The writing was already on the wall when Florida State struggled at times with New Mexico State that the Seminoles clearly missed on offseason evaluations, and that Mike Norvell put together another flawed roster. While the Seminoles escaped with a win, the real test was always going to come when 19th ranked SMU came to town. The game started with a two-hour power outage, and keeping SMU from using tablets or headsets was already an advantage for the Seminoles, who played in Week 0.
Add in that SMU turned the ball over 4 times before Florida State gave it away on the chaos pitch play. Not counting the pitch play, FSU was +4 in the turnover margin, and that teams were 1-43 when posting a -4 turnover margin dating back to the start of last season, and it's almost impossible to lose this game.
Mike Norvell falls to 8-18 since the 13-1 season with just a 3-14 record in ACC play. Florida State easily could've pulled the trigger after the past two seasons, and losing to start ACC play only adds to the pile of reasons to move on.
How much is Mike Norvell's buyout?
The biggest hurdle for Florida State in firing Mike Norvell has been the extension they gave him after the 13-1 season. The Seminoles were among the programs fearful that Alabama would come calling after Nick Saban's retirement, so they rewarded their head coach after a great season with an 8-year extension worth $84 million.
According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Florida State would owe Mike Norvell in the range of $45 million if they were to move on. The number is subject to offset, meaning that if Norvell were to get another job the number would decrease.
Paying any coach $45 million to move on in this era is a hefty ask, considering the additional costs the Seminoles would incur. Florida State would have to hire another head coach and a new staff, and they would then have to spend a ton on paying for a new roster.
The debate for the school will be over if this season goes bad enough that they have to make a change or if the Seminoles end up bouncing back the rest of the way. It's hard to imagine the Seminoles will cough up the money that it takes to move on, but if things truly spiral as we've seen in past years, they may have no choice.
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