Dabo Swinney had every reason to leave Doak Campbell Stadium talking about Clemson. His team had just beaten Florida State 36-24, extending the Seminoles’ losing streak and adding another defeat to Mike Norvell’s increasingly difficult season.
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But the Clemson coach had something else on his mind. Before kickoff, a plane flew over the stadium carrying a banner demanding that Florida State fire Norvell and board of trustees chairman Peter Collins. The banner read: “FSU: Fire Novell + Peter Collins.”
“It was embarrassment. Florida State’s better than that. That’s not good for these kids,” Swinney told the reporters about the banner incident. “That bothered me, and they didn’t even spell his name right. Didn’t even have the freaking R in the name. I mean, it’s just disrespectful… Whoever did that, man, y’all be ashamed of yourselves.”
Swinney’s sharp rebuke of the banner’s disrespect and misspelling made clear his view that such tactics crossed a line.
Swinney also pointed to the people around Norvell. The Florida State head coach is a husband and father, he reminded reporters, and the job does not make him fair game for every personal attack that comes with a disappointing season.
“That’s a good man right there,” Swinney said about Norvell. “He’s a hell of a coach. And I know Florida State’s better. There’s so many good people at this place and in this program. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Florida State.”
The trouble had been building for Florida State well before the Clemson game. At 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC, the Seminoles were already struggling to keep their season on track.
Back-to-back losses on the road to Louisville and Miami only made matters worse. With November nearing, the pressure on Norvell became harder to ignore.
Florida State went 13-1 in 2023, only to miss the playoff after quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury. The Seminoles then fell to 2-10 in 2024 and finished 5-7 in 2025.
The 2026 season has brought another losing record into view, with the Clemson defeat dropping the Seminoles to 3-5. That is a steep fall for a program that was celebrating an undefeated regular season just three years ago. Criticism has been plentiful as well.
ON3’s Corey Clark, for instance, made his position on Norvell clear, writing, “Florida State needs to fire Norvell after latest embarrassment.” He described the program as “an embarrassment under his watch” and said the Seminoles had not been this poor since the mid-1970s.
Clark went further, calling Florida State “the worst program in the ACC and one of the very worst in the United States.” He ended with a blunt demand: the “Norvell era at FSU has to end.”
Against Clemson, Florida State kept giving the ball away. Ashton Daniels was solely responsible for all four turnovers. He threw three interceptions and also lost a fumble.
Daniels still put up 350 passing yards and two touchdowns, with Micahi Danzy leading the receivers at 108 yards and a score. Jayvan Boggs added 64 yards. But the ground game offered little help, finishing with just 65 total rushing yards.
Florida State also had no answer for Tait Reynolds. Clemson’s QB accounted for 274 yards and three touchdowns, two passing and one rushing. Florida State’s defense never managed to take the ball away, either, leaving the Tigers free of turnovers throughout the game.
The 36-24 defeat looked even worse given who Florida State lost to. Clemson arrived in Tallahassee with the 115th-ranked offense, yet its freshman quarterback had little trouble leading the Tigers to an upset win.
Despite the struggles and fan sentiment turning fully against Norvell, firing him won’t be easy. He has a huge $47 million buyout tied to his contract, and FSU will need to eat that sum amid their own financial struggles.