CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Facing a potential make-or-break season at Florida State, coach Mike Norvell is confident he can turn the program around — again.“We’ve had the opportunity to be there and to have great success, but we’ve also lived on the other side of it, and, you know, excited to get back,” Norvell told The Athletic on Wednesday, the first day of the ACC Kickoff media event.Norvell is 38-34 in six seasons at Florida State since being hired away from Memphis after the 2019 season, but the Seminoles have won just seven games over the past two seasons. Unrest among fans was so high last season that school officials were compelled to release a statement announcing Norvell would be back in 2026.“I’m excited about this group,” Norvell said. “Every position has a returning core.”Norvell took over the Seminoles during the pandemic-altered 2020 season after the failed tenure of Willie Taggart. After two tough seasons of rebuilding, Florida State won 23 games in 2022 and 2023, including an unbeaten regular season (and College Football Playoff snub) in the latter.
With Norvell drawing interest from Alabama to replace Nick Saban in January 2024, Florida State gave him an eight-year deal worth more than $10 million annually.The fall-off since has been as dramatic as the initial leap forward. Florida State went 2-10 in 2024, a historic backslide after being one of the best teams in the country the year before. Norvell overhauled his staff after the season.“’24 was a season all in itself, and then last year we showed flashes, but you lose five games by a score, and it shows the margin for victory or defeat, I mean, it’s small,” Norvell said.Last year’s results were still below the standard at Florida State, which has won three national titles. The Seminoles went 5-7 in 2025, but the administration stuck with Norvell, who would have been owed around $59 million had he been let go last year.The school recently spent hundreds of millions of dollars on stadium renovations and a new football building.Norvell said there is “great alignment throughout our administration.”“For me and everybody around the football program, you can’t get caught up looking at everything on the outside,” Norvell said.Norvell’s team will enter this season with modest expectations. Florida State returns star receiver Duce Robinson, who had 1,081 receiving yards last year, and highly touted sophomore twins Mandrell and Darryll Desir along the defensive line.Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels is expected to be the Seminoles’ fourth new starting quarterback in the past four seasons.Norvell said he doesn’t believe he is coaching for his job this season.“I don’t fear failure. I never have. I do fear regret,” he said. “And the only thing that I could be in control of is me, the team, the guys that I get to lead on a daily basis. And so, you know, I just want to make sure that I don’t regret any of the work or the investment into these guys to help put them in the best position for what I believe we can accomplish.”
