Florida State fans are no longer merely calling for Mike Norvell to be fired. They are trying to determine whether they can help pay for it.
A website titled “Save FSU Football” proposes asking 250,000 Seminoles fans to contribute $102 apiece. That would generate about half of Norvell’s reported buyout.
The campaign is still listed as “coming soon,” and its organizers are not yet accepting donations or pledges. Its existence, however, reveals the desperation and frustration consuming the Florida State fan base.
Supporters appear to be willing to reach into their own pockets to remove a coach the university agreed to pay more than $10 million annually.
Florida State’s 27-24 loss to SMU dropped the Seminoles to 1-1 and intensified the anger surrounding a program that has collapsed since its undefeated 2023 regular season. Since winning the ACC championship that year, FSU has gone 8-18 overall and 3-17 in conference play.
Norvell is now 39-35 at Florida State. Depending on the timing and calculation, reports place the cost of firing him at approximately $47 million to $51 million. A Dec. 1 termination would reportedly leave FSU owing $46.7 million, which would represent one of the largest coaching buyouts in college football history.
If Florida State is willing to spend that much money to make Norvell go away, it cannot afford to get the next hire wrong.
Florida State already passed on Sanders once
The possibility of Deion Sanders returning to Florida State comes with a painful layer of history for FSU fans.
Sanders expressed interest to interview for the Seminoles’ head-coaching position in 2019 before he had coached a single college game. Florida State passed on one of the greatest players in program history and hired Norvell instead, reportedly viewing Sanders’ lack of college coaching experience as too significant an obstacle.
Jackson State gave Sanders the opportunity the Power Four programs would not.
Two years later, TCU interviewed him while he was coaching Jackson State, and while Sanders was hospitalized because of complications involving blood clots. He reportedly left then TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati “blown away” and became one of four finalists for the position.
We know TCU hired Sonny Dykes, and since made a National Championship game appearance, but Donati came away convinced Sanders would soon lead a major program.
Colorado, and former athletic direct Rick George, eventually gave Sanders that chance. And, of course, the Buffs have dominated the college football headlines since Coach Prime's opening win over the Horned Frogs.
While Buffs' fans can certainly hope Deion Sanders has indeed put the kickstand down in Boulder, it's undeniable that there's something poetic about Coach Prime returning home and rescuing the Seminoles.
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