Florida State made the safe decision in retaining under-fire head coach Mike Norvell. Only time will tell if he's the long-term answer for the once-proud football program, but the short term decision comes with a host of benefits.

First, it saves the university upwards of $100 million. Norvell's contract alone would have cost FSU more than $50 million in termination. Add in buyouts for his high-profile coordinators and it's close to $60 million.

And that's just to get rid of the current staff. Not only would a new coach likely demand a higher salary than Norvell (LSU is reportedly offering Lane Kiffin more than $13 million annually), but any sitting head coach would have to be bought out of their current contract. Then that new coach needs a full staff. 

This is at a time when the school has just finished a $265 million renovation to Doak Campbell Stadium, the fruits of which debuted in August. FSU has also been involved in litigation with the ACC over the distribution of money from conference rights deals. The gist of that issue is simple: FSU says it doesn't have enough money to compete on the same level as SEC and Big Ten opponents.

Meanwhile, 2025 marked the first year of college athletic programs doling out $20 million annually directly to athletes. Along with NIL funding and open transfers through the portal, the cost for schools and donors alike has never been higher.

Yes, FSU could come up with the funds to fire Norvell and hire a replacement if it had to. If it had to be done, FSU would do it. That's just the price of the game in 2025.

Luckily, they don't have to. For a variety of non-financial reasons, giving Norvell at least one more year makes sense.

For one, he's only two years removed from a perfect 12-0 regular season and ACC Championship in 2023. If star quarterback Jordan Travis hadn't been injured in that championship game, then Norvell's team would've been in the College Football Playoff in its final year in the four-team format. That means a 13-0 team would have been two wins away from making him National Championship-winning head coach Mike Norvell. 

That guy wouldn't be getting fired two years down the road.

Likewise, in 2025, one could easily make the case that FSU is one great player from once again being in ACC and CFP contention. FSU's first four losses were all by a single score. An All-American level middle linebacker could've turned FSU's glaring weakness in those losses - the middle of the defense - into far less of a problem area. In games decided by one or two plays, it isn't outlandish to think such a player could've flipped the result.

To Norvell's detractors, the issue in both of those examples is the big problem. It's on the head coach to get a full-22 of elite players, and he hasn't done that. At least, he hasn't done enough of it.

If anything, it's a testament to Norvell's coaching ability that he's competed nationally despite not recruiting at an elite level. 

However, his next signing class, the 2026 crop of talent, is currently ranked No. 14 in the country by 247Sports. In fact, even with FSU struggling, Norvell is actually picking up momentum in recruiting, flipping high profile targets and garnering interest from Top 100 players residing in Florida.

Things are trending in the right direction off the field. FSU would likely be better off saving the $100 million it would cost to start over and just funnel 1/4 (or less) of it toward enhancing the roster. Norvell has shown he can coach up talent, and the way FSU's players have continued to show fight despite struggles this year shows that Norvell hasn't lost the locker room.

The other great reason to keep Norvell isn't because of money or coaching. It's about actually finding someone better. This is an unprecedented hiring cycle as it is, with half a dozen major programs already searching for a new coach, and more likely to come. 

The competition to find a new coach is fierce, and the pundits don't seem to see many guaranteed winners among the candidates available for the many positions. Lane Kiffin is the only name anyone seems to have any confidence in, and it would be too late for FSU to jump into the three-way bidding war already at play between Ole Miss, LSU and Florida.

Compounding the issue is that all the major programs geographically closest to FSU are looking for head coaches. UF, LSU and Auburn are FSU's most direct competition in the region, and all three could likely out-spend the Seminoles to secure a new coach. 

If you jump in now, there's a chance you end up with, at best, the No. 4 person on your list. 

Instead, keeping Norvell offers FSU a chance to get ahead while other programs are starting over. 

Norvell might not work out at FSU. If he struggles in 2026, he will almost assuredly be shown the door. However, the risk in giving him one more year is minimal. There are reasons to believe he could turn it around. If he doesn't, then FSU will have saved itself millions, and it could be the premier opening in 2026 instead of barely Top 5 in 2025.

The reward, if FSU can look more like its 2023 self under Norvell, is a return to national relevance for one of college football's most storied programs.