Florida State fires Mike Norvell a day after Clemson loss, with buyout put at $47 million to $50.3 million

Florida State fired Mike Norvell on Sunday, Nov. 1, about 12 hours after a 36-24 home loss to Clemson. The Seminoles are 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the ACC.

Norvell finishes 41-39 in six-plus seasons. President Richard McCullough made the call and said so in a school statement.

"We have made the decision to change the leadership of our football program," McCullough said. "We thank Mike Norvell for his commitment and service to Florida State and wish him and his family the very best."

Rick Stockstill, the program's director of offensive scouting, is the interim head coach. EssentiallySports reported that defensive coordinator Tony White was also let go. The school's statement did not mention him.

The money

The buyout number depends on who is counting. According to contract details obtained by ESPN's Pete Thamel, the price is $50.3 million. That would be the third-largest buyout in college football history, behind the $76.8 million Texas A&M owed Jimbo Fisher and the $54 million LSU owed Brian Kelly.

The Associated Press put it at roughly $47 million. That figure is 85% of the remaining salary on a contract that runs through the 2031 season. The AP added that buying out Norvell's assistants would push the total far past $50 million.

The deal has an offset clause. Whatever Norvell earns at his next job comes off what Florida State owes him. Norvell was scheduled to make $10.3 million in 2026.

The timing of the contract is the uncomfortable part. Florida State gave Norvell an eight-year extension worth more than $84 million in 2024, after the Seminoles lost the Orange Bowl to Georgia 63-3. The team has gone 10-22 since the start of the 2024 season.

The combined buyouts of Maryland's Mike Locksley, N.C. State's Dave Doeren and Baylor's Dave Aranda are less than Norvell's total, according to the AP. Florida State's opening is the fourth among Power Four schools.

How it came apart

The peak was real. Florida State went 13-0 in the 2023 regular season and won the ACC title. The College Football Playoff selection committee left the Seminoles out of the four-team field after quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury. Norvell swept the Bobby Dodd Trophy, the Bear Bryant National Coach of the Year award and ACC Coach of the Year honors.

Then the roster thinned. Florida State went 2-10 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025. This fall the Seminoles are 1-5 against Power Four opponents, and they have not beaten Miami, Florida or Clemson since 2023.

They allowed 123 combined points during a three-game losing streak. Against Clemson, Ashton Daniels threw for 350 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, but Florida State turned the ball over four times. Clemson had no turnovers. Florida State was a 5-point favorite.

The AP noted that Norvell's hand-picked quarterbacks, DJ Uiagalelei, Tommy Castellanos and Daniels, all struggled with accuracy. It also noted the Seminoles' stunning losses to Jacksonville State in 2021 and Memphis in 2024.

A school without an athletic director

Florida State fired athletic director Michael Alford on Sept. 14 and still does not have a permanent athletic director. In an open letter to fans six days before the firing, McCullough said the university was "methodically working on a plan" and that the search for an athletic director would begin "soon." He wrote that "meaningful, lasting change requires us to make the right moves in the right order, at the right time." Norvell's name was not in the letter.

In the same letter McCullough wrote: "We are not asking you to ignore the results. We are committed to changing them. And we are not asking you to believe that everything is fine. We know it isn't."

The order of moves is now an open question. Football is changing leaders before the school has installed a permanent athletic director.

The banner

Before Saturday's kickoff, a banner flew above Doak Campbell Stadium reading "Fire Mike Novell – Peter Collins." Norvell's name was misspelled. Collins is the chairman of the Florida State University Board of Trustees.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who has been under considerable pressure himself this season, took exception to the banner after the game.

"[Norvell] ain't gonna say it, but I'll say it. I was freaking disappointed to see that," Swinney said. "Hell, they may be flying one around Clemson next time I'm home, but I doubt it. I doubt it. But whoever did that, man, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."

McCullough had addressed the football program's struggles at the Oct. 30 Board of Trustees meeting, the day before the Clemson game.

What comes next

Stockstill is a former Florida State quarterback who played from 1977 to 1981 and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. He went 113-111 over 18 seasons as Middle Tennessee's head coach and joined Florida State in January 2024. McCullough said the school is "confident in Rick Stockstill's ability to provide steady leadership during this transition."

His first game is scheduled for noon ET on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Boston College (4-4, 2-3 ACC). Florida State is scrambling to become bowl eligible, after back-to-back losing seasons.

McCullough said the school will conduct a "thorough national search" for a coach who "embraces Florida State's tradition of championship athletics and our standard of excellence." The school still has no permanent athletic director in place.