With the growing expense surrounding building and rebuilding college football staffs, there is a new trend where relatively unsuccessful coaches are given more financial assistance rather than being cut loose. Florida State has reportedly been weighing out the options as coach Mike Norvell is in the middle of what looks like a third losing season in a row.
The Seminoles took the field against Miami in Week 7 and took the game into overtime against a team that was previously three-touchdown favorites. An ugly loss could have been the final mistake Norvell made as the coach, but a narrow loss now makes the future look even more uncertain.
Since Florida State has some significant debt and would need to fork over roughly $68 million to clean house, the administration may decide to bring Norvell back for the 2027 season with increased support to build the next roster.
Should Florida State bring Mike Norvell back for the 2027 season with a greater budget?
Bringing Norvell back for the 2027 season with the same budget would not just be disastrous but also arrogant. Norvell might be a solid coach in the eyes of some, but the Seminoles cannot continue to set championship-level goals with a third of the budget of other teams.
Miami has a roster worth up to $60 million, and while money does not mean everything, the pool of players available and the immense depth that can be created is undeniable.
The issue with increasing the roster budget is that Florida State would need to assume that Norvell will use the money properly. While talented in some areas, the Seminoles' 2026 roster is full of holes and lacks depth at nearly every position.
Even some of the most successful players this season for Florida State, like linebacker Chris Jones or tackle Xavier Chaplin, were bargain transfer portal buys. The Seminoles have gotten notable production out of some players, but they have also watched certain decisions fall apart as the season progresses. Norvell paid Tre Wisner a very hefty sum of roughly $800,000 when the team already had a one-two punch solidified with Ousmane Kromah and Samuel Singleton.
The idea of giving more money to Norvell because the issue is that he needs more to create a competitive product on the field is tired. Norvell is not getting the job done, and if he cannot generate a competitive roster with the current budget, there is no logical reason to think more money magically can cure the dysfunction surrounding the team.
Despite losing to Miami, the overall performance was a step in the right direction, but Florida State has looked like a broken team more times than not this season. The team did the same thing just weeks ago after defeating Virginia handily and then falling apart against Louisville.
Is it time for Florida State to cut ties with Norvell?
An in-season move seems very unlikely at this point since the Week 7 game against Miami had been hyped up so much the past few weeks. Clearly, the administration is not confident in making a decision on what to do next with Norvell. Even though the Seminoles may have come close to taking down the Hurricanes, it is still time for the program to move on from Norvell and his staff.
The reality is that Norvell has been nowhere near his expectations in Tallahassee and his presence has a negative one around the program now. Some players may love Norvell, but the fans are growing tired of the same song and dance each week without real changes happening on the field.
Florida State may consider flirting with the idea of giving Norvell more money to work with in 2027, but that idea should not even be a real consideration. Norvell has had three different rosters now, all deliver a losing result on the field, and at some point, the blame cannot be on the money and the players. The rosters have been falling apart, and the man building them needs to carry the blame.
The decision to move in a different direction and buy out Norvell should have already been made, and now the Florida State administration is falling into another trap. The win over Alabama in 2025 was spectacular enough to keep Norvell around despite his team falling apart and resulting in another losing season.
The longer Norvell sticks around, the better the chance is that he finds a way to sway the administration, and that might be exactly what Florida State is waiting for. A win over the now top-ranked Miami Hurricanes likely would have resulted in an official announcement regarding Norvell's return for the 2027 season.
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