The calculus behind Florida State's $55 million decision on head coach Mike Norvell took a dramatic swing over the weekend. In less than 24 hours, two events upended the playing field and perhaps gave the embattled coach reason for optimism.

FSU's 42-7 win over Wake Forest was the biggest momentum shift. Perhaps more important than the score was the way FSU's players responded afterward, emphatically defending and sticking up for Norvell. He has clearly not lost the locker room.

That was Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, Auburn fired its own struggling head coach, canning Hugh Freeze after the Tigers lost to Kentucky.

FSU Athletic Director Michael Alford announced last week that a decision on Norvell's future would be held until the end of the season. Those two occurrences over the weekend could make it possible for Alford to avoid firing Norvell, and thus triggering his $55+ million buyout.

FSU players rally behind Norvell

Let's start with the reaction by FSU's players. Returning to form on the field against a tough Wake Forest team was impressive on its own. The public message from the players afterward, however, focused less on their own play and more on the importance of their head coach.

Quarterback Tommy Castellanos scoffed at the idea of Norvell losing his job after the four-game losing streak.

"Fire coach? No, no. Coach Norvell’s been absolutely awesome. Everything and more for us. I know you guys don’t see that, and I know they don’t see that. Everybody blames the coach. That’s on us. Those four games are on us. We’ve been put in position to execute and win those games, and we didn’t. It’s not on him.

"I’m glad we got that done for him," Castellanos said.

The quarterback went on to share how much he respects Norvell, how the head coach has been there to help players tune out the outside noise, and how Norvell pours into his players every day.

To a man, every player that has spoken to the media since the win over Wake Forest has made a point to praise Norvell and the culture he's created.

"I wish there was a way that you guys could have seen our practices these past two weeks," receiver Duce Robinson said.

Casual viewers and fans may not get that access, but Alford can stroll down to the practice field any time he likes. To hear the players describe it, he'll probably like what he sees if he does.

Competition off the field

The second big event is more of a ripple effect than a direct impact. When the whistle blew on FSU's fourth-straight loss 16 days ago, only one major school in the southeast had fired their head coach: in-state rival Florida.

The next day, LSU fired Brian Kelly. Yesterday, Auburn sent Freeze packing. The result is that three of the closest geographic Power Four schools to Tallahassee now have vacancies. All three of those schools have shown that they're willing to spend big money on hiring the right person.

Alford and FSU leadership couldn't have imagined a worse scenario to jump into if they also needed to hire a head coach. National media and anonymous insiders have already been speculating that there won't be enough great candidates to fill all these job openings as it is. 

Where would FSU stand in that mix? And after paying the $55M buyout Norvell would be owed, could the Seminoles even afford the inevitable bidding war it would take to hire an elite replacement?

FSU officials have been publicly griping about a lack of funds for the last two years, as it is. After pouring tens of millions into a new indoor practice facility and upgrades to Doak Campbell Stadium, can the school and athletic department afford another $100 million to fire their current coach and hire a replacement?

Nevermind that the replacement could be the 4th or 5th candidate down the list, due to so many other schools looking for coaches.

FSU's impressive Saturday, the emphatic response by the players, and the realities of the college football landscape are combining to make it more and more possible that Norvell gets another year in Garnet and Gold.

Major CFB coaching vacancies so far:

Arkansas

Auburn

Florida

LSU

Maryland

Oklahoma State

Penn State

Stanford

UCLA

Virginia Tech