Mike Norvell will return as Florida State’s coach in 2026.
Sources told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger that would be back despite 13 ACC losses over the past two seasons. The Seminoles lost 21-11 at NC State on Friday night after two muffed punts in the fourth quarter.
FSU is 5-6 overall and needs a win over 3-8 Florida in Week 14 to make a bowl game. For as rough as the 2024 season has been, it’s still been an improvement over a disastrous 2024 season that saw the Seminoles go 2-10 after an undefeated regular season in 2023.
However, everything began to unravel in the next-to-last game of the season two years ago. QB Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending leg injury in a 58-13 win over FCS opponent North Alabama. Though Florida State beat Florida and Louisville by a combined score of 41-21 over the next two weeks to move to 13-0 and win the ACC title, the College Football Playoff committee wasn’t impressed. The Seminoles weren’t chosen for the final four-team playoff and were leapfrogged by one-loss teams Texas and Alabama in the final set of rankings.
The omission led to a rash of opt-outs ahead of the Orange Bowl and a shorthanded Seminoles team was smashed 63-3 by Georgia.
Norvell signed a massive contract extension after the 2023 season and his buyout figure could be a reason why he’s returning. Florida State would be contractually obligated to pay Norvell over $50 million if he was fired in 2025.
The Seminoles reshaped the roster in the offseason and added former Auburn and UCF coach Gus Malzahn as the team’s offensive coordinator along with making a change at defensive coordinator. The moves had immediate dividends as FSU beat Alabama 31-17 and looked like the better team in the process.
