Opinion: Why Florida State keeping Mike Norvell makes sense

Would a smaller than $50 million buyout lead the administration toward pulling the trigger? Most likely. But I'm not necessarily sold on that notion.

Mike Norvell proved that he could build a program. It was an unorthodox method as he navigated the Transfer Portal with exceptional accuracy, but failed to develop at the high school level.

Of approximately 100 high school recruits that Norvell brought to Tallahassee, only two have been sent to the NFL Draft (Azareye'h Thomas, Joshua Farmer).

The thing is, Mike Norvell has momentum. What momentum, you might ask? Momentum on the high school recruiting trail (he currently has the best high school recruiting class of his FSU career), momentum in the win/loss column, and internal momentum within the university. It appears the administration likes him, and now he has a new stadium and a football-only facility to pitch to recruits.

A common knock against Norvell has been (and I don't necessarily disagree with this critique) is "We're in year six and they're 5-6." That is 100% right. I understand the frustration.

However, forget all of that for just one second. Imagine FSU hired a new coach after the 2024 season, and the results of 2025 were the exact same as today.

The offense ranks top ten in the country, and the defense is in the top 40. The 'Noles are 5-6, and four of their losses are by one score.

I might be taking a shot in the dark here, but I feel a lot of folks who are currently saying "It's year six and this is the result?" would be saying "It's year one of Coach X and the team is much improved!"

I'm not naive. Obviously, the buyout has a lot to do with Norvell's lengthy leash. And yes, it's disheartening to see a team in its sixth year under a head coach go 5-6.

But if you find yourself in the former camp, I think you have to come to the realization that changing coaches would only disrupt the momentum that FSU currently has, and it could cripple the school financially.

At the moment, Florida State has three more wins than it did last season, it's in almost every contest they play, and when they play complementary football, they've proven they can compete with anyone. And they have a coach who has done it before. They have an improved recruiting class, an improved offense and defense, and improved facilities.

It's frustrating, yes. But at this moment in time, changing the head coach does not necessarily put the program in a different situation than it's in now. It might have a brighter outlook, but can we guarantee that for $50 million? I don't think anyone can.

Take a look at Florida as an example (not that money is a problem for UF):

The Gators fired coach after coach after coach since Urban Meyer left. Every coach since then has eclipsed at least 10 wins at least once (except the recently fired Billy Napier).

I'm not saying Napier was necessarily the right man for the job. But isn't it hard to sell stability within a program when you are consistently firing them for a bad season or two?

People can hoot and holler about the standard. The boosters can threaten to pull their hard-earned money, which is their right. The standard, in fact, has not been met. But the situation is the situation.

And sometimes pragmatism overrules principle.