Mike Norvell on where FSU program is: 'I believe that we are close'

The 2025 season was an improvement on 2024 for the Florida State Seminoles, but it still hasn’t been up to the program’s standard. That’s a standard that head coach Mike Norvell is fighting to get to amid growing tension around his job.

Norvell recently addressed where the FSU program is, raising some eyebrows. After all, despite those recent struggles, Norvell suggested that the Seminoles are close to where they want to be.

“Obviously, we’ve got to be more consistent,” Mike Norvell said. “I mean, we’ve shown flashes of being able to play at an elite level, but we’ve not been consistent enough or we haven’t played in a sense of complementary football, especially there on the road. Something that we’ve got to continue to improve upon. We’ve got a young team. We’ve got some young players, we’ve got some guys that do have experience, but ultimately it’s still about the application of that. I don’t think we’re far off. I mean, there has been some things that have happened this year — we’ve earned the results of games, but we’ve also had some very unique dynamics that have contributed to that and to some of the negative outcomes that we’ve had.”

Florida State is now sitting at 5-6 on the season and just 2-6 in ACC play. That’s after opening the season 3-0 with a win over Alabama. The losses, in their own right, have been frustrating, with the first four all coming in one-score games.

“I believe that we are close. You lose six games, and it sucks. Like I said, we have absolutely not been close to the expectation of what I have for this team, for what I have and for what I know is the overall expectation of Florida State football, in general. But I do believe in where we’re going. I do believe in some of the progress that we’ve been able to see, but it’s not consistent enough. Even in games, where there’s — it’s not like there’s games where we haven’t shown up. We’ve been able to gain yards. We’ve been able to hold teams to less. You go through all that,” Norvell said.

“But it still ultimately comes down to making the plays in those critical situations, those clutch moments, that are going to push you to having success in a game. Like I said, we’ve done that against really good teams this year, and we’ve done it to where multiple score wins over really, really good teams, but we’ve also put ourselves in position to have some production in a game but not do the things that are necessary to go win the game.”

Mike Norvell first got to Florida State in 2020, needing to rebuild the program. In 2022 and 2023, it appeared he had been able to do that, going 23-4 over those two seasons and winning the ACC. The problem is in the two seasons since then, they’ve regressed and gone 7-16 since then, including a two-win season last year.

“That’s where, big picture evaluation, all of us, we have to own that as coaches, as players, and making sure that the proper steps and the proper application,” Norvell said. “And sometimes just going to make the play when you are in that moment, I think is huge. I’ve seen the characteristics. I understand, like when I watch this team and I watch how they play, that gives me a great deal of excitement for what’s ahead because I know that they are battling every single day throughout the situation.”

The most recent loss for Florida State was heartbreaking. In a 14-11 game against NC State, the Seminoles got a stop late in the fourth quarter, forcing a punt. The Seminoles muffed it and NC State recovered. Then, they forced another punt, only to muff it again and give NC State a short field to make it a two-score game late. It was a bad way to lose, but Mike Norvell did see positives for the culture within that game.

“I pointed out to the team yesterday one of the moments Friday night that we had, just had the second punt that was a situation where we turned the ball over. As I’m walking over to the field where the defense are huddled, Darrell Jackson is running by me, encouraging, excited, trying to pump up his guys just to go make a stop, just to go get the ball back in that situation. Not hanging his head, not sitting there woe is us, look at what’s happened to us. It was an aggressive, encouraging response to the situation. I showed that to the team yesterday, and I told them, man, I hate the result of what that game was,” Norvell said.

“But I’m proud of coaching this team. I’m proud to be around young men, leaders, people that believe so much that even in the worst of circumstances, there’s a belief, and there’s a buy-in, and they want to go do all they go to go make a difference. When we give up a fourth down, a touchdown there at the end that young players have great learning experience. Talking to them today, just an opportunity for him to just get a little bit better in that situation. There was still all belief, even through what was a disastrous fourth quarter with a couple of special teams plays for us. There’s still an unbelievable sense of what we could do and how we can finish.”

There had been hot seat rumors all season surrounding Mike Norvell. He’ll be back in 2026, though, with the school recently announcing he’s being retained. So, he will need to capture and build on that going into the offseason.

“Didn’t get the job done,” Norvell said. “But when you have that belief, when you have that encouragement, when you have that just the mindset within a team, it gives me confidence for what’s ahead, and we’re going to build upon that. Ultimately, you got to go get the job done, but these players, they’re putting everything they have into it.”