Mike Norvell looks to prove On3's Andy Staples wrong with this recent coach rankings

Florida State football has had four losing seasons in six years under head coach Mike Norvell. The Seminoles are just trying to find a level of sustainability. After beating Alabama in the opener last year, fans thought that the program was back on the right track, but they were mistaken.

Norvell has endured plenty of hardships during his tenure at Florida State. We can point to the loss to Jacksonville State, losing Travis Hunter to Deion Sanders and Jackson State, Jordan Travis suffering a season-ending injury, being snubbed from the College Football Playoff, and the 2-10 season.

While Norvell doesn't shy away from accepting those failures, he has been dealt a tough hand. Even this season, when the Seminoles lost to Stanford on the road, many thought that he would be fired. The administration did its comprehensive assessment, and he still remained the coach after their decision. He is like a cock roach. Norvell just keeps fighting to stay alive.

On3's Andy Staples ranks Florida State's Mike Norvell as the 12th-best coach in the ACC

Many aren't satisfied with Coach Norvell right now and the outlook for the 2026 season. I won't sugarcoat it and say that I am thrilled about it either, but On3's Andy Staples (a Florida graduate) is not a fan of Norvell, as he ranks him as the 12th-best coach in the conference.

I know that the fan base is in "wait-and-see mode," where they just want the season to end in flames so that Norvell gets fired. However, this is still the same coach who won 23 games combined in 2022 and 2023. While he doesn't have the generational talent of Jordan Travis under center, Ashton Daniels is more than a serviceable option at quarterback in 2026.

I believe that there is a ton of recency bias in this ranking by Staples because I believe that Norvell is still a dynamic play-caller and can win at a high level with the right pieces around him.

To be honest, this team reminds me a lot of 2022. This was a squad coming off a disappointing season in 2021, where they had the historic loss to Jacksonville State at home and closed the season losing to an interim coach at Florida. The fan base was ready to boot him at that time too. I get that Virginia beat Florida State in double overtime last year, but Tony Elliott should not be ahead of Norvell, and never should Wake Forest's Jake Dickert.

However, the Seminoles were able to come together and secure nine regular-season victories and beat the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cheez-It Bowl. Winning nine games at Florida State shouldn't be hard to ask for.

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