The Florida State Seminoles fanbase is quickly losing patience with head coach Mike Norvell. Sitting at a rough 1-1 start to the 2026 season and holding a 39-35 overall record, the Seminoles look far from a College Football Playoff team. As pressure mounts over the program’s direction, quiet chatter about bringing back a former national champion coach is starting to gain traction.

Fan frustration with Norvell has reached a breaking point. FSU athletic director Bruce Warwick faces heavy pressure to steer the program back on track, and the name frequently popping up among supporters is Jimbo Fisher, who won the 2013 BCS National Championship with the Seminoles. However, college football analysts are warning FSU leadership not to make a desperate move based on nostalgia.

“If I were a booster at Florida State, I wouldn’t be like writing blank checks or handing over blank checks to a Jimbo Fisher,” On3’s J.D. Pickell said in a video on social media. “It’s not just that Jimbo Fisher failed to adapt seemingly at A&M and didn’t have success at A&M. That’s not the point here.”

Pickell is vehemently against bringing Fisher back to FSU, saying the school would be making another mistake while trying to correct one. Fisher’s six years with the Texas A&M Aggies were not very impressive. 

He put up a 70-45 record and won three Bowl games without making it to the final stages of the College Football Playoffs. Moreover, he is 60 and hasn’t been on the sidelines as a coach in three years. Instead, he now analyzes the field in action from the studio for the ACC Network.

Bringing back a 60-year-old analyst who’s been away for three years would be a gamble. Sure, the fallout from letting Norvell go would leave detrimental marks on the team’s culture and on the school’s pocket. His estimated buyout for fighting without cause this season or at the end of it is anywhere between $48 million and $51 million. 

But if the Seminoles are under the impression that Fisher would reignite a national title run as he had previously, they are wrong. “You can’t call him a bad coach who won a national championship,” Pickell said. “But he’s not right for Florida State.” He pointed out that nothing’s the same anymore. Especially since his Aggies successor did what he failed to do. 

“The point is, another head coach, Mike Elko, stepped into that place in College Station and in year one was playing in the final game of the regular season with a chance to go play in Atlanta,” he further said, pointing to the Aggies’ 21-7 record in the past three years. “In year two, went 11-1 and made the playoffs. That’s the indictment.”

College football is an entirely different beast than it was when Fisher won his title in 2013. Back then, traditional recruiting and slow roster development were enough to stay at the top. Today, the game runs on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, instant transfer portal moves, and massive conference shifts.

Fisher’s old-school approach completely failed to adapt to these rapid changes during his time in the SEC. Asking him to navigate this high-speed portal era now, after three years away from the sidelines, is a recipe for disaster.

Whoever steps into Tallahassee next will not inherit a ready-made championship squad. Norvell relied heavily on the transfer portal to keep the team afloat, leading to massive roster turnover every single season. High school recruiting classes have dropped out of top rankings, and key talent continues to walk out the door.

The Seminoles need a forward-thinking builder who can fix high school recruiting, secure portal depth, and establish long-term stability, not an old coach looking to replay his past glory days.