Steve Spurrier jabs Florida State for being unable to 'get rid of' Mike Norvell

It’s been a long couple of seasons for the Florida State Seminoles. Since head coach Mike Norvell led the Seminoles to an ACC Championship and signed an extension, the team has struggled to the point that he’s now on the hot seat. Still, he’s set to return in 2026.

There is a key reason why Norvell is likely returning. That’s his buyout. Reportedly, it’s around $58.4 million to buy Norvell out of his contract. That would be the second most any program has ever spent on a buyout.

Former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier believes that’s exactly why he’s still got his job too. On Another Dooley Noted Podcast, Spurrier jabbed Florida State for not being able to get rid of Mike Norvell.

“Yeah, FSU,” Steve Spurrier said. “They’ve got some issues up there. They’ve got a coach they can’t get rid of because they don’t have the money to let him go. So, that’s where they’re at. Fortunately, we had enough money to pay our guy off, I guess.”

Mike Norvell is now 38-34 in six seasons at Florida State with a 22-26 record in ACC play. That time has seen him inherit a team needing to be rebuilt during an era where conference realignment, NIL, revenue sharing, and the Transfer Portal all became factors in program building. Still, Norvell did find success, winning the ACC after an unbeaten regular season in 2023. Over the past two seasons, the Seminoles are just 3-13 in conference play, though, and have missed a bowl each season.

Those recent struggles haven’t come without efforts to turn things around from Novell, either. That included making major changes to his coaching staff going into this season. Likely, more changes will come to try and fix issues this offseason. Certainly, Norvell has been open that he wants to get things turned around since the announcement to retain him, saying, “I’m not going to let them down.”

The extension that Norvell signed, making his buyout so difficult to overcome, came following the 2023 season, when he was a very real candidate to take over for Nick Saban at Alabama. From $58.4 million this season, it will drop as time goes on. First, it will fall to $45.6 million next season and will continue to drop from there. There is also a duty to mitigate clause.

For now, Florida State and Norvell need to try to find a way to turn things around. Regardless, he is going to be entering next season on the hot seat.