Mike Norvell is unemployed after Florida State fired him Sunday following a 36-24 loss to Clemson that dropped the Seminoles’ record to 3-5.
Florida State will owe Norvell nearly $50 millionsubject to mitigation measures, in what constitutes the third-largest buyout in college football history. Losing your job is never easy, although this substantial amount of money may allow Norvell to be selective in what he does next.
There appear to be three main paths that Norvell can take in 2027.
Accept another head coaching position
It may not have worked out in the end, but Norvell has some solid recovery points. He has four seasons of 10 or more wins (2 at Memphis, 2 at Florida State) and will still have that perfect 13-0 regular season in 2023. Norvell has a reputation for being blessed with a strong offensive mind and X’s and O’s expertise as well.
Options for this round may be limited for Norvell, however. Unless the carousel really moves and we see a significant domino effect, there may simply not be many Power Four and Group of Six jobs that seem like a good fit. The most obvious would be a return to Memphis if Charles Huff gets a Power Four job elsewhere. Norvell has already experienced success in school and knows she has the resources necessary to succeed at this level.
North Carolina State is focusing on Philip Rivers, which appears to eliminate the Wolfpack as an option. It’s still early in Maryland and Baylor’s searches, although he could emerge as a possible candidate depending on the route those schools take.
Last cycle, we saw two fired coaches (Billy Napier, James Franklin) and one near-retired, near-fired coach (Kyle Whittingham) quickly move into new head coaching roles. This would be Norvell’s preference, according to industry sources, but it will have to be the right solution. Don’t expect Norvell to pursue Sam Houston State’s vacancy.
Accept a position as offensive coordinator
If there isn’t a viable and attractive head coaching opportunity, perhaps Norvell will go the offensive coordinator route.
Oregon and Oklahoma, for example, are looking for new offensive coordinators after firing Drew Mehringer and Ben Arbuckle, respectively. Norvell and Oregon head coach Dan Lanning have a long-standing friendship, dating back to their days on Todd Graham’s staff in Pittsburgh. They have worked together at three different schools, most recently at Memphis when Norvell hired Lanning as inside linebackers coach.
For Oregon and Oklahoma, Norvell would be working for a defensive-minded head coach, which could be attractive and ease the transition as he moves from the big chair to an assistant role. In critical seasons ahead for Lanning and Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, they need to get the OC hire right and could spend big to do so.
There’s no financial incentive to work — Norvell could actually lose money paying income taxes because of a new job that would reduce FSU’s buyout obligations — but it would keep the fired coach in the mix. If he comes to the right program and succeeds, it might be easier to transition to a new head coaching position than if he takes a year off. It’s very helpful, even just from a public awareness standpoint, to remind people what made you such an attractive candidate as a coach and not the one who got fired.
During the last coaching carousel, there were three coaches – Neal Brown (North Texas), Blake Anderson (Miss South) and Will Hall (Tulane) – who all earned head coaching jobs as assistant coaches a year after being fired. Anderson and Hall seemed to be picking particularly good landing spots, as each was an internal promotion to the head job after Huff left for Memphis and Jon Sumrall took the Florida job.
Given his previous success with FSU on the verge of a massive buyout, Norvell would be a very attractive option for any school looking for an offensive coordinator.
Take a year off
It’s not Norvell’s preference, but there may be value in having a chance to reset, fully understand what worked and what didn’t at Florida State and develop a plan for success at the next job. That plan should include a well-thought-out coaching staff and personnel department after the struggles of his past few seasons in Tallahassee.
Norvell could visit friends at different schools and get a general idea of what works and doesn’t work in college football. Maybe he could even work as an unofficial consultant to stay tuned and feel like he’s still involved in the sport.
The downside is that it seems more difficult these days to go straight from coaching to a head coaching opportunity. Pat Fitzgerald had success last year with Michigan State, but his situation was unique. Last cycle, Bill Belichick got the North Carolina job after spending an off year working in various media roles. His situation was also unique as the most successful coach in NFL history.
Elsewhere, former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher hasn’t been coaching since 2023 and hasn’t had much success in searches. He should be a candidate for the Florida State job, but he had no luck during last year’s busy cycle. Neither did Ed Orgeron, who had publicly expressed interest in the Oregon State job that ultimately went to JaMarcus Sheppard. Orgeron is now on Lane Kiffin’s LSU staff.
Former Notre Dame and LSU coach Brian Kelly, who now works as an analyst at CBS Sports, could be a good barometer this cycle.
The longer a coach stays out of space, the harder it seems to get back into it. There are exceptions, however, including former Nebraska coach Scott Frost, who took a year off and then spent a season with the Los Angeles Rams before returning to UCF as head coach.
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