It was another ugly performance for Florida State on Saturday night against the Clemson Tigers, as FSU fell 24-10 against their ACC rival on the road in a mistake-filled performance.

The loss continued an ugly stretch of play over the last two years for Florida State under Mike Norvell, particularly on the road. Florida State’s road conference road record from 2024-25 now sits at 0-7, with their last road win coming at Pittsburgh on November 4, 2023. Their ACC record for 2024-25 is 2-12. Overall, Mike Norvell’s record at Florida State now sits at 37-32 through almost six seasons in Tallahassee. That’s a tough resume to support.

That said, Florida State announced earlier this season that they would withhold any decision on Norvell’s future until end of the season, when they can evaluate things in full.

Popular college football talking head Josh Pate responded to that plan during his show on Sunday with a simple question: why wait?

Josh Pate questions why Florida State isn’t doing now what he feels the school will ultimately do: fire Mike Norvell

“What are we waiting on, and my answer is, I don’t know”, Pate said. “I’ve talked to quite a few people about this. I don’t know what Florida State is waiting on. I want to establish one more time. I don’t yell for dudes to get fired. I’m not yelling for Mike to get fired. My opinion doesn’t matter here. The opinion of the people who do matter – big money people, administrative types, the athletic director of Florida State – all seem to be that he is going to get fired. So, if he is going to be fired eventually, why aren’t you doing it immediately?

“It’s not to save money, and from the sound of things, it’s not for you to come up with the money. It sounded like if they needed the money today, they’d have the money today. If it’s not true and you’re still trying to come up with the money – and by the way, they need about $60 million to fire him – if you haven’t come up with the money, does that mean there are some people who are holdouts on Mike Norvell who you think are going to be convinced between now and the end of the year that he needs to be let go but they’re not convinced yet? Because I’m not sure if you’re not already convinced what a few more losses are going to do to convince you.

“Again, I don’t tell people how to spend their tens of millions of dollars. I just find it very peculiar that anyone with reasonable enough intelligence to acquire a net worth of that size is ignorant enough to think the outcome of four quarters against NC State could fundamentally change your opinion on whether or not to pay a guy $60 million to not coach for you anymore. If you think it’s crazy to pay a guy not to coach for you and you’re not going do it no matter what, okay. That doesn’t seem to be the score down there right now. The way it sounds is we’ve either got the money already and we’re just waiting for the right time, which makes no sense, or we’ve still got to get a few people on board. If they’re not already on board, how are you going get them on board?”

Pate’s point is a fair one at this point. If FSU goes on a three-game run to finish the season 7-5, it’s still ultimately a subpar season for the program that does little to patch up the problems that have been on display for the last two years. And with the way the team is executing – which falls on both players and coaching, to be fair – that seems like a stretch at this point regardless.

For those who point to maintaining the recruiting class, well, that likely won’t save recruits much better in late November/early December than it would now. And FSU has been bleeding recruits lately anyways.

For those who point to the money, according to the Tallahassee Democrat, Norvell’s contract includes offset language that requires him to seek a new job and would reduce the buyout by the money he would make at a new job. So, for those who clamor about the buyout – which, at around $59 million right now, would be the second largest in college football history – there is some room for a reduction if Norvell continues his coaching career elsewhere.

Penn State, Florida, Auburn, and many other schools this year have recognized an undeniable need for change and acted on it quickly. The run on coaches will come at a frenetic pace when the regular season is said and done.

Will FSU be ready to act on it? Or will their own due diligence and patience ultimately set them back?