, the Seminoles started 3-0, got ranked and then lost seven of the next nine games.
If Florida State falls apart again this year after a strong start, it will only prove that Norvell isn’t right for the job. It will also force his administration into a financial decision that will once again set this program back.
What does Florida State gain from keeping Mike Norvell?
The biggest reason Florida State should be fine keeping Norvell for now is because he has still been able to recruit really well despite the program not having the success they would have liked. That was one of his biggest strengths when he was at Memphis, and it helped him have some early success in Tallahassee as well.
They also keep themselves from completely restarting. Norvell can’t keep getting away with mediocrity, but Florida State just isn’t in the position to start over with another coach right now. Maybe at some point they’ll have no choice, but the financial situation the team would be in if they had to pay more than $50 million to part ways with Norvell simply isn’t worth it. And hey: Florida State could be in a lot worse situation than they are now. They’re winning, and though their standards should be far higher, for now, it’s better to go with the devil you know rather than the one you don’t.
Who would Florida State turn to if they did fire Mike Norvell?
The options aren’t great as of now, partly because we’re just a week into the season. Firing Norvell means FSU has to not only pay his buyout but also find his replacement. Dan Mullen and even Charles Huff are early candidates to possibly leapfrog from the Group of 6 to a Power 4 school, but one game isn’t going to change their standing as of now. Just because you fire one coach doesn’t mean a better one is out there.
That is probably the one caveat to Florida State’s coaching situation. They’re not going to get a better coach as of now, and risking that because Norvell has kind of plateaued isn’t worth it. Think about what Kentucky went through; they financially were handcuffed to Mark Stoops until they weren’t. That’s how Florida State feels with Norvell and it might just work out he turns into the coach he once was and who they need to finally be contenders again.
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