Florida State has done seemingly everything it can to hang onto head football coach Mike Norvell.
This isn’t a case, though, of a team trying to prevent a coach from leaving. This is the case of an institution doing anything it can to avoid paying a massive buyout to essentially fire its football coach.
The problem is that Norvell is getting closer and closer to leaving Florida State no choice.
Norvell’s latest bump in the road came on Saturday. Clemson was visiting Tallahassee and put up 36 points on the Seminoles with a freshman playing quarterback.
FSU couldn’t protect the ball, and they’re now 3-5, including 1-4 in ACC play.
Florida State Buyout Decision for Mike Norvell Looms
The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel summed up the state of things at Florida State in one bulky paragraph after Saturday’s game:
“Florida State’s administration desperately wants to avoid paying Mike Norvell a $47 million buyout it can’t afford, but he may be giving them no choice. Dabo Swinney brought Clemson’s 130th-ranked offense to Tallahassee and rolled to a 36-24 upset behind a breakout performance from freshman QB Tait Reynolds. FSU’s more experienced counterpart, Ashton Daniels, committed four turnovers. The Noles’ (3-5, 1-4 ACC) humiliating performance dropped Norvell’s conference record over the past three seasons to an abysmal 4-17. At Florida State!”
That last mark is the most remarkable. How in the world can Florida State be 4-17 in conference play over the past three seasons?
It’s not too long ago they were angling for any way out of the ACC so that they didn’t get left behind in realignment, while also making the case that they were better in the conference.
Now? Not so much.
Mike Norvell vs. Dabo Swinney
Mandel also used his postgame analysis to compare Norvell to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney:
“Swinney has been mired in his own downward spiral over the last few years, but Clemson (5-3, 3-2) might finish strong if Reynolds can string together more performances like Saturday’s. He threw his first two touchdown passes in a month and broke off a 79-yard touchdown run to put the game away. If nothing else, the noise around Swinney’s future may quiet until after the season. Norvell, on the other hand, might not make it to the end of the season.”
Florida State’s Mike Norvell Firing, $47 Million Buyout Decision Looms