Florida State fires Mike Norvell one day after the banner Dabo Swinney called embarrassing

On Saturday night, Dabo Swinney stood up for Mike Norvell and called the "Fire Novell" plane banner over Doak Campbell Stadium embarrassing. On Sunday afternoon, Florida State fired Norvell anyway.

President Richard McCullough made the call less than a day after a 36-24 home loss to Clemson dropped the Seminoles to 3-5. "Yesterday was a bit of a defining moment for me," he said, according to On3 and Warchant, which reported that the school took in feedback from fans and social media. "We're at the point now, like, 'How can we afford not to do this?'" McCullough told ESPN.

So the people who paid for the plane got what they wanted, and fast. Swinney made a fair point about decency, and it lost the argument to a stadium that was mostly empty by the fourth quarter.

And the record backs the fans. Norvell went 41-39 in seven seasons. After the unbeaten 2023 ACC title and the playoff snub, Florida State went 10-23. ESPN counts a 4-17 ACC record since 2024, losses to Stanford and Boston College, and the first loss to Duke in school history. The Seminoles were 6-point favorites Saturday and lost by 12.

What's harder to defend is how long it took. Hoping to avoid Norvell's $50.3 million buyout, Florida State gave him one more season and more roster money, according to ESPN. It fired athletic director Michael Alford in September and still kept the coach. Now it has no permanent athletic director, an interim coach in Rick Stockstill, and a search firm running both hires at once with signing day a month away.

Norvell told the team himself, and interim AD Bruce Warwick said he left to a standing ovation. "I'm here to support you. I love Florida State football," Norvell told the players, according to Warwick.

The banner was misspelled, and Swinney was right that it was ugly. Florida State fans were still right about the coach.

What's next: Stockstill gets four games, starting at Boston College. The real verdict on this firing is the next hire, and Florida State is making it without an athletic director in place.