Brian Kelly enters Florida State coaching talk as Seminoles move on from Mike Norvell

Florida State's coaching search is barely two days old, and a familiar name is already attached to it. HEAVY reports that Brian Kelly, the former Notre Dame and LSU coach who is out of work, could replace Mike Norvell. HEAVY bases that on a Bleacher Report list of candidates put together by analyst Adam Kramer. It is an outside prediction. Nothing has been reported about contact between the school and Kelly.

Norvell was fired Sunday after a 36-24 home loss to Clemson left the Seminoles at 3-5. On3 reported that Rick Stockstill will be interim coach for the last four games. Stockstill played quarterback at Florida State, was head coach at Middle Tennessee for 18 years and has worked in the program's scouting department since 2024. HEAVY puts Norvell's record in Tallahassee at 41-39.

Kelly's record is the argument for him: 92-39 at Notre Dame and 34-14 at LSU, according to HEAVY. The arguments against him are the way his LSU tenure ended and a long-standing criticism that his teams come up short in the biggest games. Kramer admitted it is hard to tell how Florida State or its fans would take to the idea, but wrote that Kelly "seems eager to get back on the sideline."

Kelly would be one name among many. CBS Sports talked to industry sources and came up with seven candidates: Duke's Manny Diaz, Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Wake Forest's Jake Dickert, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, New Mexico's Jason Eck, LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker and Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. It added SMU's Rhett Lashlee and former FSU coach Jimbo Fisher as wild cards. Kelly was not on that list.

The next coach will walk into an expensive situation. CBS Sports reported that buyouts for Norvell and his assistants could top $65 million, with Norvell alone owed between $47.1 million and $50.3 million. It also reported that FSU athletics ended fiscal 2025 with $437 million in debt, and that the department has had no permanent athletic director since it fired Mike Alford in September. Since going unbeaten in the 2023 regular season, the Seminoles are 10-23 overall and 4-17 in ACC play since the start of 2024, and they have lost 12 straight road games.

Stockstill's first game comes on the road

Stockstill's first game is Saturday at Boston College on ACC Network, and the road losing streak hangs over it. All three of Florida State's wins this season came at home, against New Mexico State, Central Arkansas and Virginia. It lost by 14 at Alabama, by 24 at Louisville and by 8 at Miami. Over the last three games the defense has given up 36, 43 and 44 points.

Despite all that, Florida State is favored. Novig lists the Seminoles at -257 on the moneyline, and the best price among the 12 venues is FanDuel's -250. Florida State is a 6.5-point favorite, priced at -117 on Novig and -110 at Hard Rock Bet. Boston College is +223 on Novig and as long as +240 at theScore Bet. The total is 51.5 at the venues that list it. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.7% to 6.0%. The full board is on the game page.

The price assumes Florida State still has more talent than Boston College. A team playing its first game since a coaching change, and trying to end a road streak that matches the longest in school history, hasn't shown that yet. Clemson has won three of its last four and plays at Syracuse the same day.