Florida State’s season is barely underway, but the pressure around Mike Norvell already feels like it’s back at full boil.
The Seminoles’ 27-24 loss to SMU has sharpened the questions about where this is all headed, especially after FSU went 8-18 overall and 3-17 in conference play under Norvell since 2024. Two games in, the same debate that followed the program through the offseason is still hanging over everything.
If Florida State decides to make a move before the year is over, the decision would come with more than just a new name on the sideline. The school would need an interim coach, a plan to keep the roster from drifting, and a way to absorb the financial hit that comes with changing direction midseason.
Inside the building, two obvious options stand out: Odell Haggins and Tom Herman.
Haggins would be the familiar choice. He served as FSU’s interim head coach in 2017 and 2019 after the departures of Jimbo Fisher and Willie Taggart, and he remains the Seminoles’ associate head coach.
Even though he has stepped away from a position-coaching title, he still works with players on the practice fields. With his long run at Florida State and prior interim experience, he would have the clearest case if the job opened up again.
Herman brings a different résumé. He is currently assistant to the head coach, and he has already been a head coach at Houston, Texas, and Florida Atlantic. That background gives FSU another experienced in-house option if the school wants someone who has already run a program.
Whoever stepped in would immediately be tasked with keeping the locker room focused and getting the team ready for the rest of the schedule while everything around the program churned.
The timing of any change would depend heavily on what happens next. Florida State goes to No.
12 Alabama next, and the Seminoles are listed as a two-touchdown underdog. One game won’t settle everything, but a strong or ugly response coming out of the bye week will tell the administration a lot, especially given FSU’s recent road struggles.
Another outing packed with the same mistakes would make Norvell’s situation tougher to defend.
If a firing were to come during the season, the second bye looks like the most likely opening. Florida State plays at No.
7 Miami on October 17, then has an open weekend on October 24 before Clemson comes to town on Halloween. If the Seminoles reach that stretch looking like a team headed toward another 5-7 finish, that break would give an interim coach a practical runway to get ready for the final stretch.
A lopsided loss at Miami would only turn up the heat. And if Norvell somehow survives all the way to the regular-season finale against Florida on November 27, another poor performance there would likely be the final blow.
The financial side is just as massive as the football side. Buyout numbers have floated around, but Craig Myers of USA TODAY Sports reported on September 8 that Norvell’s buyout would be about $46.7 million if he is fired before December 1, 2026.
"If FSU does decide to fire Norvell, his buyout would be the third-biggest in college football history, behind only the $76.8 million the Texas A&M Aggies paid Jimbo Fisher and the $54 million the LSU Tigers paid Brian Kelly."
And that wouldn’t be the only bill Florida State would have to face. Depending on how much of the current staff is kept together, the school would also have to account for the cost of bringing in new coordinators and position coaches.
In Other News...
Lee Corso Update Will Hit Florida State Fans Right In The Heart
Lee Corsos connection to Florida State has always carried a little extra weight, and his recent reunion with Kirk Herbstreit in Orlando only underscored why. Herbstreit described the retired College GameDay fixture as dealing with physical ailments at 91, but still sharp enough mentally to hold court, which is the part longtime fans tend to latch onto when they think about Corso now. Since stepping away after the 2025 season, he has kept public appearances rare, but the ones he has made have still felt meaningful, especially around a program and fan base that have long felt part of his orbit.
Corsos ties to Florida State have stayed visible in those limited moments, including an appearance at an event on campus and watching the national championship from home. For Seminole fans, it is the kind of update that lands with a little more emotion than most because it speaks to both the passage of time and the staying power of one of college footballs most familiar voices. The physical side of the story is impossible to ignore, but Herbstreits account offered a reminder that Corso still has the mind and presence that made him a weekend staple for so long. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Norvell Enters FSU Bye Week With Pressure About To Spike
Mike Norvell has spent the last two seasons trying to steady Florida State through a stretch that has looked nothing like the programs standard. After a 2-10 collapse in 2024 and a 5-7 finish last year following a strong start, the Seminoles enter their bye week in 2026 with a chance to catch their breath before the schedule tightens again. The break comes at a useful time, but it also serves as a pause before the kind of test that tends to reveal where a program really stands.
Alabama waits next, and not just any Alabama game, but a road trip against the No. 12 Crimson Tide that could push the pressure around Norvell even higher. His job security is already a real conversation point, with a notable buyout clause tied to his contract if Florida State moves on after that game. For a coach trying to rebuild confidence, the bye week is less an escape than a runway to one of the most consequential stretches of his tenure. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Has A Real Opening With A 4-Star OT Flip Target
Florida State is making another push to add to its 2028 recruiting class, and four-star offensive tackle Omari Lawson has become a name worth watching. The Syracuse commitment has been on the Seminoles radar for a while, and the staff is still trying to get him on campus even after he previously backed off planned visits to both Florida and Florida State.
Lawson is now in the process of finalizing a return trip to Tallahassee, while also planning to visit Florida and Syracuse. That sets up a familiar but tricky recruiting battle for Florida State, with the Seminoles trying to make the most of a real opening against a player who remains committed elsewhere and has multiple stops still ahead of him. [Read more 🡒]