Florida State, it's time. Head football coach Mike Norvell just isn't working out. The Seminoles gave it the old college try (six years of it, actually) and they just couldn't get the desired results out of one of the fastest risers in college coaching. Norvell currently sits with a 38-33 career record during his tenure in Tallahassee, with just one game remaining in the 2025-26 season and bowl eligibility surprisingly on the line in Week 14.
Florida State embarrassingly fell flat on its face with a 21-11 loss to North Carolina State on Friday, featuring a comedy of errors in the final minutes of the fourth quarter including two muffed punts.
From CFP snub to ACC basement dweller: How Mike Norvell squandered Florida State's potential
WILD: NC State’s punter just recovered his own punt after Florida State muffed it.
— Kalshi CFB (@KalshiCFB) November 22, 2025
NEVER seen this before 😂 pic.twitter.com/5usbt2LUIB
FSU just muffed a 2nd punt in the final 4 minutes of regulation against NC State and this one was even worsepic.twitter.com/lIXNDQqL3V
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) November 22, 2025
It was an all encapsulating sequence of what Norvell's legacy will be viewed as after the lofty expectations he nearly delivered on just a few seasons ago.
When Norvell arrived in 2020, he was supposed to pick Florida State up off the turf after the program had parted ways with the legendary Jimbo Fisher and his successor, Willie Taggart, was given the boot after just two years. Things got off to a rough start with the team going 8-13 over the course of his first two seasons but the school's patience looked like it was going to pay off starting in 2022.
The Seminoles finished 10-3 and won a bowl game for the first time since the end of the Fisher era in 2017. That built some serious momentum for the program and put Norvell near the top of many lists for potential promotions. The following year, Florida State completed a perfect regular season but was omitted from the last four-team College Football Playoff because star quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury.
The snub seemingly triggered a curse as the team lost the Orange Bowl and just could not recover over the next two years. Failed gambles in the transfer portal with QBs DJ Uiagalelei and Tommy Castellanos left much to be desired on the gridiron, especially with this season kicking off with a massive upset over then-No. 8 Alabama.
If Florida State falls to the 3-7 Florida Gators in Week 14, Norvell can expect to join his former in-state rival and former coaching colleague Billy Napier in the unemployment line (both Norvell and Napier coached at Arizona State in 2017).
Who should replace Mike Norvell at Florida State?
With some major head coaching vacancies already being filled before this season can even conclude — see James Franklin at Virginia Tech and (probably) Lane Kiffin at LSU — the rush to snag a quality candidate may start heating up. Florida State will want to get in on that soon, especially since Norvell is owed $59 million in buyout money if the two part ways.
Brian Kelly — Ex-LSU HC
Brian Kelly proved he wasn't cut out for the SEC but if you ignore his LSU tenure and focus on his previous gig at Notre Dame, he knows how to dominate in the ACC. Kelly left South Bend with a 52-17 record (.826) against teams currently in ACC, nearly claiming the conference title when the program temporarily competed in the league for the 2020 season.
While Kelly has left a sour taste in the mouths of a lot of college football fans and pundits since going to LSU, he potentially just needs to return to a more familiar setting to reclaim his prowess. It's not like LSU was bad under his leadership. The Tigers were 34-14 and never went below .500, something Seminoles fans would kill for at this point.
Clark Lea — Vanderbilt HC
I get it, the Commodores' boss appears happy at his alma mater and could easily be receiving calls from more lucrative destinations but his successful reclamation project in Nashville could be the perfect template to revive a former CFB blue blood.
Lea took a nobody transfer like Diego Pavia and turned him into a potential Heisman Trophy finalist in just two years. After Norvell swung and missed big time with Uiagalelei and Castellanos, who's to say Lea couldn't repeat his magic with another diamond in the rough waiting to be given another chance?
Jon Sumrall — Tulane HC
It was just a matter of time before Sumrall started getting serious calls about leaping into the power conference coaching-sphere. His 17-7 record with Tulane isn't overly impressive but he's got the Green Wave in CFP contention and that means something.
Youth is currency in today's college football landscape and at 43, Sumrall has the perfect mix of veteran presence and potential longevity to give him an advantage. Tulane's 2026 commit class features two four-star recruits, including the 24th-best wideout in the country. If there are limited decommits, he would inherit a Florida State class with eight such recruits. He could do some serious damage with those assets.