Florida State Podcast has strong words for Mike Norvell – Saturday Blitz

1-8. It’s Florida State Football’s record thus far in 2024, which has put head coach Mike Norvell’s name in the center of college football. The fifth-year coach just signed a contract extension last offseason that keeps him in Tallahassee through 2031 with a buyout that currently stands at $63.8 million.

Not only are the stands empty, but social media has been ablaze with Seminole fans and it seems like most of all the other FBS schools agree that the coach needs to go, which is highly unusual. Also, this all comes on the heels of a 13-0 season for Florida State, which they capped off with an ACC Championship before it all came crashing down with a 63-3 loss to Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs in the 2023 Sugar Bowl.

Things continued to deteriorate in 2024, and not only were fans calling for Norvell to be fired, but so were several media outlets.

LockedOn Seminoles podcast host Brian Smith calls for Mike Norvell to be fired

In a recent episode with LockedOn ACC co-hosts Alex Donough and Kenton Gibbs, Smith laid out some solid evidence for why Norvell should have been fired and what Seminole fans have to fear moving forward in both cases. Smith led off the segment with “this is a complete joke,” which was a clear indication that he was about to chime in. And he did.

The players give up

Smith pointed out that it was evident that the players were giving up during the Seminoles’ home game against conference foe North Carolina last Saturday, where the team lost 35-11. Smith mentioned that the Seminoles had a 10-man front on several occasions and allowed yards from it instead of turnovers on a play that he and former North Carolina State quarterback Gibbs agreed would usually be a struggle for loss.

Smith analyzed a play in which North Carolina Tar Heels running back Omarion Hampton appeared to be surrounded by Seminoles after taking a pitch from the quarterback. From there, “it was like the Red Sea parted … without any effort,” Smith said. And the Seminoles wouldn’t be able to put the game away, allowing a 49-yard touchdown on the play in which he went untouched.

Florida State has a chance to lose to FCS opponent Charleston Southern

The most troubling thing from the walkout may not even be the teams performance against North Carolina, but Smith expects them to potentially lose to FCS opponent Charleston Southern, who the Seminoles play in a few weeks. “This is Charleston Southern’s Super Bowl,” Smith points out.

Curt Cignetti of Indiana is available

Smith points out that despite the high buyout price, the lawsuit involving the ACC and the stadium renovations Donno pointed out, “if you need (Norvell’s firing) to be done well enough, there are boosters for any program that can.”

If the boosters can convince and pay the $63.8 million owed to Norvell, there’s a chance the Seminoles could part ways with the fifth-year coach and pursue Cignetti or someone else.

A massive transfer exodus could follow for Florida State Football

If Mike Norvell doesn’t get fired, and given how disengaged the team looks on the field, you’d be hard-pressed to find much of the players currently on Florida State’s roster who would want to stay and not enter the portal .

“Unless somebody steps in, it’s not only going to get worse, it could bury the program in a few years.” Because I can guarantee you right now there will be a mass exodus of the current roster in December.”

Mike Norvell will still struggle even if he fires all his assistants

Dono points out that Norvell will have to fire his assistants if he stays in Tallahassee, but even then fixing the problem is far from a sure thing.

“The concern there (Norvell firing his staff) would be who wants to work for someone who is probably a lame duck,” Donno said.

Florida State will be a four-win team at best in 2025

The ripple effect is most likely more of a one-season wave that Norvell created in Tallahassee, as Smith points out.

“If I’m right about Portal, I think they’re going to lose some guys that they can’t afford to lose … and then next year, I’ll tell you right now, they’re going to have a four-win team at most because their roster will be so depleted by the transfer portal,” Smith said.

What is the main reason the Florida State Seminoles are struggling?

Many reasons were listed by Smith, Donough and Gibbs as reasons for Florida State’s struggles of late in a trend they believe will continue. And unlike most situations where you can point to the root cause, you struggle to get there, as Gibbs points out.

“This is the most unique collapse I’ve ever seen because we can’t point to one thing to say this happened,” Gibbs said.

Probably without a doubt, the failure in Tallahassee will continue through at least 2025, regardless of who the head coach is. The questions that remain now are whether Norvell will be fired and how long-term the ramifications will be?