Noles News: ESPN reports FSU tried to hire Lane Kiffin this season

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Noles News: ESPN reports FSU tried to hire Lane Kiffin this season

Recruiting

Florida State signed 32 players on the first day of the Early Signing Period, which included three day-of additions to the class:

The Seminoles’ signing class includes 17 four-star prospects, eight ranked on ESPN’s SCNext 300, seven on Rivals 300 and five in the Top247 for the Class of 2026. FSU signed 14 prospects from Florida, eight from Georgia, three from South Carolina, and one each from Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee, along with two international student-athletes. Among the group, 12 student-athletes have won a state championship or are still playing in their respective state playoffs in 2025.

“I’m excited about this group and looking forward to the impact they will make within our program,” head coach Mike Norvell said. “We have signed a large group of student-athletes who bring a tremendous amount of accolades, experience and success. Many of them played for championship programs and a number of players are multi-sport athletes, which fits our schemes that are built for playmakers. This has been a very good start to the Class of 2026, and I’m excited to continue adding to this group.”

Football

ESPN dropped an inside look at Lane Kiffin’s decision process that resulted in him leaving playoff-bound Ole Miss for LSU, which included the news that FSU attempted to pursue the head coach this season:

The coaches discussed four options: Remain at Ole Miss, where they had built a legitimate College Football Playoff contender; leave for SEC rivals Florida or LSU; or take over Florida State, which according to people with knowledge of the search, was making a stealth move to poach Kiffin.

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford was wooing Kiffin behind the scenes, sources familiar with the search told ESPN. Kiffin and Alford had worked together at USC — Alford as the Trojans’ associate AD from 2000 to 2003 and Kiffin as Pete Carroll’s tight ends/wide receivers coach from 2001 to 2003. But Florida State hadn’t fired embattled coach Mike Norvell, whose program had slipped dramatically after going 13-1 and winning an ACC title in 2023. The Seminoles cratered last season, going 2-10, followed by a 5-7 mark this year.

The Seminoles would have owed Norvell about $54 million if they fired him without cause, plus another $18 million to pay off his assistants.

Hiring Kiffin, the hottest coach on the market, might have allowed Alford to justify spending $72 million to dismiss Norvell and his staff. The Seminoles’ recruitment of Kiffin continued into the middle of November, according to the sources. But after it became clear Kiffin wasn’t coming, FSU announced Nov. 23 that Norvell would return for a seventh season.

Basketball

FSU women’s basketball fell to Georgia 80-0 on Wednesday:

Soccer

All Sports

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