By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Florida State used to be one of the best football programs in the nation. Under Bobby Bowden (1976-2009), they won two national championships and twelve ACC championships since FSU joined the conference in 1991. The Seminoles also finished as an AP top-5 team for 14 consecutive seasons, setting a record which doubled the closest program.

Jimbo Fisher (2010-17) took over after him and he had success in Tallahassee as well. He led them to another national championship in 2013, four ACC championships and he had six seasons with double digit wins. His overall record was 83-23.

It’s been a struggle for FSU since then. Mike Norvell was hired as the head coach on December 8, 2019. This was based on his time at Memphis (2016-19), where he went 38-15. In 2020 they were 3-6. They improved to 5-7 in 2021.

I’m sure fans and administrators wish they would have fired him after that. In 2022 FSU was 10-3 and in 2023 they were 13-1. They were the first undefeated Power Five conference champion to be left out of the College Football Playoff.

The #5 Seminoles played #6 Georgia in the Orange Bowl and FSU got demolished, 63-3. The program has been in shambles since then. Norvell was named ACC Coach of the Year, won the Bobby Dodd Trophy and was awarded the Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Year.

Unfortunately, they plummeted to 2-10 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025. They are currently 3-3 this season.

Their last game was a 44-20 loss at Louisville. The Seminoles had a 14-0 lead to start the second quarter.

Cardinals RB Isaac Brown ran for a career-high 235 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries, including a game-changing 97-yard score.

Brown’s long touchdown run came on the first play of a second-quarter drive after Louisville stopped Florida State at the Cardinals 3 on a fourth-and-goal. They still had the fourteen-point lead at this point.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t do a good enough job in that moment,” said Norvell, whose team lost its 11th straight road game. “They’re pinned back. They got to go 98 yards, and they did it in one play.”

“That’s where you got to be able to trust all elements of who you are, what you’re doing, the importance of the details and discipline in those situations. And we didn’t do a good enough job of handling that.”

The touchdown run set a record for Louisville’s longest play from scrimmage and Brown’s total for the night was the most for any running back among FBS programs this season.

The next game is at #3 Miami, one of their biggest rivals. This past weekend we did see an average Oklahoma team upset #1 Texas, so I guess anything is possible.

Florida State fans have wanted Norvell to get fired for a while but it’s looking like an impossible task. FSU closed the 2025 fiscal year with $437 million in athletics-related debt.

Norvell’s buyout for him and his staff is $68 million, if they decide to get rid of him. His contract ends December 31, 2031. He’s being paid approximately $10.3 million this season (with a scheduled $150,000 increase each season).

Let’s see if getting blown out by the Hurricanes will finally cause Florida State to pull the plug on Norvell.