FSU football was reportedly trying to 'poach' Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss

The drama between Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin reached a fever pitch over the weekend, with the LSU Tigers swooping in to steal the head coach. From fans giving Kiffin a 'classy' goodbye at the airport, his former players accusing him of lying on the way out, and his attempted Ed Orgeron accent on Monday, this is a chapter in the 2025 season that everyone will remember.

While the college football world was in a frenzy over a wild coaching carousel, Florida State fans were essentially sidelined when the program announced head coach Mike Norvell would be back for another season.

Publicly, it was discussed that Kiffin had three options; remaining at Ole Miss or making the move to LSU, or Florida.

According to a report from ESPN's Mark Schlabach, there was another potential destination on the table for Kiffin - Florida State.

FSU AD Michael Alford Pursued Lane Kiffin To Replace Mike Norvell

Per the report, the Seminoles made a 'stealth move' to try and 'poach' Kiffin from Ole Miss, headlined by athletic director Michael Alford.

Alford and Kiffin have a previous working relationship. Their tenures at USC overlapped in the early 2000s when Alford was the program's associate athletic director, and Kiffin was the tight ends/wide receivers coach under Pete Carroll.

Florida State has struggled mightily since being snubbed from the College Football Playoff in 2023. The Seminoles have compiled a 7-17 overall record over the last two seasons, missing the postseason in 2024 and 2025.

Despite the failures on the field, FSU's administration put its support behind head coach Mike Norvell. Confusingly, the Seminoles announced Norvell would be back in 2026 following a 21-11 loss to North Carolina State last month.

The timing was strange but it might've had something to do with the way Kiffin was leaning.

"Florida State athletic director Michael Alford also was wooing Kiffin behind the scenes, sources familiar with the search told ESPN," Schlabach wrote.

"Hiring Kiffin, the hottest coach on the market, might have allowed Alford to justify spending $72 million to dismiss Norvell and his staff. The Seminoles' recruitment of Kiffin continued into the middle of November, according to the sources," Schlabach added. "But after it became clear Kiffin wasn't coming, FSU announced Nov. 23 that Norvell would return for a seventh season."

Florida State would owe Norvell and his staff a sizable figure if fired. That's one of the reasons the Seminoles have been hesitant to make a move. There's speculation it would cost roughly $100 million to move on from Norvell for a new regime.

In the end, Kiffin inked a seven-year/$91 million deal with LSU. There are bonuses in the contract that will make him the highest-paid coach in the country, depending on performance. The Tigers also committed money to NIL.

Those are probably numbers Florida State couldn't reach, considering the current financial situation. The Seminoles have spent hundreds of millions in recent years on coaching contracts, players, renovations to Doak Campbell Stadium, and the construction of a Football-only Facility.

It's also worth noting that this is the type of information that Alford and FSU might want to be public knowledge. Was this to save face, or a legitimate pursuit for Florida State?

At the very least, it shows the higher powers are exploring the possibility of finding a new voice to lead the Florida State football program. It didn't happen this year, but there's no guarantee Norvell will survive 2026 as his buyout continues to drop.

Norvell is 38-34 overall and 22-26 against ACC opponents in Tallahassee. His six-year stretch is the worst for the program since before Bobby Bowden was hired.

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