Florida State football fans have officially hit their breaking point with Mike Norvell. After a 21-11 meltdown against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Raleigh on Friday night, calls for the head coach’s job flooded social media as another winnable game slipped away. 

On paper, this shouldn’t have been a season-defining disaster. Florida State outgained NC State 383-286, and Tommy Castellanos threw for 203 yards and a touchdown while adding 76 rushing yards. But the Seminoles coughed up four turnovers, committed eight penalties, and imploded on special teams with two muffed punts in the fourth quarter. 

The second muffed punt set up CJ Bailey’s fourth-down strike to Justin Joly for the clinching score with 1:47 left, the final punch in what’s being labeled a “comedy of errors” nationally. 

FSU is now 5-6 overall and 2-6 in the ACC, 0-4 on the road this season, and riding an eight-game road losing streak dating back to 2023. A trip to Gainesville next week is the Seminoles’ last shot at bowl eligibility and maybe Norvell’s last stand. 

 

Fans, though, are already talking like it’s over. One post put the buyout front and center: “To all you folks who want him fired… get ready to pay $800K every month to him through 2031. Another stellar coaching contract negotiated.” That frustration tracks with reports that Norvell’s buyout remains north of $53 million via the Tallahassee Democrat, one of the most expensive in college football, and can be paid out in installments through 2031. 

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Others went straight for the jugular: “I can’t believe this is the team who sued the ACC and wanted more money. They should be paying the ACC for messing up teams’ SoS for the last 2 seasons.”

Another summed up the vibe: “I feel so bad for FSU fans… We don’t deserve our teams to be this bad after the prestigious history and culture both these elite schools once had.”

After Friday night in Raleigh, a big-money decision in Tallahassee feels a lot closer, whether the school can afford it or not.