Pressure mounts as Mike Norvell of Florida State faces a make-or-break season.

Norvell faces criticism, skepticism, and a harsh 2025 schedule as he begins year six following an unexpected 2–10 season.

Following the decision by former head coach Jimbo Fisher and FSU’s top management that their differences were too large to continue their relationship, the Florida State Seminoles have been on a roller coaster. Fisher’s departure in 2017 was not necessarily influenced by a $75 million salary from Texas Am. A significant section of the fan base became polarized after the ‘Noles hired (and sacked) former Oregon head coach Willie Taggart; the entire fiasco is a tale for another day.

The next man up would be the new head coach, Mike Norvell, who has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during his tenure in Tallahassee, Florida. After producing two losing seasons (if you’re counting COVID in 2020), he led the Seminoles to their first bowl victory in ages, defeating Oklahoma in the 2022 Cheez-It Bowl, and followed that up with an undefeated 13-0 regular season and ACC Championship victory over Louisville in 2023.

Now, there is a lot of speculation on why the train derailed in 2024, which saw the boys in garnet and gold go 2-10. Whether it was an improper evaluation in the transfer portal, complacency, a lack of development at key positions, or a combination of all of the above, something went astonishingly wrong last year.

The bigger question is, how hot will Norvell’s seat be if 2025 becomes less of a reset than a rerun?

Norvell was featured in “Temperature Check,” and the doctors over at Lindy’s Sports have rated him as “Fevered” ahead of this season.

“Only two seasons removed from a perfect regular season, the buyout is reportedly more than $60 million, but it’s gotten so ugly so fast. Since 13-0, FSU is 1-11 against FBS-level teams,”

Assuming that Norvell will be gone after year six could be a brazen approach, as he and athletic director Michael Alford have set the stage to bring Florida State back into the modern era.

A successful season might be just what the ‘Noles need to get their momentum going forward, especially since the new coaching staff wants to put Florida State back in the public eye. But it won’t be an easy route to atonement in 2025. FSU still needs to defeat ACC contenders Miami and Clemson before playing Alabama on August 30. At the end of the season, they play Florida in their yearly rivalry, which, if they win all of their other games, could easily turn their dreams into an 8-4 record. In addition, three of the last four games are away games.