In the first week of the college football season, the Florida State Seminoles fooled everybody with their season-opening win over then-No. 8 ranked Alabama. That victory had people completely forgetting about their disastrous 2–10 campaign from last year. Many believed FSU was suddenly a national title contender, and the AP Poll even ranked them No. 7. But two months into the 2025 season, the Seminoles sit at 3–4 and 15th in the ACC. Fans are already calling for Mike Norvell’s buyout, but according to one big-time insider, the only thing keeping him from being fired is the uncertainty about the future.

On October 21, Josh Pate hopped on his Late Kick podcast and spilled the tea on why FSU’s leadership is hesitant to pull the trigger on Norvell’s buyout. Pate started by pointing to FSU’s upsetting 20–13 loss to Stanford, saying, “If you weren’t up late enough to watch the Stanford game, it was really, really tough to watch. And then the reports around the team and the program about players just kind of being ambivalent, you know, just kind of being nonchalant about it—well, they’ve tapped out.”

According to Pate, FSU tapped out because they don’t have enough players who were actually recruited and developed inside the program. Instead, they’ve relied a little too much on transfer portal ‘mercenaries’. And that, folks, is the root of Florida State’s problems. Unfortunately, that’s how Norvell has been running things for the past three years — a hit-or-miss scheme. In 2023, it worked, and they went undefeated in the regular season. In 2024, it completely backfired with a 2–10 record. Now in 2025, with the way things are going, FSU might even miss bowl eligibility.

Josh Pate believes the entire Florida State system depends too much on the transfer portal rather than solid high school recruiting, which simply isn’t sustainable long-term. Boosters, meanwhile, are hesitant to write that massive check because there’s no guarantee that firing Norvell will actually make things better — or that they’ll be able to land a top-tier replacement.

Josh Pate explained briefly: “That doesn’t work. That’s not sustainable, so it is going to cost a ton of money to buy him out. So copy paste what I just said about Auburn. That’s that’s kind of what you hear around Florida state right now, is, do we have a plan? Do we have an action plan? And there’s another question that a lot of people who are going to write those checks want to know before they write the check, and that is, who do we know we’re going to be able to get?”

The main issue boils down to uncertainty — if FSU fires Norvell, who can they realistically bring in to replace him? It’s tough to justify spending over $54 million on a buyout without a plan or a guaranteed upgrade at head coach. That makes it a lot harder for decision-makers to pull the trigger right now. Even though fans and insiders are frustrated and believe Norvell’s Florida State days are limited, the cost — both financial and strategic — is the biggest reason he’s still the head coach in Tallahassee.

Josh Pate’s advice for Florida State if they are serious about moving on from Mike Norvell

If the Seminoles decide that they want to be a perennial natty and ACC contender and plan to move on from Mike Norvell, then Josh Pate has some advice. Josh Pate highlights what should be the top priority in any coaching search for Florida State — recruiting. Specifically, the next coach must be someone who can recruit the state of Florida effectively. “And then the question is, well, who’s the guy they want look the question around Florida State and Florida really,” Said Pate. “Since it’s open right now too, but the question around Florida State, if it comes open, is, who can recruit the state of Florida.”

Josh doubled down on his take. The next coach should more than being a smart football mind or hiring good coordinators. Those things are important, but they’re basic requirements for any coach. The real question is: who can stack elite recruiting classes and turn the transfer portal from a lifeline into a luxury — a tool to enhance the roster rather than rebuild it? That’s the type of coach FSU needs to fix its foundation and return to national relevance like they are supposed to be.