Identifying 5 Florida State Seminoles Coaching Candidates to Replace Mike Norvell in 2027

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Will Mike Norvell be fired? The firing of athletic director Michael Alford in September indicates that the Florida State Seminoles are finally ready to move on from their head football coach. While a termination might not come until later this year, it is not unreasonable to think a Seminoles coaching search is going on quietly behind the scenes.

Norvell’s $46 million buyout and the cost of overhauling the entire Seminoles coaching staff must be considered. As previously reported, Florida State’s athletic department reported a $437 million debt at the end of the 2025 fiscal year. That is going to be a factor in the search for a new head coach.

Let’s examine our targeted Seminoles coaching candidates who could replace Norvell.

Manny Diaz, Duke Blue Devils HC

A Seminoles coaching search that ends with Manny Diaz taking over would certainly incite mockery from the rival Miami Hurricanes. After all, Diaz’s tenure in Miami (21-15 record) went badly. After being fired, he spent two seasons as the Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator under James Franklin and orchestrated an excellent defense. The success got him a second chance as a head coach, landing with the Duke Blue Devils after the program needed to replace Mike Elko. Diaz is coming off consecutive nine-win campaigns and he is likely becoming the school’s first football coach to win nine-plus games in three consecutive years. Diaz could bring over offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer to Florida State, keeping the same play-caller who helped Darian Mensah excel in 2025 and is now having success with quarterback Walker Eget and running back Nate Sheppard. A return to his alma mater would surely be Diaz’s dream job and he would have more resources available to him than he does at Duke.

Glenn Schumann, Georgia Bulldogs DC

As we just mentioned, finances will be a factor in the Seminoles coaching search. That is why outbidding SMU (Rhett Lashlee) and Arizona State (Kenny Dillingham) could be a problem for Florida State. Enter Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. He’s spent more than a decade learning from Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, figuring out how to build a sustainable program that not only attracts high-end recruits but actually knows how to develop players. Schumann’s defense has also been integral to Georgia’s success in recent years and he brings ample experience in recruiting. Florida State would obviously be rolling the dice a bit on a long-time assistant coach who has only ever been at powerhouse programs with great infrastructures. With that said, this would be the kind of move that might allow Florida State to spend more on its next coaching staff and 2027 roster than if it paid big bucks for Dillingham or Lashlee.

Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri Tigers

No program should view Missouri Tigers head coach Eliah Drinkwitz as a home-run hire who could help a team compete for a national championship. After all, his tenure at Mizzou highlights the fact that his teams have often struggled to win their biggest games. What Drinkwitz would bring to Tallahassee, however, is stability. From 2023-25, he posted a 29-10 record (.744 winning percentage) with trips to the Cotton Bowl (2023) and Music City Bowl (2024). If Florida State wants something safe, a very good head coach who can win eight-plus games per season while the athletic department digs itself out of its financial hole, Drinkwitz might be the right target.

Bryant Haines, Indiana Hoosiers DC

A Power 4 team is going to hire Bryant Haines as its head coach this offseason. The reigning Broyles Award winner, given to the best assistant coach in college football, is the most important person on Curt Cignetti’s staff. In 2025, the Indiana Hoosiers defense allowed the third-fewest points per game (12.5), they ranked third in ESPN’s stop rate (78.3%) and ranked eighth in third-down defense (31.25% conversion rate). Even with D’Angelo Ponds now off in the NFL, Haines has maintained a top-flight defense. The 40-year-old is in his ninth season learning from Cignetti and he’ll be a coveted name in the college football coaching carousel. If Florida State is willing to gamble on an assistant, Haines should be right behind Schumann on the list of targets.

Shannon Dawson, Miami Hurricanes OC

Florida State could always try and poach someone from the Hurricanes coaching staff. Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson did the best he could with Tyler Van Dyke in 2023. Then Cam Ward finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting after putting up 39 passing touchdowns, 4,313 passing yards and a 172.2 passer rating. Last year, Miami reached the College Football Playoff National Championship Game with an offense that averaged nearly 31 points and 405 total yards per game, all the while being a bit limited by Carson Beck. This season, Dawson’s offense has allowed Darian Mensah to get off to one of the best starts (88.7% completion rate, 11.4 ypa, 14-0 TD-INT and 93.9 ESPN QBR) in college football history. Dawson’s track record both with quarterbacks and as a play-caller speaks for itself, with his ACC experience just making him an even better fit for the Seminoles.

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