Norvell: ‘It’s my Job to Go Out and Get the Desired Results’

Beleaguered Florida State (3-4) football coach Mike Norvell is preparing his team to take the field against the Clemson Tigers (4-3) Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Norvell is preparing the Seminoles to go out and achieve the desired results he was hired to produce. Florida State has not beaten Clemson in Tallahassee in over a decade.

At his press conference Monday, Norvell was asked by the gathered media if he had been parts of the conversations regarding the evaluation of the athletics department by university administrators.

“You know, definitely grateful for the leadership of President McCullough,” said Norvell. “We definitely would stay in touch. We talked last week for good amount of time and just appreciate his vision for Florida State, his passion for Florida State. We all have a job to do and at the end of the day, my job is to make sure that this football team is continuing to grow, to get better, to perform, and to go out there and get the desired results.”

There is only one problem with that answer. He has NOT achieved those desired results since the 2023 season.

Norvell led the Seminoles to an ACC championship and 13-0 record in 2023.

The College Football Playoff Committee issued the biggest snub in college football history by leaving the undefeated Seminoles out of the playoff.

Florida State had to settle for the Orange Bowl, where they were promptly dismantled by the Georgia Bulldogs 63-3.

Since that Orange Bowl loss, the Seminoles have gone 10-22 and have lost 12 consecutive true road games on Norvell’s watch.

Further, they have won just four league games over that stretch.

The Seminoles are currently on a two-game losing streak, most recently the double-overtime 43-35 loss to their rival, the Miami Hurricanes.

Conservative play calling and poor execution on the field have put the Seminoles in this predicament.

Two of Florida State’s four losses were against teams that they had a two-touchdown lead  on.

The Seminoles ended up losing those games because of epic defensive collapses: Louisville and Alabama.

Failure to go after the top players in the transfer portal has compounded the problem. The Seminoles lost out on the Cam Ward sweepstakes in 2024 to Miami.

The university was quick to fire former athletic director Michael Alford in September.

But when it comes to Norvell and the football program, the powers that be would rather stick their collective heads in the sand.

If the administration is waiting for the next athletic director to fire Norvell, that may take even longer. Florida State has not even hired a search firm to begin the process of replacing Alford.

There have been three head coaches fired so far this season: Mike Locksley at Maryland (39-54 record), Dave Aranda at Baylor (40-40 record), and Dave Doeren at NC State (98-74).

Florida State fired Willie Taggert after just two seasons and a 9-12 record. Norvell is currently 41-38 during his tenure in Tallahassee.

The fans are not happy with the undesirable results that Norvell has produced over the last two-plus seasons. They are ready to protest and demand change.  

Until there is resolution with the status of Norvell to the fans’ satisfaction, Doak Campbell Stadium will be as exciting as a funeral. These are turbulent times in Tallahassee.