What’s taking place at Florida State is an ideal illustration of how fluid the thought of job safety is in faculty soccer’s new period.
The Seminoles have been an early-season darling after a convincing Week 1 win over Alabama and raced off to a 3-0 begin — precisely what coach Mike Norvell wanted coming off a 2-10 2024 marketing campaign.
Then got here an additional time loss to Virginia. Then Miami. Then Pittsburgh. At that time, the warmth had turned as much as about medium on Norvell — no speedy firing, however maybe at risk after this season if all hell broke free, and if nothing else the lead face of all 2026 sizzling seat content material.
However now issues are at a scalding temperature. Within the early hours of Sunday morning, on the East Coast at the least, Florida State misplaced 20-13 to lowly Stanford, a recreation the Seminoles have been favored to win by 17.5 factors.
The fourth straight loss (the fourth time Norvell’s had a four-game dropping streak in Tallahassee) was, within the phrases of 1 business supply, when Norvell’s seat went from heat to “legit fireplace sizzling.”
It is a lengthy flight from Palo Alto to Tallahassee. Many boosters, per sources, spent these journeys again commiserating and planning. Conversations in Tallahassee about Norvell’s status have continued all through the day; Norvell even acknowledged throughout a Sunday workers assembly that conversations about his future have been taking place, sources inform CBS Sports activities. His buyout of round $55 million, per Noles247, now not looks as if a significant roadblock to creating a change many across the program view as vital.
Some consider Norvell’s message is getting misplaced on his staff. After the loss to Stanford, a supply instructed CBS Sports activities that gamers have been cracking jokes within the locker room about having to “reply” but once more. “Reply” is a standard phrase for Norvell to his staff as losses mount. CBS Sports activities’ Brandon Marcello, who spent Saturday within the ACC replay heart, stated on the College Football Insiders that he may see Florida State’s sideline within the All-22 digicam view and was struck by the shortage of participant engagement.
Florida State is 5-14 going again to the beginning of the 2024 season.
The Seminoles once more went all-in with the portal this offseason, signing 23 transfers to turn the program around. However identical to it noticed in 2024, a part of the chance of a transfer-heavy technique is that one-year leases aren’t steeped in this system tradition, which issues when issues go sideways.
As for the on-field enterprise, this isn’t an inexpensive roster. Between rev share and front-loaded title, picture and likeness funds, sources say FSU’s roster value properly into the $20 million vary.
The mix of high-priced additions and compounding losses places Norvell within the crosshairs, particularly when you think about there are not any simple repair strikes remaining after Norvell modified each of his coordinators final offseason.
If the Seminoles fireplace Norvell, it will value this system excess of simply that $55 million. They’d spend thousands and thousands shopping for out assistant coach contracts. There are additionally multiyear offers for Seminole gamers on the roster the following head coach won’t wish to maintain. Add in a brand new coach, his workers and a full portal class of salaries and it may value near 9 figures to fireplace Norvell.
That is a staggering sum for a program, lower than a yr in the past, that brazenly rebelled in opposition to the ACC to generate extra income.
Fifty-five million could be the second-largest buyout in faculty soccer historical past. However it’s a quantity some round Tallahassee think about vital with no sustained indicators of enchancment.
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Brandon Marcello
May Norvell survive? Completely.
Firings in faculty soccer are inherently political, and Norvell may claw his method out of this. However even when he escapes Sunday along with his job intact, Norvell is not essentially secure on condition that the Seminoles are on a bye week, an opportune time to make a change irrespective of the day.
Norvell seems to be like he’ll make it by way of Sunday. Monday, Tuesday and the remainder of the yr after that? We’ll see.
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