$84 Million Head Coach in Obvious Must-Win Situation Amid Firing Rumors

The 2025-2026 head coaching carousel featured 34 different openings in FBS from September all the way into February. Of the 34 openings, roughly half were at Power Four programs.

The turnover from the last head coaching carousel should give way to a quieter one next season, but discontent still surrounds several sitting Power Four coaches. In particular, the bottoms of the ACC and Big Ten feature a handful of coaches who need to take steps forward in order to ensure confidence about their futures.

One of the warmer seats heading into the 2026 season is at Florida State. The Seminoles are entering the seventh season of what has been a turbulent tenure under Mike Norvell.

Norvell worked his way up the college coaching ladder for 10 seasons, working as a wide receivers coach, passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with stops at Central Arkansas, Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State.

Memphis named Norvell the successor to the Virginia Tech-bound Justin Fuente in the 2016 offseason. The Tigers won no less than eight games in each of Norvell's four seasons on the job, a 38-15 run that included wins over Power Four programs such as Kansas, UCLA and Ole Miss. Florida State hired Norvell as Willie Taggart's successor early on in the 2020 offseason.

Rebuilding a program in the midst of a global pandemic was the first challenge Norvell encountered at Florida State; the Seminoles finished the 2020 season at 3-6 overall. Any positive energy Florida State could muster in 2021 was crushed by its loss to Jacksonville State in the second week of the season.

Mike Norvell following the 2023 ACC Championship game. — Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell raises the ACC Championship trophy with his players after the game against the Louisville Cardinals | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

However, the situation improved for the Seminoles after Norvell's 8-13 start. Florida State won six straight to end its 2022 season at 10-3 overall, and it was a Jordan Travis injury away from reaching the 2024 College Football Playoff. The frustration around Norvell quieted after the combined 23-4 mark in 2022 and 2023, but it soon returned.

The Seminoles bottomed out in 2024 with a 2-10 overall mark, their worst since 1974. A win over Alabama to open the 2025 season briefly quieted the hot seat conversations, but Florida State posted a 2-6 mark in ACC play and was eliminated from bowl eligibility with its loss at Florida.

Now that he sits at 38-34, the hot seat discourse around Norvell is growing loud. Norvell's name was the first that college football analyst Josh Pate listed on his Sunday edition of "Josh Pate's College Football Show."

“Mike Norvell’s got to lead the list," Pate said. "When you’re talking about must-win, like got to get it done in 2026, Mike Norvell and Florida State have to be at the top of the list. It seems the most obvious."

Tests against Alabama and Florida once again headline Florida State's non-conference schedule in 2026. Additionally, Boston College is the only losing team from 2025 present on Florida State's eight-game ACC schedule.

Mike Norvell during Florida State's 2025 game at Florida. — Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell looks on against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images