In an interview with Ralph Russo of The Athletic on Tuesday night ahead of ACC Media Days, Mike Norvell said that he doesn’t believe that he’s coaching for his job this season, and that “I don’t fear failure. I never have.”
Remember the first time you were tall enough to ride the big rollercoaster at the amusement park, or maybe even the first day of high school, when you started a new job, or moved to a new city. It’s scary at first, but the fear tends to evaporate the more you do something. Maybe that’s the case with Norvell and failure, because he’s had more than his fair share of them during his six years in Tallahassee.
Coming off a 5-7 season after going 2-10 in 2024, the first 10-loss season in Florida State history since 1974 under Darrell Mudra, Norvell is absolutely coaching for his job, no matter how prohibitive his $50+ million buyout may seem. He may not want to admit it, and on some level that’s understandable, but if he truly doesn’t feel that there’s pressure to deliver in 2026, either the standards at Florida State have slipped to a horrifyingly low level, or he’s a bit delusional.
No matter what he say, Mike Norvell is absolutely coaching for his job
Pardon My Take, the No. 1 sports podcast in the country, has a long-running bit about how every coach is ‘coaching for their job’ because “their job is to coach.” So, in that sense, of course, Norvell is coaching for his job. But to take the meaning of the phrase, Norvell’s job is absolutely on the line in 2026. How could it not be?…