Florida State will not be moving on from head coach Mike Norvell, school athletic director Michael Alford announced Monday.
Norvell’s Seminoles have lost 14 of their last 19 games and eight straight in the ACC including Saturday’s 20-13 loss to Stanford, a game in which FSU was favoured by 17.5 points.
“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 the 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.”
A native of Irving, TX, Norvell signed a new deal with the Seminoles ahead of 2024 that pays him $9.85 million per season. His buyout, should FSU choose to move on, would be $54 million and the second largest of all-time behind Texas A&M’s buyout of Jimbo Fisher at $76.8 million.
Norvell, 44, joined the Seminoles ahead of the 2020 season, coming aboard after four years at Memphis. Norvell led the Tigers to a 12-win season in 2019.
After 18 wins in his first three seasons in Tallahassee, the Seminoles went undefeated in the regular season in 2023 and won the ACC title with a 16-6 victory over Louisville. Infamously, the undefeated Seminoles were passed over for a spot in the College Football Playoff with one-loss teams in Texas and Alabama both reaching the final four. The reasoning behind FSU’s omission was a season-ending injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis. The team would go on to be routed by Georgia in the Orange Bowl by a score of 63-3 in a game where the Seminoles were ravaged by opt-outs, injuries and transfers.
The Seminoles (3-4, 0-4 in the ACC) head into a bye week before returning to action on Nov. 1 with a visit from Wake Forest (4-2, 1-2 in the ACC).