Florida State fires coach Mike Norvell after Clemson loss
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Clemson beat Florida State 36-24 on Oct 31, dropping the Seminoles to 3-5 and 1-4 in the ACC.
FSU fired head coach Mike Norvell the next day, naming Rick Stockstill interim coach.
Background
Mike Norvell was Florida State's head football coach, and Rick Stockstill, an FSU Athletics Hall of Fame member, was named interim head coach. The Clemson loss extended FSU's losing streak to three games and left the Seminoles 10-22 since the start of the 2024 season; Norvell went 13-1 in 2023, when FSU narrowly missed the College Football Playoffs, but the team is 10-21 since. It was FSU's second rivalry game in three weeks, after a 43-35 double-overtime loss to Miami, and its first game without star running back Ousmane Kromah.
How it unfolded
- Oct 31, 2026Clemson beat Florida State 36-24 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, dropping FSU to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the ACC while Clemson improved to 5-3, 3-2. A plane with a banner calling for Mike Norvell's removal flew around the stadium pregame.
- Nov 1, 2026FSU President Richard McCullough informed Norvell the school was making a change in football leadership, effective immediately; Rick Stockstill was named interim head coach.
- Nov 7, 2026FSU was scheduled to play at Boston College at Noon on ACC Network.
Key terms
- ACC
- A U.S. collegiate athletic conference with eighteen member universities competing in NCAA Division I sports.
- interim coach
- A person temporarily appointed to a senior leadership role for a defined period during transition, crisis, or change.
- College Football Playoffs
- An annual single-elimination tournament determining the national champion of NCAA Division I FBS college football.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- FSU Football said President Richard McCullough informed Norvell the school is making a change in the leadership of its football program, effective immediately, and that Hall of Fame member Rick Stockstill has been named interim head coach.