Even though FSU decided not to fire Mike Norvell one week ago after the Stanford loss, we are getting every indication that a great deal of work is being done behind the scenes to determine the next course of action. While many took the Seminoles’ statement about doing a “comprehensive assessment of the football program” at the end of the season as a guarantee that nothing would happen before then, I’m fairly certain that’s not the case.

I can’t tell you they will definitely make a move if FSU loses to Wake Forest this Saturday, but I do not believe it’s off the table. I don’t think anything is off the table. This is a very fluid situation.

What I can tell you is the Stanford loss definitely sparked as much emotion with the power brokers at FSU — at the highest levels — as it did for you. Nobody is taking these four straight losses in stride. And I’m not sure there are many, if any, people involved in the process who are confident Norvell will turn things around.

At the same time, I think FSU’s leadership is trying to be as prudent as possible. As I wrote last week, we all know the decision to fire Norvell would cost more than $50 million, but it would require a lot more than that to buy out the coordinators and assistant coaches. And if they don’t get the next hire right, they could be looking at a mistake with a price tag of well over $100 million. So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to explore as many options as possible.

As someone involved in the process told me recently, they don’t want to make an “emotional decision” that they could end up regretting, even though they know that would be more popular with many fans.

What I believe FSU is doing is attacking the situation on several fronts: They’re figuring out the money side for if (and when) they have to make a move; they’re working with everybody’s favorite agent, Jimmy Sexton, on what the landscape is going to look like in terms of which coaches are available and which ones will be interested in FSU; they’re already researching some of those candidates; and they’re also still assessing why things have unraveled again so quickly this season.

If the Wake Forest game goes bad and FSU wants to make a quick move (or if the tipping point comes later in the season), I get the impression James Franklin will be available. He expressed interest in the job in the past, and with his firing at Penn State, there’s a belief among many at FSU he would very much want to take over the Seminoles. The question is whether he is truly the best candidate, and then working out the finances between Norvell’s departure and what FSU would have to pay Franklin. Both of them have language in their contracts that their buyouts will be offset by what they make at their next jobs, and that looms large here. (If you remember, FAU paid Willie Taggart a very low salary to be head coach because FSU was still on the hook to him for so much money. So that could be in play.)

Would Franklin be willing to go that route to help FSU out? Does he want the job that much? And what kind of job can Norvell get next to offset his buyout? If Sexton could find him a landing spot at Oklahoma State or somewhere of that level, it could help FSU a great deal. But with each passing loss, that seems less and less likely. He might need to take a coordinator or position coach role to start rebuilding his reputation.

I also think FSU has to be smart in this situation and not jump at the easiest quick fix available. While Franklin might make sense financially because of his Penn State buyout and interest, that doesn’t mean he’s 100 percent the right choice. At the same time, is anybody?

As for Norvell, I can’t say that the door is completely shut on his tenure, but it’s almost inconceivable to see it turning around at this point. This team would have to do a complete 180 starting this week, and there are no indications of that being possible. The body language on the sideline last week at Stanford was pretty terrible, and we haven’t heard any indication of that turning around inside the program.

So I think it’s probably just a matter of time. How much time likely depends upon what happens on the field and how things go with FSU’s work behind the scenes.

We’ll let you know what else we hear. And I’ll try to answer any questions you have as I get time.