Another setback on Friday night had Florida State football fans beyond ready to pull the plug on the awful Mike Norvell experiment in Tallahassee. This team is now 5-6 on the year and the hope was that Norvell would be fired soon. That's not going to happen.
Mike Norvell must be joking with postgame comments after rock bottom loss
Not only is Norvell closing out the campaign with Florida State in 2025, but he's also going to be back on the sidelines next season too. According to reporter Ross Dellenger, Norvell has been notified by Florida State that his job is safe and that he'll indeed be running the show moving forward. Unfortunately, this was not the news a lot of people were hoping for:
Mike Norvell will return as Florida State’s coach in 2026, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 23, 2025
The university president, AD and board are aligned in support of Norvell, who has pledged to make changes in areas of recruiting and player evaluation to enhance FSU’s roster.
Mike Norvell will officially return to coach Florida State football in 2026
At the start of the season, Norvell silenced so many haters after the Seminoles were able to shock Alabama. After that game, people in Tuscaloosa were calling for DeBoer to be fired, while Norvell probably had folks thinking maybe an extension would be coming for him.
Since that win, though, inconsistent play has been featured far too often for the Noles. In the loss to the Wolfpack this week, the offense couldn't get anything going and the special teams was a total disaster. That's on coaching, which is where people want Norvell to be held accountable.
After going 2-10 last year, plenty of us thought Norvell would get fired. He didn't and Florida State invested in building a strong new roster, including adding quarterback Thomas Castellanos. Things looked like they were moving in the right direction after taking down Bama, but more of the same has been showcased by FSU under Norvell.
Next season has to be the last chance for the veteran coach, right? If another 5/6 win campaign is posted in '26, it will officially be time for the two sides to part ways. That's what fans were hoping would be the case this year, but a new twist has arrived and Norvell isn't going anywhere.