Florida State fans have reached the point where they’re trying to force the issue themselves.
With frustration mounting over Mike Norvell and little visible response from university leadership, supporters have begun organizing a GoFundMe to pay for an aircraft that will circle campus on Saturday carrying a banner that reads “FIRE MIKE NORVELL.” According to TJ Pittinger of the Double Fries No Slaw Podcast, the plane is expected to fly over the stadium, the tailgate areas and the rest of campus.
The timing is no accident. Florida State is set to host Clemson on Saturday, with the ACC Network carrying the game.
The Seminoles are 3-4, while Clemson enters at 4-3. Florida State also has not beaten Clemson in Tallahassee since 2014.
What’s driving the uprising is a broader sense of disappointment with the product on the field and the return fans feel they’re getting from Norvell’s tenure. That anger has spilled into an effort to push the university into action, even as the school’s recent public messaging focused more on the athletic department as a whole and the possibility of hiring a new athletic director. That letter to Seminoles supporters did not mention Norvell or the football program.
Not everyone sees the fan campaign as an embarrassment. Pittinger pushed back hard on that idea.
“I don't understand how people say this is a bad look for FSU, because I think it's a good look for FSU,” said Pittinger.” At least the fan base. I think it'd be spun as a good look in terms of this fan base still cares deeply about what's going on here.
“The response of doing something like this is an incredible look for FSU. FSU fans are so passionate that you've got a random message board poster organizing an aircraft to fly around the stadium and the tailgate lots and the campus and the city of Tallahassee because they're so fed up with what this football program has become. I think it's an incredible look for Florida State's fan base.”
The anger is easy to trace back to what has happened since Florida State’s 2023 ACC championship season. The Seminoles are 10-22 since then, including the loss in the 2023 Orange Bowl. They are also 0-12 in true road games and have won only four ACC games.
The bigger picture has only made things worse. Florida State is carrying more than $400 million in debt, and the program has struggled to compete for top players in the NIL space, especially at quarterback.
That said, the issues aren’t unique to Tallahassee. Schools across the country are dealing with the same pressures to one degree or another, and when it comes to firing coaches and finding the money for massive buyouts, athletic departments usually manage to make it happen.
In Norvell’s case, that buyout is around $51 million. Florida State also didn’t help itself by giving him an $80 million extension at the end of the 2023 season.
And just months ago, Norvell was reportedly viewed as a leading candidate to replace Nick Saban at Alabama after Saban abruptly retired at the end of the 2023 campaign.
That possibility feels hard to believe now. What’s clear is that Florida State fans are no longer sitting quietly. They’re angry, they’re fed up, and they’re making sure the message is impossible to ignore.
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