Florida State has finally moved on from Mike Norvell.
On Sunday, the Seminoles fired Norvell in the middle of his seventh season, ending a run that once looked like it might stabilize the program but instead unraveled into one of the most expensive messes in school history. The final straw came after a 36-24 loss to Clemson, though the slide had been building for a long time.
Norvell’s exit closes a stretch that never really recovered after the collapse on the West Coast. Florida State had survived the loss to Stanford in October of 2025, when athletic director Michael Alford and the program stood by him.
Less than a year later, that support was gone. The Seminoles still haven’t won a true road game since 2023, and they are 10-22 overall dating back to 2024.
The numbers tell the story. Norvell leaves with a 41-39 record at Florida State, including 23-30 in ACC play.
Over the last three seasons, the Seminoles went 10-22 and lost 17 of their final 21 conference games. They also dropped nine straight ACC games, went more than 390 days without a conference win, and suffered 14 straight neutral-site or true road losses.
They have gone more than 1,000 days without a victory outside of Tallahassee.
That’s a brutal fall for a program that seemed to be climbing not long ago. Florida State had a strong 2022, beating LSU in New Orleans and finishing with six straight wins, including victories over Miami, Florida, and Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl.
The following season brought an undefeated regular season, four double-digit comebacks, and road wins over Clemson and Florida. But quarterback Jordan Travis went down late in the year, and despite winning the ACC Championship, the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff.
That decision changed the temperature around the program. Florida State committed a major extension to Norvell after the 2023 season, but the momentum didn’t last. The 2024 campaign turned into one of the worst in program history, and the portal-heavy approach that followed didn’t produce the kind of turnaround the Seminoles needed.
There were brief signs of life in 2025. Florida State opened by dominating Alabama, then handled East Texas A&M and Kent State in record blowouts. But the season flipped after the loss to Virginia, and the Seminoles never recovered, finishing 2-7 after the 3-0 start.
The struggles carried into 2026, beginning with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State that barely looked convincing. SMU and Alabama then outclassed Florida State, and fans made their frustration clear on Labor Day, chanting, "fire Norvell" as they left Doak Campbell Stadium.
Even the occasional bright spot couldn’t cover the larger picture. Florida State’s road issues remained glaring, with the Seminoles now having dropped 12 straight true road games outside Tallahassee. The administration eventually decided the combination of losing streaks, rivalry defeats, and the overall lack of direction was too much to keep going.
Norvell’s contract made the move a costly one. In January of 2024, he signed an extension that ran through 2031 and paid an average of more than $10 million per year.
After the 2024 disaster, he took a $4.5 million pay cut for 2025. Under the terms of the deal, he is due 85% of his base salary and supplemental pay for the rest of the contract, leaving a buyout north of $46 million.
Norvell is also owed back $3.75 million of the $4.5 million he donated to the Vision of Excellence campaign. A seventh amendment to his contract in December 2024 set up that repayment, which decreases by $750,000 each year through 2030-31.
Florida State can pay the buyout in monthly installments over the remaining termination period or with a lump-sum payment based on the value of a stream of payments, reduced by whatever Norvell earns in his next job. Either way, it’s a massive bill.
And it’s only the first one. The Seminoles will also have to cover the rest of Norvell’s staff who don’t remain, along with the new hires that come in behind them.
In Other News...
Dolphins New Staff Is Changing Everything About Chris Griers Draft Legacy
The Dolphins are still living with the draft footprint left behind by former general manager Chris Grier, but the picture around that group is starting to look different under the current coaching staff. Miami has 13 remaining draft picks from Griers tenure, and six of them are now starting in the 2026 season, giving the organization a steady stream of young players whose development will keep shaping the roster for a while.
Under Jeff Hafley and the current staff, several of those holdovers have taken clear steps forward, including Jonah Savaiinaea, Malik Washington, Chop Robinson and Dante Trader. The broader question for Miami is whether that trend can keep building, because not every name from Griers draft history has followed the same path, and the gap between the players who are flourishing and the ones who have not is becoming harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Jonah Savaiinaea Is Making The Dolphins Rethink A Major Concern
Jonah Savaiinaea has gone from a question mark to one of the more encouraging developments on the Dolphins offensive line this season. After a rocky rookie year, the guard has looked far more settled in 2025, showing the kind of steady play Miami has been searching for as it tries to firm up protection and keep its offense on schedule.
The progress has not happened in a vacuum. A different coaching voice and a more demanding schematic approach under Jeff Hafley appear to have pushed Savaiinaea in the right direction, and the early results are hard to ignore. For a team that entered the year with real concern about the interior line, his growth is starting to make that problem look a little less urgent. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Rookie Rotation Suddenly Raises Questions On Both Sides
The Dolphins rookie usage against New England offered a clear look at how thin the margins can get in a single game. With Kadyn Proctor out because of a concussion, Miami had to shuffle its options up front, while backup quarterback Kyle McCord and offensive lineman Andrew Meyer were active but never got onto the field. On offense, Caleb Douglas ended up carrying the heaviest rookie load, logging the most snaps among the first-year group as the Dolphins leaned on younger depth in key spots.
Will Kacmareks role was far more limited, and his reduced workload stood out in a game where the rookie rotation was already in flux. On the other side of the ball, four defenders played every snap, Kyle Louis returned from injury for a season-high workload, and new additions Chukwuebuka Godrick and Kaytron Allen both made their first appearances of the season in brief cameos. For Miami, the bigger question is how these pieces fit once the roster is closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]