Florida State enters 2026 with something rarely seen in Tallahassee: a fan base that has lost faith, questioned the program’s direction and may be more interested in change than another winning season.
In less than 48 hours, Florida State will begin its 79th season of football, but for the first time in decades, a large contingent of Seminole fans may be hoping for a season closer to 5-7 than 9-3.
Fans have checked out of the 2026 season after back-to-back disappointing campaigns in 2024 and 2025, when the Seminoles went a combined 7-17. Many in the Noles fanbase wanted Mike Norvell gone. That noise around the program forced the administration to think “long and hard” about Norvell’s future.
But a buyout of over $50 million was a strong deterrent, and the administration ultimately decided to keep him. A move they had to explain, with the administration issuing a statement defending its decision to retain him.
“School administrators thought long and hard about dismissing Norvell last season,” Ross Dellenger wrote. “The fan uprising was loud enough that the administration released a statement in support of Norvell.”
Florida State used to be one of the top programs in college football. The Seminoles consistently developed NFL talent, which led to competing for ACC and national championships year after year.
Those days are now a thing of the past, just like learning that it's the Gulf of Mexico or Lake Ontario. Fans now have to realize that the standard Florida State football was known for is no longer the case.
And for Noles fans, unlike fans of top programs who enter a season believing that a conference or national championship is possible, they have lost that belief altogether.
Instead of entering this new season with the anticipation of a child waiting for Christmas morning, they feel an awkward sense of uncertainty about what lies ahead.
“It's awkward for me,” Danny Kanell said. “We had Mike Norvell on the radio show this morning on Sirius, and I had to ask him what it's like to be on the hot seat”
Around the fanbase, there are Norvell supporters who believe he can turn the ship around and prove his naysayers wrong. Others in the fanbase are terrified that he somehow does just enough going 8-4 or 9-3 to come back for another year.
Finally, there are fans who believe Norvell is a dead man walking and that the outcome is inevitable: 2026 will be another disappointing season, leaving the athletic department with no choice but to move on, regardless of the buyout.
The uncertainty around the program has led Florida State fans to enter a season with a level of negativity not seen before.
“This is the most negativity I've felt in 30 years,” Kanell said. “I have never seen a fan base as checked out, as negative and almost wanting to see Mike Norvell fail so they can move on.”
It is easy to understand why FSU fans are down on the program and want to move on from Norvell; only two of the six seasons he has led FSU ended with a winning record. He also owns four of the five four-game losing streaks in the program's 78-year history. It’s also why Norvell finds himself on one of the hottest seats in college football.
“They've had four, four-game losing streaks under Mike Norvell,” Kanell said. “Like, it's inexplicable how you could suffer these, you know, month-long slumps that you go into these funks.”
With the opening Kickoff against New Mexico, Norvell's future will rest on winning and winning a lot. Norvell now has one more opportunity to prove he can restore the program's standard of competing for titles constantly. If he can’t, the noise from last season will become a roar, too loud for the people around Tallahassee to ignore.
