Dabo Swinney rips the 'Fire Novell' banner after Clemson beats Florida State

Dabo Swinney won the game Saturday night in Tallahassee and then spent part of his postgame news conference defending the coach he beat.

Before Clemson's 36-24 win at Florida State, a plane towed a banner over Doak Campbell Stadium urging the school to fire Mike Norvell. According to ESPN, it read "Fire Novell," with his name misspelled. Swinney brought it up without being asked.

"That was embarrassing what I saw above the stadium," Swinney said. "Florida State's better than that. That's not good for these kids. That bothered me, and they didn't even spell his name right. Didn't even have the freaking R in the name. It's just disrespectful."

He kept going. "Mike Norvell is a good man. He's a husband. He's a father, and I don't know why we think because people make money that you have the right to just destroy people as humans," Swinney said. "It's like a blood sport now. You lose a game, fire everybody."

The frustration he was answering is real. Florida State fell to 3-5 and 1-4 in the ACC, tied with Georgia Tech for last place, and has lost three straight. Since winning the 2023 ACC title, Norvell is 10-22, according to ESPN. The Seminoles were six-point favorites Saturday and haven't beaten Clemson at home since 2014. Earlier in the week, university president Richard McCullough acknowledged fan frustration in a letter and asked supporters to fill the stadium. Many of them had left by the start of the fourth quarter, with Florida State down 29-10.

Norvell wasn't asked about the banner. "You've got to win, that's what it comes down to," he said. "I understand the frustration."

Swinney is right that a misspelled plane banner is a bad look for a program with Florida State's history. He's also the coach who just beat Florida State for the third straight year, so it's easy for him to ask for patience. Florida State fans have watched their team go 10-22 in two-plus seasons. The banner was clumsy, but the frustration behind it is earned.

What's next: Swinney's defense won't change the math. Florida State has four games left to show the late rally Saturday meant something, and every loss adds to the case the banner was trying to make.