Josh Pate Names Major College Football Coach That's On the Hot Seat in 2026

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

A college football coach's career can change at the snap of a finger. At one point, you can be on top of the world and looking like the coach that will lead the team to a national championship, and the next, you are on the hot seat.

That's the reality for Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell. He took over before the 2020 season and, by 2022, he led them to a 10-3 record. The next year was expected to be the year the Seminoles broke through and returned to the College Football Playoff.

They went 13-0 and won the ACC championship. However, they lost star quarterback Jordan Travis at the very end of the year, and controversially, they were left out of the College Football Playoff. They would get blown out in their bowl game, 63-3, against the Georgia Bulldogs, but several of their key players sat out.

The Seminoles have never been able to recover.

Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell reacts during the first half. | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Florida State started the 2024 season ranked No. 10 in the country. Many thought Norvell had built a program that would be a constant contender.

However, they started the year 0-3 and finished 2-10, marking the worst season since 1974 and the third-worst all-time. 2025 started out promising. The Seminoles went 3-0, with a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide to start the year.

They got as high as No. 7 in the rankings before losing four straight games and finishing 5-7 on the year. On "Josh Pate's College Football Show," the college football analyst said he feels the team won't be much better this season as hot-seat talk for Norvell is fueling the offseason.

"(They were) 5-7 last year in the regular season," Pate said. "Don't need to talk about the bowl game. Moot point because of 5-7. There's a lot of hot-seat talk. I think they're going to be about the same as they were last year. That's the copout. I go one cop out per four teams every time we do this. I think their roster is better than 5-7, but we're looking at Ashton Daniels at quarterback here. There are very few star players around him."

This just shows how, despite what success you have, if you don't sustain it, you will be asked to leave. It seemed like the Seminoles had found their long-term answer at head coach. National programs had even tried to lure him away. It seemed like he could do no wrong. Then, three years later, he could be coaching to keep his job.

It's a cruel world that college football coaches live in, but it's what they signed up for.