Mike Norvell is out of excuses after another FSU debacle: Best memes and tweets

What a difference just a few weeks can make. At the start of this college football season, Mike Norvell was on top of the world, leading his Florida State team to a rousing Week 1 upset of Alabama that finally brought some magic back to Doak Campbell. Flash forward to October, though, and the Noles are suddenly reeling after a third straight loss on Saturday afternoon.

Getting got at Virginia was understandable enough; mid-week night games on the road against game opponents are always tricky. And while being largely lifeless at home against Miami has to hurt this program in particular, the Canes might be the single best team in the country right now. But losing another one, this time at home to a Pitt team starting a true freshman at quarterback, feels inexcusable.

Especially considering how much good will Norvell burned through with last year's nightmare campaign. Florida State fans were willing to treat that as a mulligan, the product of a bad transfer class that didn't necessarily reflect on Norvell's abilities as a coach. Now that the nightmare is repeating itself, however, Noles nation is ... in a less forgiving mood.

Florida State fans have had it with Mike Norvell after third straight loss

As you might imagine, it didn't take long before "Fire Mike" became a trending topic on X. It's hard to identify any signs of progress around this program right now: The good vibes from the undefeated ACC championship run in 2023 have well worn off, high school recruiting remains stuck in neutral — the Noles' 2026 class is currently ranked 13th at 247 Sports after finishing 19th and 12th respectively over the past couple of years — and at this point it's more than fair to question Norvell's ability to both evaluate talent in the transfer portal and bring that talent together into a cohesive team.

Opposing defenses have caught on to Gus Malzahn's act at this point, and even more alarmingly, this is the second year in a row in which FSU has fielded a defense that's almost shockingly easy to push around in the trenches. Noles fans hoped that poaching Tony White from Nebraska would help fix what ailed the 2025 unit; instead, it looks almost exactly the same, vulnerable at all three levels. There isn't one glaring issue to point to — this is just an unremarkable team with unremarkable talent, for the second year in a row.

At a program like this, especially with Miami rolling, that's unacceptable. And Florida State fans didn't hesitate to let Norvell know it after the game.

Even program legends weighed in. Norvell's former quarterback, Jordan Travis, could no longer hide his shock at what's become of his former team. And when you've lost your former players, that probably isn't a great sign.

Of course, it's not as easy as simply pressing the big "fire Mike" button. The contract extension Norvell signed after that 2023 season is still just two years old, and therefore carries a pretty massive buyout along with it. If Florida State does want to send Norvell packing, they're going to have to really pony up, a fact that wasn't lost on plenty of fans.

It's not a fun position to be in, financially pot-committed to a coach who isn't giving you much reason to believe that he can have this program competitive at a national level. It's a good thing that Florida State's neighbors in the Sunshine State, particularly Florida and Miami, are there to let the Noles know that they've got good-natured concerns about their welfare.

The good news is that FSU has a couple of chances to get right coming up, with a trip to Stanford followed by a home date against Wake Forest. Those should be two easy wins before a showdown with Clemson on Nov. 8. Then again, should the Noles be taking any team for granted right now?