Florida State fires Mike Norvell and names Rick Stockstill interim coach

Florida State fired football coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, one day after a 36-24 home loss to Clemson left the Seminoles 3-5 and tied for last in the ACC.

University president Richard McCullough told ESPN the losses had become too hard to ignore and called Saturday night "a defining moment" for him. "It's the legacy that we have at Florida State, and trying to get it right, and that demands excellence and a trajectory going in the right direction," McCullough said. "I just did not see that trajectory."

Rick Stockstill, the program's director of scouting and Middle Tennessee's head coach for 18 seasons, is the interim coach, the school announced. Florida State also fired defensive coordinator Tony White and safeties coach Evan Cooper. Linebackers coach Ernie Sims becomes interim defensive coordinator, and offensive coordinator Tim Harris Jr. takes over play-calling, which Norvell had handled, ESPN reported.

Norvell finishes 41-39 in seven seasons. The peak was 2023, when Florida State went 13-0 and won the ACC, then was left out of the four-team College Football Playoff with quarterback Jordan Travis injured. The program never recovered. The Seminoles went 2-10 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025, and they are 10-23 since that title season. ESPN reported they are 4-17 in ACC play since 2024 and have not won a regular-season road game since beating Florida on Nov. 25, 2023.

The school had hoped to avoid paying Norvell's $50.3 million buyout, according to ESPN, and gave him another season with more roster resources. It fired athletic director Michael Alford in September. McCullough said a search firm will run the athletic director and head coach searches at the same time, and that "time is of the essence" with signing day next month.

Interim athletic director Bruce Warwick said Norvell told the team himself and left the room to a standing ovation.

What's next: Stockstill takes over a 3-5 team with four games left, starting at Boston College. The bigger job belongs to McCullough, who has to hire an athletic director and a head coach on a short clock.