Could the Seminoles Make a Costly Mistake by Firing Norvell?

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Florida
State Seminoles fans may not want to read this, but firing Mike Norvell before the the school has a new athletic director in place could be an expensive mistake
the university can ill-afford to make.

After yet
another disappointing loss to Louisville, the pressure to win is
at an all-time high. With another season trending toward disappointment, fans
are fed up and have every reason to demand change.

While it is easy for
fans to spend the athletic department's money, the decision is far from simple for Florida
State.

“It is a
bottom-line business. And I think right now Florida State's administration is
trying to figure out how do we make that next step?” former FSU quarterback and current college football analyst Danny Kanell said.

Football is the
biggest revenue generator for most athletic departments. This makes the hiring of a
head coach one of the most important decisions an athletic director can make.

If
Florida State decides to move on from Norvell before hiring a permanent
AD, the university risks putting itself at a disadvantage in its search for a
top coaching candidate.

Why the disadvantage?

Without a
permanent athletic director in place, Florida State could limit its coaching
options and make it harder to land a top candidate.

Hiring a
coach beforehand could make potential athletic director candidates hesitant to
take the job. They would be forced to inherit a coach they had no part in
selecting, leaving them responsible for a decision they didn't make that could
ultimately define their tenure.

That begs
the question: Why would a new athletic director want to be tied to a coach if
they believe a better candidate is available, especially with a football
program under enormous pressure to win?

The
financial situation only makes matters harder.

If the
Seminoles decide to move on now and pursue a more established, high-profile coach, they may
need to offer a lucrative, multi-year contract to convince him to come to
Tallahassee. Depending on the terms, that deal could create another massive
buyout if the hire fails to meet expectations.

With
roughly $68 million in potential buyout costs for Norvell and his staff and
approximately $437 million in debt, Florida State could limit a new athletic
director's ability to make another coaching change if the hire fails. 

“To put it
bluntly, FSU has significant financial issues. The athletic department is more
than $430 million in debt,” Pete Thamel wrote. “That makes it difficult for FSU
to take on more debt. It's especially difficult for an athletic department that
faces paying out up to $68 million for both Norvell and his staff.”

Florida
State cannot afford to get another coaching hire wrong.

Firing
Norvell, despite the debt, is not impossible. However, it makes getting the next hire correct even more critical. The last thing Florida State needs is to pay another
failed coach while trying to find the money to move on again in an era when
college football continues to grow more expensive.

That raises
another important question.

With the potential financial repercussions of getting
the hire wrong, is an interim athletic director the right person to entrust with a critical decision?

For a
decision that could affect the program for years, wouldn't it make more sense
to let the new AD decide which coach he wants to be tied to rather than have
someone who might not even be around for the first snap of next season make
that choice?

Norvell's
tenure can be described as a roller coaster, with highs and lows, but
unfortunately for Norvell, the lows outnumber the highs.

“I think I
speak for a lot of Florida State fans when you're just exasperated and
frustrated and embarrassed by some of the performances,” Kanell said. “ But the
thing that's so frustrating, is that it does go up and down, up and
down. There's no consistency there.”

And Florida
State deserves more than just the occasional success Norvell has delivered. The
Seminoles deserve a coach who can deliver consistency, develop players and
identify difference-makers who justify the resources invested. These are all things Norvell failed to do.

Florida
State will have to make a decision about Norvell, and unlike the people
screaming to move on, those in charge have to make it with a clear
understanding of the university's finances and the financial repercussions
moving forward.

That’s a decision that should be made with a permanent athletic
director in place who has a clear vision for the future.

Firing
Norvell may be the right decision, but doing so without the right leadership in
place could prove to be an even more costly mistake. Florida State may be
better off waiting for a permanent AD who can evaluate Norvell's future and
make the coaching decision he believes is best for the program.

Finally, a big-named coach might hesitate in taking the job without a permanent athletic director in place for purposes of continuity.

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