How Florida State football and coach Mike Norvell’s fortunes can be drastically altered in a single season. The 2023 college football season began with the Seminoles off to a 13-0 start before they were eliminated from the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles have now dropped their last four football games, including a 0–3 start after suffering a 20–13 defeat to Memphis, on Saturday.

Losing the game cost FSU $1.3 million. You may be surprised by the Seminoles’ performance this year given they started the season with a 0–3 record and were the first preseason top-10 team to lose all three of their games to unranked opponents. This was the second time in five seasons that FSU under head coach Mike Norvell had such a poor performance. Now the question is: Will Norvell’s termination cover Seminoles’ costs?

Norvell signed a $26.5 million, six-year contract to become the head coach of FSU after leaving Memphis in 2019. However, he received two recent extensions after making Alabama seem like a possible Nick Saban replacement: one in 2023 that paid roughly $8 million a year and another this past January for ten years worth more than $84 million. So, you may be curious to know the exact amount FSU has to pay for firing.

If Norvell were fired now, the Noles would be responsible for paying him $65 million, which is equivalent to 85% of his base income and additional benefits for the balance of his current contract, which expires on December 31, 2031. On top of this, the buyout money wouldn’t set any records, even if FSU manages to pay its coach to go. Let’s take a glimpse of Mike’s record with Seminoles. 

FSU’s struggle under Mike Norvell

“Last year FSU had 206 career starts back on the O-line and went a perfect 13-0 winning the ACC. This year they have 187 career starts and coach Norvell told me that this could be his best O-line ever as it is the deepest they have been.” Therefore, the coach was confident of becoming a playoff contender, but the injury of players declined their performance.

Albeit, before this current two-game losing streak, Mike had gone 23-4 over the last two seasons. But this season, his decision definitely caused the authorities to reconsider their coach’s life. Regarding rumors that Deion Sanders would transfer to FSU following this season at Colorado, Elle made fun of both Mike Norvell’s program and Deion Sanders by stating, “[Florida State] has so many more problems than I think Deion can ever solve.”

We now wait for FSU to make a decision. What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments below.