Florida State Fires Mike Norvell After a 3-5 Start, Taking On a Buyout of About $50 Million
Three seasons after a 13-1 ACC championship run, Florida State is changing coaches midseason: Mike Norvell is out at 41-39 overall, defensive coordinator Tony White is also reported out, and former Seminoles quarterback Rick Stockstill takes over as interim head coach.
Tallahassee — Florida State fired head football coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, roughly 12 hours after the Seminoles' 36-24 home loss to Clemson dropped them to 3-5 on the season, Reuters reported. University president Richard McCullough confirmed the decision to ESPN, ending a six-plus-season tenure that finished with a 41-39 overall record.
The fall was steep. Norvell signed an eight-year, $84 million extension after leading Florida State to a 13-1 record and the ACC championship in 2023. Since the start of 2024 the Seminoles have gone 10-22, including a school-worst 2-10 season in 2024, and they have not recovered. Norvell's contract reportedly pays him 85 percent of its remaining value — approximately $50.3 million, among the largest buyouts in college football history. Defensive coordinator Tony White was also fired on Sunday, according to a report by On3.
Rick Stockstill, 68, the program's director of scouting and a former Florida State quarterback, was named interim head coach at his alma mater. Stockstill spent 18 seasons as the head coach at Middle Tennessee before joining the Seminoles' staff.
The immediate job is arithmetic: Florida State needs to win three of its final four games — at Boston College on Saturday, then Pittsburgh, NC State and Florida — to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023, while the university's search for a permanent successor starts immediately.
