Florida State coach Mike Norvell delivered a second consecutive disappointing season, finishing with a woeful 5-7 record and missing out on bowl eligibility once again. Norvell will enter his seventh season at the helm of the Seminoles on one of the hottest seats in the country after FSU athletic director Michael Alford opted to keep him in the post.
Danny Kanell Delivers a Blunt Assessment of Mike Norvell
After an offseason of upheaval, the mood in Tallahassee is pessimistic about the team’s chances of turning around its fortunes next season. According to the PFSN College Football Playoff Meter, Florida State is expected to win just 5.33 games on the back of a tough ACC schedule.
During Thursday’s segment of “The Next Round” podcast, analyst and former FSU quarterback Danny Kanell gave a withering assessment of the mood around Norvell’s continued stay as Florida State head coach.
“My expectations are low, and I’d say my expectations are higher than most fans I talk to,” Kanell said. “The vibes around Tallahassee are as bad as I’ve seen them in the last decade. It’s bad. I think a lot of the fans wanted to move on from Mike Norvell. I think they realize the financial situation Florida State is in.
“A lot of the boosters that would potentially be able to step up and write checks have not cut those checks because they’re kind of waiting for what feels inevitable. That this season’s going to be a disaster and they’re going to have to move on from Norvell, then we’ll go out and spend money to get that next head coach.”
In six seasons in charge of the Seminoles, Norvell has overseen four losing seasons, punctuated by the high point of an unbeaten regular season in 2023 (13-0), when the Seminoles were controversially snubbed from the College Football Playoff field. In the two seasons since a stirring 2023, Norvell’s Florida State has a torrid 7-17 record.
Despite their inconsistent form last season, with talented quarterback Thomas Castellanos under center and Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator, the Seminoles had one of the most potent offenses in the country, earning a PFSN College Offense Impact score of 87.0.
Castellanos departed the program and will be replaced by former Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels next season, while Malzahn shocked college football when he retired in February, forcing Norvell to promote former wide receivers coach Tim Harris Jr. to the job to complete the upheaval at the program.
