A recent report may have just confirmed that Florida State is not going to be pushing coach Mike Norvell out the door anytime soon. Norvell, who has lost his last 11 road games in a row, had previously been considered to be holding onto his job until after the completion of the Week 7 game against the Miami Hurricanes, but that may no longer be true.
Pete Thamel of ESPN broke down the current financial situation surrounding Florida State, which includes over $430 million of debt. Florida State would need to pay a premium in order to clean house due to Norvell's massive buyout, and there is not exactly a ton of room financially for the move.
Money frankly, is not enough of a problem to allow Norvell to stick around in Tallahassee, but the cost to part ways with the coach could be used as an excuse to cover up the truth. The Seminoles still have not conducted even a basic search for a new athletic director, nearly a month after firing Michael Alford. Without a new athletic director, it is the same voices who were instrumental to Norvell's hiring that are calling the shots for Florida State.
Florida State cannot confidently move forward in a different direction without a new athletic director
Florida State being trapped under a mountain of debt is nothing crazy, considering the cost of the recent stadium renevations. However, the bigger issue is the fact that there has been no formal search for a new athletic director. The Seminoles are about to enter their fifth game of the season without a full-fledged athletic director, which is not a good sign at all.
Without Florida State actively engaging in a search for a new athletic director, there should be no expectation of serious changes occurring. The firing of Michael Alford originally seemed like a move that would pave the way for Norvell's buyout, but rather, the firing appears to have done the opposite.
Florida State's administration has been staunch fans of Norvell up to this point, and reportedly have hoped for a winning season to avoid being put in a position where buying out the coach makes the most sense. The issue, however, is that the longer the administration waits to make a final decision on Norvell, the more damage he could potentially do.
Another potential problem involves the current ties Norvell has within the administration and their connection to the coach. A new athletic director is going to want to hire his own coach, and Florida State may not be prepared to face that fact.
The Seminoles might have backed themselves into a situation where keeping Norvell for the 2027 season is a much more realistic possibility, which would frankly be a disaster for the program. Norvell is not getting the job done, and if he stays, the transfer portal losses could be serious.
Norvell has done plenty of damage to the program, and between potential financial complications and the lack of new voices, it seems unlikely that the bleeding will stop anytime soon.
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