'Don't Do That Again' ... ESPN Puts FSU Football's Mike Norvell On Hot Seat List

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell and the Seminoles went 2-10 last season after two 10+ win campaigns.

Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell arrives at Notre Dame Stadium for the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell has appeared on Adam Rittenberg’s “Way-too-early 2025 college football coaching hot seat tiers” list. The ESPN senior writer placed Norvell in the “Don’t do that again” tier after the Seminoles went 2-10 in 2024. They went 10-3 and 13-1 in their two previous seasons.

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Rittenberg started by saying that since being left out of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in December 2023, FSU has been on a major downslide.

“Not much has gone right for Norvell or FSU since the CFP snub in 2023. The Noles beat only one FBS opponent in 2024 and tumbled to 130th nationally in scoring and 88th in points allowed. The 2-10 mark is FSU's worst season since 1974, two years before Bobby Bowden arrived as coach.”

- Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer

Furthermore, the ESPN writer mentioned Norvell’s contract situation as a reason for the university’s hesitancy to move on from the former Memphis head coach.

“Norvell will reboot with two notable new coordinators in Gus Malzahn (offense) and Tony White (defense). FSU's transfer portal mastery fizzled in 2024, and Norvell will need quarterback Thomas Castellanos and other newcomers to hit this fall. Norvell's post-2023 contract put him in the top 10 nationally in salary and will work in his favor, especially at a school not flush with cash. But he can't afford another face-plant this fall.”

- Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer

Last month, Florida State and Norvell agreed to a restructured contract that includes a $4.5 million contribution to help launch the Vision of Excellence initiative.

The Vision of Excellence is a fundraising campaign that seeks to immediately raise Florida State athletics to new heights of comprehensive excellence by setting ambitious goals for the future of the student-athlete experience, coaching, facilities and fan engagement.

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