$64M Coach Breaks Silence on FSU’s Mike Norvell Replacement Plans

Brando, speaking on Fox News’ “Don’t @ Me” with Dan Dakich, broke his silence on the speculation surrounding Florida State’s next head coach.

His message was blunt.

“It’s a hell of a good job.”

“And it would be great to see Florida State relevant again.”

“It’s just unfortunate that Norvell got screwed the way he did.”

Brando pointed directly at the 2023 College Football Playoff selection as the turning point.

“And this playoff really screwed him that year,” Brando said.

“Because that was a team that, you know, they had a backup quarterback for the last three weeks of that season, Dan.”

Florida State went 13-0 in the 2023 regular season.

They won the ACC championship.

They were left out of the four-team playoff in favor of Alabama and Texas.

Quarterback Jordan Travis had been injured late in the season.

The Seminoles played the final three games with a backup under center.

That exclusion, Brando argued, set off a chain reaction that ultimately cost Norvell his job.

Norvell was fired on November 10, 2026, after a 3-5 start to the season.

His final three full campaigns painted a stark picture of decline.

In 2024, FSU went 2-10.

In 2025, the Seminoles finished 5-7.

In 2026, they were 3-5 when the administration pulled the trigger.

Brando’s assessment framed the firing as a consequence of a single, systemic injustice.

“Football is better when FSU is good,” he said.

That statement reflects a widely held view in the college football world.

Florida State is a brand-name program with national championship history, a passionate fan base, and access to talent in one of the most fertile recruiting states in the country.

The job pays well.

Norvell’s contract, signed in 2023, was worth $64 million over eight years.

That $64 million figure has become a shorthand for the stakes involved.

The buyout owed to Norvell after the firing is substantial.

FSU will be paying two head coaches at once for the foreseeable future.

That financial reality complicates the search.

Yet Brando insisted the job remains attractive.

“It’s a hell of a good job,” he repeated.

Other voices have weighed in on the opening.

Urban Meyer, the former Ohio State and Florida head coach, raised a concern on Yahoo Sports.

“What the hell,” Meyer said, before naming Brian Kelly as a candidate in the speculation.

Kelly currently coaches LSU.

He is under contract there through 2029.

His name has surfaced in connection with FSU, though no formal offer has been reported.

Meyer’s comment suggested he sees the FSU job as a high-risk, high-reward proposition.

On the same Yahoo Sports segment, Meyer expressed doubt about the program’s current trajectory.

“What the hell” was his reaction to the state of the roster and the timing of the firing.

Meanwhile, Florida Gators offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner has emerged as an intriguing internal candidate.

Faulkner spent the 2023-25 seasons at Georgia Tech.

There, he served as offensive coordinator.

Georgia Tech improved from 5-7 in 2022 to consecutive seven-win seasons in 2023 and 2024.

In 2025, the Yellow Jackets went 9-3.

Under Faulkner, Georgia Tech led the ACC in rushing offense, averaging 197.8 yards per game over three seasons.

The offense ranked second in total offense, third in passing efficiency, and fifth in scoring offense during that span.

Before Georgia Tech, Faulkner worked at Georgia.

He was part of the Bulldogs’ back-to-back national championship teams in 2021 and 2022.

His role there was offensive quality control, not coordinator.

Still, that experience gave him exposure to a championship-level infrastructure.

Faulkner has never been a head coach.

That is the most frequently cited concern about his candidacy.

Florida State is not looking for an offensive coordinator.

They need someone who can oversee an entire program, build a staff, recruit at an elite level, and manage the pressure of a fan base that remembers 2013.

Brando did not mention Faulkner by name.

His focus was on the broader narrative.

“It’s just unfortunate that Norvell got screwed the way he did,” he said.

That sentiment has been echoed by former FSU players.

One former standout shared a heartfelt message to Norvell on social media after the firing.

Fox 35 Orlando asked a pointed question in its headline: “What was the point of firing Mike Norvell now?”

The timing has puzzled observers.

FSU is 3-5 with four games remaining in the regular season.

A change at this point does not affect bowl eligibility.

It does, however, give the new athletic director a head start on the coaching search.

But it also means the remaining games will be played by an interim staff.

That interim staff will face Boston College on the road in their first game after the firing.

The Tri-City Herald covered that angle: “Florida State heads to Boston College in wake of firing Mike Norvell.”

ESPN’s “Inside ACCess” segment discussed what happened to Norvell at FSU.

Mike Golic Jr. joined to preview Notre Dame-Miami, but the conversation circled back to the Seminoles’ collapse.

The consensus among analysts is that Norvell’s downfall was not entirely his fault.

The 2023 playoff snub is cited as the root cause.

Had FSU made the playoff, the narrative goes, recruiting momentum would have continued.

Key players might have stayed.

The backup quarterback situation would have been addressed differently.