Florida State Already Clamoring for Jimbo-Sized Hire

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With coach
Mike Norvell and his Florida State Seminoles (1-1, 0-1 in ACC) traveling to
Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0, 1-0 in SEC) on
Saturday, all eyes of the Seminoles fan base will be glued to this game, and
what will happen immediately afterward, should Florida State lose.

The
Seminoles are +19.5-point underdogs. The coaching fate of Norvell hangs
in the balance.

Norvell
has led Florida State to just eight wins in their last 18 contests as he embarks
on his seventh season in Tallahassee. If you poll the people, Norvell has
overstayed his welcome. Changes in the athletic department have already been
made, with former athletic director Michael Alford being shown the door with a pink
slip in hand earlier this week. Many believe Norvell does not survive this weekend
in Title Town of the SEC, regardless of the outcome.

In a post on X reported by Evan Sidery and per The Athletic, former Florida
State head coach Jimbo Fisher has been campaigning hard behind the scenes,
letting his feelings be known about returning to coach the Seminoles. An analyst
for the ACC, Fisher still has the coaching itch that needs to be scratched until
he is bleeding.

Fisher was
the head football coach at Florida State from 2010-2017, after serving as
offensive coordinator for three seasons under Bobby Bowden. Fisher was Bowden’s
hand-picked successor and was highly successful during his time in Tallahassee:

  • 83-23 record
  • .783 winning
    percentage (highest in school history)
  • 2013 National
    Champions (Undefeated 14-0)
  • Four AP top
    ten finishes
  • Three ACC titles
  • Seven top ten
    recruiting classes
  • Coached QB
    Jameis Winston to a Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2013.
  • Seven consecutive
    seasons of nine or more wins

The
success during his tenure at Florida State cannot be ignored. Fisher is 60
years old. For comparison purposes, Nick Saban was 55 when he was hired at
Alabama. We all know how that turned out. Fisher was also Saban’s offensive coordinator
and quarterbacks coach at LSU from 2000-2004.

Norvell
has posted a 39-35 record at Florida State, with a .527 winning percentage. In
six full seasons, Norvell has coached the Seminoles to four losing seasons. Over
the 2022-2023 seasons, Norvell led Florida State to a 23-4 record, went
undefeated in the 2023 regular season and won an ACC championship.

But a
serious lack of quarterback development, outside of starter Jordan Travis, cost
the Seminoles a berth in the College Football Playoff in 2023 after Travis
suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Northern Alabama. The Seminoles later
lost by 60 points to Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

As with
all transactions that accompany potential coaching firings, Norvell does have a
buyout, approximately $51 million. People could argue that Florida State cannot
afford to fire Norvell at this time, given the millions spent on facilities in
recent years. But when a change is warranted, and demanded by the fan base, the
university always finds a way to fund the buyout and part ways with an
underperforming coach.

Fisher can
recruit, and he is much better at developing quarterbacks than Norvell. He has
the passion, and Florida State can probably get him under affordable and reasonable
contract terms. Whatever happens on Saturday, the newswires will be ready to
report any and all decisions emanating from the Florida State athletic administration
offices on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Then again,
the decision may have already been made. Could we see a familiar face with a
championship pedigree return to the Seminoles football operations building?

Florida
State fans, and the rest of the college football world, want to know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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