Florida State Seminoles recently announced that head coach Mike Norvell will stay for another season despite a devastating season.
Norvell has led Florida State to a terrible 5-6 record entering Saturday’s game against the Florida Gators. They are 2-5 this season in ACC play, a record that warrants serious questions about his job security.
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However, Norvell signed a massive contract extension in 2024, when he was pursued by Alabama, giving him an eight-figure deal that runs through 2031.
Currently, his buyout is $58.4 million, and Florida State decided to keep him and hope for a turnaround next season rather than pay that bill this season.
Since signing his extension, the Seminoles are 7-16 overall and 3-13 in conference play, a poor record that underscores serious struggles from a team that had been expected to have National Championship aspirations.
While Florida State saves more than $50 million in theory this season, college football expert Andy Staples of On3 argues that the decision to keep him and avoid the buyout could cost them more money down the line.
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“So let’s say there’s no miracle and the team that lost to N.C. State and Stanford this year continues to flounder against a 2026 schedule that — on paper — looks more difficult. If Florida State is bad again and the Seminoles fire Norvell after next season, they’ll owe him $48.7 million,” Staples wrote.
“The Seminoles will also have paid Norvell $10.3 million to coach the team for calendar year 2026. The only savings will be the $9.7 million Florida State didn’t have to pay Norvell in dead money this year while paying another coach to try to lift the Seminoles out of the hole they currently occupy.”
Staples also notes that Norvell could end up giving back part of his salary due to his disappointing results. He gave back $4.5 million last season after going 2-10, though he will get all or part of it if he is fired later.
While this could happen again, the money saved by keeping Norvell around could be less than the investment required to keep the program going.
“This accounting of the ‘savings’ doesn’t include how much Florida State stands to lose in donations and season-ticket renewals by keeping Norvell. It’s entirely possible that the donor and fan apathy this move is sure to aggravate will wipe away every cent of cost savings from the move,” Staples added.
In the end, the decision has been made by Florida State, and all they can do now is hope that Norvell can prove he is still the coach who received the contract extension years ago.
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