Florida State would have to write Mike Norvell a massive check in order to fire him, even after he restructured his contract in the offseason.
Norvell’s future with the Seminoles will become a bigger point of discussion after FSU fell 20-13 to Stanford, extending its losing streak to four games.
Alas, the coach might be untouchable for now if only because of what the Tallahassee Democrat‘s Dan Rorabaugh reported is a buyout of around $59.2 million.
As long has Florida State fires him without cause, Norvell is entitled to receive 85 percent of the outstanding balance on his contract. Since his deal runs through 2031, dismissing him at any point over the next few years will be expensive.
Here’s his annual salary moving forward, per Rorabaugh:
Norvell is another example of the risks schools are increasingly taking with the extensions they’re handing out.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Florida State re-signed him through 2029 and bumped his annual salary up to $8.05 million. The Seminoles’ unbeaten record during the regular season that year resulted in another pay raise.
FSU proceeded to fall off a cliff in 2024 and finished at 2-10. Even assuming that was a nadir under the current regime, missing a bowl game for the second successive year would be a disaster.
Florida State is also trending toward a fourth losing record in his six seasons at the helm. It’s starting to feel like 13-1 was more of an exception than 2-10.
Of course, the dilemma for FSU is twofold.
Norvell would be cashing in on the second-biggest buyout in college football history, eclipsing the $49 million Penn State just paid to James Franklin but falling well short of the $76 million Texas A&M paid for Jimbo Fisher to go away.
All total, the Seminoles would need to find $100 million, maybe even $150 million to compensate Norvell and his staff and then hire a new head coach.
There’s also the fact that the coaching market is in a rough place right now.
Look no further than Penn State. Jettisoning Franklin was an understandable call, but the list of candidates to potentially replace him isn’t exactly inspiring. Curt Cignetti, one of the best theoretical options, took himself out of the running by signing a new deal with Indiana.
It would be the same thing with Florida State. As bad as things are with Norvell, there’s always the risk that things continue to spiral with a new head coach, which would mean another big buyout and more angst.
Giving it another year and trying to salvage things with Norvell might be the most likely outcome for the Seminoles.
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