Mike Norvell fired by Florida State as Clemson loss drops Seminoles to 3-5 record

Florida State Seminoles suffered their third consecutive defeat on Saturday, falling to the Clemson Tigers and extending a difficult stretch that also included an overtime loss to their in-state rivals, the Miami Hurricanes.

With the program continuing to struggle, the university has now made a significant change to its coaching setup in response to the team's poor run of results.

Florida State fires Mike Norvell

Florida State announced on Sunday that it had dismissed head coach Mike Norvell, bringing his tenure to an end as the program's fortunes took a sharp downturn. The decision comes after the Seminoles went from winning the ACC Championship in 2023 to slipping to the bottom of the conference standings.

The announcement was made through the team's official account on X. "Florida State University President Richard McCullough informed head football coach Mike Norvell this afternoon that FSU is making a change in the leadership of its football program, effective immediately.”

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Meanwhile, Florida State has appointed Rick Stockstill as its interim head coach. Stockstill, who currently serves as the program's director of scouting, previously spent 18 seasons as the head coach at Middle Tennessee.

Norvell's seven-year tenure at Florida State

Norvell finished his seven-year tenure at Florida State with a 41-39 overall record. The 45-year-old coach’s most successful campaign came in 2023, when he guided the Seminoles to an unbeaten 13-0 season and an ACC championship.

However, despite their perfect record, Florida State was controversially left out of the four-team College Football Playoff field following a season-ending injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis. Florida State has managed just 10 victories against 23 defeats in the period since that campaign, including a disappointing 3-5 start to the 2026 season.

Norvell recorded five losing seasons during his tenure as Florida State's head coach, with his only winning campaigns coming in 2022 and 2023.

During those successful years, the Seminoles found an effective way to use the transfer portal, recruiting players who had already demonstrated their abilities at smaller programs and still had multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Questions surrounding Norvell's future had been mounting since 2024, when Florida State endured a dramatic collapse, finishing 2-10 just a year after capturing the ACC championship.

Florida State's remained inconsistent after 2023

Consistency remained a major issue for Florida State over the last three seasons, with the team repeatedly struggling to maintain its momentum after promising performances.

The Seminoles began the previous campaign with an impressive 31-17 victory over Alabama but stumbled in their first ACC matchup, falling to Virginia in a double-overtime contest.

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That defeat triggered a four-game losing streak, which culminated in a 20-13 loss on the road against Stanford, marking one of the lowest points of their season.

Florida State initially showed signs of improvement this year, opening October with a dominant 38-7 win over Virginia to move its record to 3-2.

However, the positive momentum quickly disappeared following a disappointing road defeat to Louisville, with subsequent losses against Miami and Clemson further deepening the program's struggles.