Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast · Locked On Podcast Network, Candace Cooper, Kenton Gibbs

HOT SEAT: Florida State’s Mike Norvell Must WIN Big or Face Firing—ESPN Ranks Him #1 in Trouble

·31 min·2 clips

Mike Norvell went 23-3 from 2022 through the 2023 ACC championship.

1. Locked On ACC centers on ESPN’s hot-seat tiers for college football coaches and Florida State’s Mike Norvell. 2. Alex Dono of Locked On Canes and Kenton Gibbs of Locked On Wolfpack host the discussion and use their ACC backgrounds to judge job security. 3. The episode asks whether Norvell is coaching for eight wins, nine wins, or a firing decision. 4. Dono notes ESPN put Norvell in the “hottest of the hot” tier for a second straight year. 5. Gibbs answers by comparing Norvell’s best run, a 23-3 stretch from 2022 through the 2023 ACC championship, with his 15-30 record outside it. 6. The hosts discuss Florida State’s buyout and the idea that the school can back-channel with other candidates while Norvell coaches. 7. They argue Florida State may be the best job available in the next coaching cycle if bigger openings do not appear elsewhere. 8. Dono and Gibbs compare Florida State with Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Michigan, Florida, Miami, Clemson, Alabama, and USC. 9. The schedule breakdown includes New Mexico State, SMU, Alabama, Central Arkansas, Virginia, Louisville, Miami, Clemson, Boston College, Pitt, NC State, and Florida. 10. They repeatedly say the Clemson game before the bye week could leave Norvell at three and five. 11. Gibbs says eight wins might be enough because it would represent a three-game improvement over last season. 12. Dono pushes the idea that nine wins would be needed to feel safe, especially if Florida State wants an upgrade. 13. The conversation shifts to ESPN’s category labeled “we want this to work,” which includes Shane Beamer at South Carolina and Bill O’Brien at Boston College. 14. Gibbs argues Boston College should want better than Bill O’Brien and says every team he has left has later improved. 15. The segment on retirement watch names Deion Sanders, Bill Belichick, and the health and recruiting questions around their situations. 16. Gibbs describes a “refirement” idea for older underperforming coaches and says Belichick is not invited on the show. 17. The tone stays conversational, argumentative, and rooted in weekly ACC debate rather than formal analysis. 18. Dono and Gibbs interrupt each other often, trade jokes about NC State, and move quickly between football, coaching futures, and job-market comparisons. 19. ACC fans tracking Florida State, coaching churn, and job-security talk would get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a game-by-game Florida State preview with no coaching drama may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Locked On ACC - Daily College Football & Basketball Podcast