Prime Time Isn’t the Right Time: 5 Reasons FSU Shouldn’t Hire Deion

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Florida State has dropped 14 of its last 17 ACC contests under head coach Mike Norvell, who helped guide the Seminoles to an undefeated regular season and ACC Championship in 2023.

To put that loss number into perspective: Bobby Bowden didn’t lose his 14th ACC game until his 15th season.

Norvell’s other predecessors didn’t experience the same level of futility. Jimbo Fisher lost only 16 conference games during his entire tenure, while Willie Taggart didn’t even survive his mediocrity during his two seasons in Tallahassee.

That only shows why the seat is so hot for Norvell, even if a cost-prohibitive buyout keeps him at Florida State.

Many point to what Florida State great Deion Sanders has done at Colorado as the type of energy the Seminoles need.

We have our top five reasons why Florida State should not consider Sanders at this point.

Before that, we’ll give you two reasons that didn’t make our list. It is our best of the rest.

Florida State Does Not Need What Deion Sells

Colorado brought in Sanders from Jackson State for one major reason: exposure.

Florida State doesn’t need someone to convince America that Florida State football exists. It already possesses three national championships, a massive fanbase, fertile recruiting territory and one of college football’s most recognizable brands.

The Seminoles need someone who can build an elite football operation.

Hiring Sanders because of the attention he creates would be paying a premium for something FSU already owns.

Nostalgia Doesn’t Always Work Out

While the Seminoles’ top rival, Miami, has enjoyed what Mario Cristobal has done in rejuvenating its program and bringing back a little swagger from the halcyon days of “The U,” Florida State can’t bank on Sanders being the long-term answer just because of his history with the program.

Consider Scott Frost, who bolted UCF after the program claimed a national championship based on the Colley Matrix to return to his alma mater, Nebraska. Everyone thought it would be a slam dunk.

It wasn’t.

If Sanders returned, every press conference would become an event. Recruiting would generate national attention. The spring game would become television programming. Merchandise would move. Doak Campbell Stadium would initially become a spectacle.

But eventually, somebody has to beat Miami, Clemson, Florida and the best teams in the country.

And if it doesn’t work?

Florida State doesn’t merely fire another coach. It potentially damages its relationship with one of the greatest Seminoles who ever lived.

Now, onto our Top 5.

No. 5: Sanders’ Resume Simply Isn’t Strong Enough Yet

Sanders inherited a Colorado program that had gone 1-11, so the improvement deserves context and credit.

But through his first three seasons at Colorado, his teams have gone 4-8, 9-4 and 3-9. Overall, Sanders is 17-21 in Boulder. He has one winning season, one bowl appearance and no conference championship at the Power Four level.

Florida State shouldn’t be paying a premium for potential.

No. 4: Colorado’s Best Year Raises a Major Sustainability Question

The 9-4 season in 2024 featured Shedeur Sanders at quarterback and Travis Hunter winning the Heisman Trophy. Once both departed for the NFL, Colorado immediately crashed to 3-9 in 2025.

That doesn’t mean those players were the only reason Colorado won. But it does create the most important question FSU should ask: Can Sanders build a program that keeps winning when his transcendent stars leave?

Florida State just experienced how quickly a roster can collapse following a championship-caliber season. It shouldn’t hire someone whose own program has yet to prove it can avoid the same problem.

No. 3: His Roster-Building Model Has Been Extraordinarily Volatile

Florida State has leaned into the transfer portal as aggressively as anyone, but at Colorado, it has been more than just a lean.

CBS reported Sanders signed 128 transfers across his first three portal cycles, the most in college football, and Colorado went through another enormous roster overhaul following the 2025 season.

The portal absolutely should be part of FSU’s strategy. But Florida State needs to return to developing players over multiple seasons, building offensive and defensive lines, creating leadership succession and supplementing that foundation through the portal.

Constantly reconstructing the roster introduces exactly the type of year-to-year volatility Florida State needs to escape.

No. 2: His High School Recruiting Hasn’t Resembled What FSU Should Demand

This might be the biggest football reason.

Florida State sits in one of America’s richest recruiting territories and should expect its coach to regularly raid Florida and Georgia for elite high school talent.

Sanders has landed individual stars, but Colorado’s overall high school recruiting results have generally been modest. Its 2026 class was ranked 14th in the Big 12 by 247Sports, and Sanders himself has since acknowledged changing Colorado’s recruiting approach.

The 2027 trajectory looks better, which deserves acknowledgement.

But if you’re Florida State, why gamble that Sanders is becoming the high school roster builder you need when you can hire someone who has already demonstrated it?

No. 1: The Financial Commitment Would Be Enormous at Exactly the Wrong Time

Sanders signed a five-year, $54 million Colorado contract through 2029. His salary is $10 million in 2026, and if he takes another coaching job this year, his contractual departure payment to Colorado is $10 million.

Now combine that economic hurdle with potentially paying Norvell roughly $46.7 million, buying out assistants, hiring an entirely new staff and funding a championship-level roster.

FSU could easily commit an extraordinary amount of football resources before Sanders coaches his first game.

For that kind of investment, Florida State should be buying the closest thing possible to a proven championship program builder.

If FSU is willing to spend roughly $47 million to move on from Norvell, the replacement ought to have considerably more evidence that he can consistently win at the level Florida State expects.

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