Florida State’s coaching search is already taking shape after the school reportedly moved on from Mike Norvell following a 3-5 start to 2026. The buyout is said to be in the $46 million to $50 million range, but the 10-22 run since the strong 2023 season was enough to end Norvell’s tenure. Now the question turns to who might be next in Tallahassee.
One obvious name sits at the top of the conversation: Jimbo Fisher. The coach who last delivered a title to Florida State has to be part of this picture.
Fisher went 83-23 with the Seminoles before leaving for Texas A&M, where his buyout became one of the largest ever after a 45-25 record. He has not coached since late 2023, but at 61, he is still young enough to jump back in.
Fisher has already shown he can win at FSU, and while he may be hesitant, he could also be waiting for the right offer. He has not been linked strongly elsewhere and would be able to get rolling quickly.
Deion Sanders would have looked like a natural fit two years ago. He is an FSU alum, and at one point he seemed to check every box as a rising coach who could navigate the NIL landscape.
But the last season and a half has changed the picture. Sanders is 5-14 since no longer having the best player in college football on both sides of the ball, and a health scare plus questions about his massive roster turnover have made him a trickier sell on the NIL circuit.
Colorado may not be upset if the Sanders era ends, and because his staff leans heavily toward the pros, one of his assistants could be a logical next step in Boulder.
Mark Stoops also belongs in the mix. He was a strong defensive coordinator at Florida State before taking his first head coaching job at Kentucky.
His 72-80 record there does not jump off the page, but he did more with less than most, including eight straight bowl appearances and Kentucky’s first 10-win season since 1977. After being let go by Kentucky at the end of 2025, Stoops has been working as a special assistant at Texas.
He could come at a lower price than some of the other names, and his FSU ties go back to better days. If he left Texas, it would not be an immediate headline there.
Mario Diaz also has a Florida State connection that matters. He started his coaching career with the Seminoles and is an alum, and he has done solid work without a ton of help.
His 21-15 record at Miami was not eye-popping, but plenty of coaches have struggled in Coral Gables before the program’s current rise. At Duke, he has gone 23-11 and has shown he can recruit.
The issue is money: a Duke program coming off the Darian Mensah portal fiasco might be willing to match Florida State’s offer, which is awkward but real given the Seminoles’ reported $46 million to $50 million hole.
Rounding out the list is Kenny Dillingham, another coach with FSU roots. He worked at Florida State as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020 and 2021, and he is now 25-20 at Arizona State.
After a 2024 College Football Playoff berth, he may be getting restless with what looks like a limited ceiling in Tempe. At 36, Dillingham is younger than most of the candidates and likely hungrier too.
If Arizona State loses him, it would probably look west for a replacement, with offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo mentioned as a possible fit.
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Amani Hansberry and Ben Hammond give Young a foundation to work with, and the portal additions are supposed to thicken the rotation in the places where this team has needed help. The bigger question is whether that mix can hold up against the schedule and position Virginia Tech well enough to take advantage of the expanded tournament field, because in a year like this, the margin for a resume is thinner than ever. [Read more 🡒]