Mike Norvell was fired as the head coach at Florida State on Sunday. A member of the college football program tried to prevent a local reporter from filming his exit from the facility.
It is not entirely clear who attempted to block the camera or why.
However, the individual looked more like a college football player than a coach. Regardless of who he might be, the individual was trying to give the fired head coach the opportunity to leave with his dignity.
Mike Norvell drove off in a Maybach after getting fired by Florida State.
Jimbo Fisher decided to leave Florida State for Texas A&M in 2017 after five-straight seasons with 10 or more wins and a BCS National Championship in 2013. The Seminoles hired Willie Taggart as his replacement.
Taggart was let go after the ninth game of his second season. Mike Norvell was hired to bring the program back to relevance in 2018 after a successful run at Memphis. It looked like he was going to do exactly that… until it didn’t.
Florida State won three games in year one (which was impacted by the pandemic) and five games in year two. The Seminoles won 10 games for the first time since 2016 in 2022, won the Cheez-It Bowl and finished ranked No. 13 in the country. They went undefeated during the 2023 regular season and won the ACC Championship at 13-0 but quarterback Jordan Travis broke his leg so the College Football Playoff committee left them out. Georgia ultimately stomped Florida State by 60 points in the Orange Bowl.
Although it was a disappointing finish, Norvell did more than enough during the first 13 games of 2023 to earn a contract extension prior to the 2024 season. It valued at more than $84 million through 2031.
And then the Seminoles fell off of cliff. They won only two games in 2024 because of the dog poop curse, finished at 5-7 in 2025 and started 3-5 through the first eight games of 2026. That includes losses to SMU, Alabama, Louisville, Miami and Clemson.
Norvell was fired after his fifth loss of the year. Florida State will pay him ~$50 million not to coach its college football program. When asked about the financial implications, university president Richard McCollough said, “How can we afford not to do this?”
Norvell drove out of the parking lot for the last time on Sunday afternoon. He did so in a Maybach worth no less than $180,000.
A member of the college football program tried to block the camera.
Kolby Crawford works as a “Jack-of-all-trades” with 247 Sports. His primary role is with Noles247.com on the Florida State beat.
Crawford stood outside of the Seminoles team facility on Sunday afternoon to capture the scene. He stood on the sidewalk and took out his phone to film Mike Norvell’s departure. However, his video was interrupted by a rogue hand in front of the camera.
A reporter with Warchant.com stood on the other side of the street to film the exact same video from a different perspective. The alternate video shows a member of the Florida State football program step in front of Crawford to try and block him from filming. He has not been identified as of this writing. It is unclear as to whether he is a player or a staffer.
Regardless of who he is, his efforts failed. Norvell drove off in his $180,000+ Maybach and the videos of his departure were viewed more than one million times combined.