Do you know about the heartbreaking stats of the Florida State Seminoles? They now have nine losses in a season for the first time since 1974. And guess who is the unlucky charm? None other than their HC, Mike Norvell. On November 9, the Seminoles got their latest blow from No.10 Notre Dame, 52-3. How alarming! But Norvell is now dragged through the mud for his luck-favoring, as the Seminoles are now too scared to get rid of the HC because of the lofty buyout figure of $63 million. Meanwhile, the HC also tries to shift the focus from himself by firing three coaches. 

Notre Dame handed Florida State the grandest of L’s on Saturday night. Not a single thing went in favor of Seminoles and the 49-point defeat has been the worst regular loss in the history of Florida State. Saturday’s game was all about poor pass protection. Norvell’s QB Brock Glenn and QB Luke Kromenhoek were sacked a combined eight times. With this, this is the worst record in the Seminoles’ history, as they allowed 15 total sacks in two weeks. On the Ruffino & Joe Show, analyst Blake Ruffino straight away went into an HC attack mode as he stated, “This is going gonna go Norvell…You are the one who made your program going in the direction.”

Maybe Norvell has pinned too many hopes on the transfer portal, as the analyst stated, “You know these portal kids they are not gonna play for you; they are not kids that have a culture here, and it’s killing you.” Even that’s okay since coaches are bound to make miscalculations. But what’s not okay is Norvell taking his HC job for granted. And here Ruffino seemed to have found out the HC’s hiding spot. 

The analyst sounded too confident when he stated, “At a place like Florida State, Mike Norvell should be fired.” Then what makes Norvell to be there as the HC even after the program comes up with one of the worst seasons? “The only reason he is not is because there is a massive buyout and now Florida State is stuck,” claimed the analyst. After all, bringing out $63 million that the FSU is bound to pay in case they want to get rid of Norvell would leave the Seminoles with an empty pocket. So, how could Norvell just let go of the prime opportunity to shift the focus and not make everything about himself?

Mike Norvell responds to criticism with major coaching staff overhaul

If you are a Seminoles fan, you may resonate with another fan reaction: “Being a Florida State fan feels like a bad marriage. I used to love them; now I hate them. Everything they do just pisses me off. I’m done. Fire Mike Norvell. #FSU #FireNorvell.” Just like that, the “Fire Norvell” pleas are raging across the fandom. But Norvell knows that the program is in no position to sacrifice such a heavy sum. So why bother?

The HC now switches to a clean-up mode. After they dropped to (1-9, 1-7 ACC) on the season, he announced the dismissals of three coaches—firing offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Alex Atkins, wide receivers coach Ron Dugans, and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller. With the Seminoles’ season spiraling out of control, Florida State has made this drastic coaching change. Randy Shannon, the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, will now likely take over as defensive coordinator. And other staff members will be tasked with additional responsibilities to fill the void. Meanwhile, HC Norvell addressed the media following this shakeup.

“I appreciate the work these three men have provided over the last five years with me at Florida State. They are all great men with families who also have poured into our program…Unfortunately, we have not upheld the Florida State standard with our results on the field this season,” clarified the HC. It’s just his way of trying to satisfy the fans for the time being. Now let’s see if the Seminole authorities are clever enough to get an idea of Mike Norvell’s tricky tactics and manage the money anyway to part ways with him.