Florida State athletic director Michael Alford announced Monday the school will wait until the end of the season to assess what to do with coach Mike Norvell and the football program.

The Seminoles have been headed in the wrong direction since winning the ACC title to cap an undefeated regular season two years ago and Norvell’s contract was extended through the 2031 season. Norvell’s buyout is 85 percent of what’s left on his contract. The figure is about $55 million.

“Florida State football benefits from unmatched passionate support from the entire FSU family, and the commitment to our football program is unwavering,” Alford said in a statement. “We rightfully have high expectations in everything we do to represent Florida State in the manner that built our reputation as one of college football’s best programs, cultivating an extraordinary group of supporters nationally and globally. We embrace those expectations while also sharing the deep disappointment when results on the field are short of that standard.

“As we continue to move forward this season, our comprehensive assessment of the football program will be completed at season’s end. Meanwhile, we are fully committed to helping Coach Norvell and the 2025 Seminoles strongly rebound in the coming weeks.”

Please win some games and don’t make us fire you. pic.twitter.com/FKwhQw2Lfo

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) October 20, 2025

The Seminoles upset Alabama to kick off a 3-0 start the season but have lost four games in a row and are now 5-15 under Norvell since they beat Louisville with a backup quarterback in the 2023 ACC Championship Game. FSU was then pushed out of a top-four spot in the College Football Playoff, thanks in part to a season-ending injury to starting QB Jordan Travis. The team went 2-10 last year.

Norvell rebuilt his staff this offseason, hiring former Auburn/UCF head coach Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator and poaching the highest paid assistant in Nebraska history, Tony White, to be his defensive coordinator. The moves paid off with a season-opening 31-17 home victory over Alabama.

That triumph soon looked like a fluke after Florida State lost to Virginia, archrival Miami and Pitt. The defeat to a Panthers team quarterbacked by a three-star freshman, Mason Heintschel, in his first road start led questions about Norvell’s future to turn more serious. Saturday’s 20-13 loss as a three-score favorite at a Stanford team led by an interim coach was even more inexplicable, extending the Seminoles’ program-worst conference losing streak to nine games. Since 2015, FSU has lost only two games when favored by at least 17 points, according to OddsShark’s database: Saturday and a 20-17 shocker against Jacksonville State in 2021. Both happened on Norvell’s watch.

Florida State is set to open up a new $138 million Football Center during its upcoming bye week. There is still hope it can rebound and make a bowl game — something the Seminoles have failed to do three times since Norvell was hired in 2020. FSU’s remaining schedule features three teams with losing records: Clemson (3-4), Virginia Tech (2-5) and Florida (3-4).

Between Norvell’s contract and the ones of his first-year coordinators, the full allotment of buyouts would exceed $61 million if Alford and the program decided to hit the reset button before the end of the season.