Urban Meyer Shares True Feelings on Mike Norvell After Florida State Firing: “Go Enjoy Your Family”

Mike Norvell’s time at Florida State ended with a familiar feeling for Seminoles fans. Another disappointing Saturday, another loss, and eventually, another coaching change. But while the university decided it had seen enough, Urban Meyer has the best regards for the fired coach.

Speaking on The Triple Option, former national champion coach turned analyst Urban Meyer offered a sympathetic reaction. Having walked away from high-pressure coaching jobs himself, Meyer suggested the 45-year-old coach might be better off stepping away from the chaos to spend time with his family.

“I’m actually happy for the guy,” he said. “I’m going to call him at some point this week and move on, go enjoy your family. You made some money there.”

Both Rob Stone and Mark Ingram highlighted the staggering buyout number. According to USA TODAY Sports’ John Brice, Mike Norvell is owed approximately $50.3 million if fired without cause. That figure would make his payout the third-largest in college football history, behind the settlements involving Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Brian Kelly at LSU.

Urban Meyer's candid take on Norvell's departure reveals the unspoken tensions within college football's coaching carousel. Subscribe to stay ahead of the biggest coaching moves and power shifts reshaping the sport.

There was no lengthy lecture about winning football games or a list of mistakes Mike Norvell needed to correct. Urban Meyer seemed to recognize something bigger happening inside the modern college game. And Florida State’s recent struggles offered a good example.

Urban Meyer wasn’t pretending Mike Norvell’s firing came out of nowhere. In fact, he believes the problems had been building for quite some time.

“I mean, it’s been coming for three years,” the former Ohio State coach added. “The culture just is constantly shifting when you’re having this many players come in every year. You know, you have 40 or 50 every year coming in, Mark. I can’t even fathom that. You better pick the right ones, man. And your staff better do a great job developing them.”

Mike Norvell’s tenure featured considerable roster movement, with the transfer portal becoming a major part of the program’s rebuilding efforts. Across the five transfer cycles outlined in the available figures, 148 Seminoles entered the portal. Twelve returned, leaving 136 departures. Florida State brought in 85 transfers during that stretch, producing a net loss of 51 players.

The portal can bring in talent. But getting those players to stick together, develop, and win is where things get tricky. Urban Meyer believes Mike Norvell’s staff struggled with that balance.

Mike Norvell didn’t inherit a winning machine, but he did get Florida State moving in the right direction. The first season ended 3-6. A year later, things were still uneven. Then the Seminoles finally took off in 2022, winning 10 games and beating Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl.

The real breakthrough came in 2023. FSU raced to a 10-0 start but took a hit when Jordan Travis went down against North Alabama with a season-ending injury. The Seminoles won 13-0 without him, but the playoff committee left them out, pointing to Travis’ absence.

Things went downhill from there. The next three years brought a brutal 10-22 record. The Clemson loss proved to be Mike Norvell’s last straw. Florida State fell 36-24 on October 31, adding another defeat to a miserable run of 17 losses in 21 ACC games. He had just two winning seasons in Tallahassee, both back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Rick Stockstill, a former Seminole QB, now takes over on an interim basis.

Mike Norvell got Florida State back on its feet, then watched it fall apart. Now he’s out with a 41-39 record. But Urban Meyer seems perfectly fine with him stepping away, forgetting football for a while, and enjoying life with his family.

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