Things have gotten so bad for Florida State football that even the calls for a coaching change are having trouble getting off the ground. A banner flying over Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday afternoon delivered a blunt message to Florida State administrators: “FSU: Fire Novell • Peter Collins.”
The coach in question, of course, is Mike Norvell, not Mike Novell. Collins is the chairman of the FSU Board of Trustees.
It’s a pretty significant typo for a message that doesn’t leave room for interpretation.
Even Dabo Swinney wasn’t laughing
The banner didn’t sit well with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who told reporters after the game that “Florida State’s better than that.”
“They didn’t even spell his name right. It’s disrespectful,” he said. “… Whoever did that, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Ain’t nobody trying to lose. This job is hard.”
How Florida State got here
Of course, the spelling mistake shouldn’t distract from the frustration behind it.
FSU’s 36-24 loss to Clemson on Saturday dropped the Seminoles to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the ACC, extending what has become a miserable stretch for one of college football’s proudest programs.
The Seminoles have lost 22 of their past 26 games against Power 4 opponents and haven’t won a game outside Doak Campbell Stadium since the 2023 ACC Championship Game.
Why firing Mike Norvell won’t be easy
In his seventh season, Norvell is 41-39 at Florida State. The university doesn’t have an athletic director (Michael Alford was fired in mid-September) and Norvell has a reported $47 million buyout, so spelling his name right might be the easiest part of the firing process.
For now, though, the Seminoles are left with a struggling program, an expensive coaching decision and at least one fan who could use a spell-checker.
If you’re going to demand a change, at least spell the coach’s name correctly.
Seems that’s too much to ask in Tallahassee.
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Mike Garbett is a content specialist working with McClatchy’s Content Innovation Lab.