$64M Coach Speaks Out on Mike Norvell’s FSU Exit

Brando went on Fox News and said what a lot of college football fans have been thinking.

Florida State is a good coaching job.

And Mike Norvell got screwed.

The segment aired on “Don’t @ Me” with Dan Dakich.

Brando did not hold back.

“It’s a hell of a good job,” he said.

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

Then he dropped the line that cut deepest.

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

Brando pointed to one specific moment that changed everything.

“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.”

He was talking about the 2023 season.

Florida State went 13-0 that year.

They won the ACC championship.

They had a 19-game winning streak stretching across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

But the College Football Playoff committee left them out.

The Seminoles lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to a leg injury late in the season.

The committee decided the team without Travis was not one of the four best in the country.

Florida State became the first undefeated Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the playoff.

The snub had consequences that rippled into the next year.

Norvell’s program never recovered the same momentum.

In 2024, Florida State went 2-10.

In 2025, they started 1-3.

By November 1, 2026, the decision was made.

Florida State fired Mike Norvell after a 36-24 home loss to Clemson dropped the Seminoles to 3-5.

His tenure ended with a 41-39 record.

That record includes the 13-0 season.

It includes the ACC championship.

It includes the 19-game winning streak.

But it also includes the collapse that followed the playoff exclusion.

Brando’s argument is clear: the playoff committee’s decision in 2023 set off a chain reaction that Norvell could not stop.

The buyout is a major part of the story.

Norvell signed a contract extension after the 2023 season.

The deal was worth $64 million.

That is the number that keeps coming up in every conversation about his replacement.

Florida State is now weighing its options with that financial obligation on the table.

The program named Rick Stockstill as interim head coach.

Stockstill was already on staff as tight ends coach.

He is now leading the team through the remainder of the season while the athletic department conducts a search.

The speculation about who will take over has been intense.

But Brando’s point was not about the next coach.

It was about the job itself.

“It’s a hell of a good job,” he said.

Florida State has resources.

They have a brand.

They have a stadium that holds nearly 80,000 people.

They have a recruiting base in one of the most talent-rich states in the country.

They have a history that includes three national championships.

They have a fan base that fills the stands even in down years.

Brando’s message was that the job is still attractive despite the recent struggles.

And that Norvell’s failure should not be read as proof that the job cannot be done.

It should be read as proof that the system broke him.

Former players have also spoken out since the firing.

Jaheim Bell, the tight end who transferred to FSU from South Carolina ahead of the 2023 season, posted a lengthy letter to Norvell on social media.

Bell caught 39 passes for 503 yards and two touchdowns that season.

He earned second-team All-ACC honors.

He helped Florida State complete that 13-0 regular season and win the ACC championship.

But his message was about more than the stats.

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to play at Florida State University, believing in me, and seeing something in me even when I may not have seen it in myself,” Bell wrote.

Bell credited Norvell for the “lessons, conversations, guidance and genuine love” he showed him and his family.

He recalled one practice when Norvell yelled at him for roughly 30 minutes after he ran out of bounds.

“It’s one of those moments I’ll always look back on and laugh about,” Bell wrote.

He added that it showed how much Norvell cared about pushing him to improve.

Bell closed his message by returning one of Norvell’s own sayings back to him.

“Keep your head up and your chest poked out,” Bell wrote.

“Never forget the impact you’ve made on so many lives, including mine.”

Jordan Travis, the quarterback who led that 2023 team before his injury, also spoke out after the firing.

Travis’s message was shared by multiple outlets.

He did not criticize the decision.

He did not defend Norvell’s record.

He simply acknowledged what Norvell had meant to him and the program.

The reaction from former players has been consistent.

They talk about Norvell as a coach who built real relationships.

They talk about the culture he tried to create.

They talk about the 2023 season as proof that it worked.

The question now is what comes next.

Florida State has to decide whether to hire from outside or promote from within.

They have to weigh the cost of the buyout against the cost of making the wrong hire.