Fewer than three years ago, Mike Norvell was viewed as one of the rising stars in college football coaching, someone who could help define the sport in the years and decades to come.
In 2023, he led Florida State to an undefeated regular season, capping off a two-year run in which the Seminoles went 23-4 and made their long-awaited return to the sport’s upper tier. After Nick Saban retired at Alabama after the 2023 season, Norvell was one of the main candidates connected to the vacancy.
Quite a bit has changed since then.
What once appeared to be an ascendant Florida State program has plummeted. The 2024 season was an abject disaster, with a team picked 10th in the preseason US LBM Coaches
Poll stumbling to a 2-10 record. Things only improved so much in 2025, when the Seminoles lost seven of their final nine games to again miss out on bowl eligibility.
The unforeseen fall has put Norvell squarely on one of the hottest seats in the sport, one he’s only likely to escape with an unexpectedly strong season. Florida State hasn’t exactly followed through on that two games into the season, with an underwhelming win against lowly New Mexico State followed by a 27-24 loss at home against No. 20 SMU, where boos could routinely be heard from Doak Campbell Stadium as the Seminoles lost despite forcing four turnovers. Things will only get more difficult, too, with games against No. 7 Miami, No. 11 Alabama, Louisville and Virginia over the next seven weeks.
If the Seminoles aren’t able to score some unexpected wins during that stretch, what would it take for Florida State to get rid of Norvell?
Here’s what you need to know:
Mike Norvell buyout
If Florida State opts to part ways with Norvell over the next three months, it will cost them quite a bit. And that might be putting it mildly.
If Norvell is fired on Dec. 1, 2026, he would be owed $46.7 million, according to the terms of his contract, which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
It would be the third-largest payout in college football history, behind only Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Brian Kelly at LSU. Penn State owed James Franklin $49 million when it fired him last October, but after Franklin agreed to a deal with Virginia Tech only one month later, that figure dropped to $9 million.
Mike Norvell contract
After reported interest from Alabama after Saban’s retirement in January 2024, Norvell signed a contract extension with Florida State that runs through the 2031 season.
Under the terms of the deal, Norvell sees his total pay increase by $150,000 every year. Here’s what he’s set to make on each year remaining on his contract:
- 2026: $10.3 million
- 2027: $10.45 million
- 2028: $10.6 million
- 2029: $10.75 million
- 2030: $10.9 million
- 2031: $11.05 million
Norvell makes $215,000 in base salary every year of the deal, with his supplemental income rising by $150,000 annually.
Mike Norvell record
After Monday's loss to SMU, Norvell is 39-35 two games into his seventh season at Florida State. Here's a year-by-year look at how his teams have fared:
- 2020: 3-6
- 2021: 5-7
- 2022: 10-3
- 2023: 13-1
- 2024: 2-10
- 2025: 5-7
- 2026: 1-1
Norvell previously went 38-15 in four seasons as the head coach at Memphis.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Norvell buyout: How much would it cost Florida State to fire football coach?
