Florida State's coaching search begins: Dickert, Diaz and Fisher among names after Norvell exit

Florida State is looking for a head coach. The school fired Mike Norvell on Sunday, a day after a 36-24 home loss to Clemson dropped the Seminoles to 3-5. Director of scouting Rick Stockstill, the former Middle Tennessee head coach, will run the team for the rest of the season, ESPN reported. "We have made the decision to change the leadership of our football program," school president Richard McCullough said, according to the Associated Press report carried by Yahoo Sports. Norvell leaves 41-39 over seven seasons.

The fall was steep. Norvell's 2023 team went 13-0 in the regular season and still missed the College Football Playoff. Since then, CBS Sports counts a 10-23 record, 4-17 in ACC play, and 12 straight road losses. Firing him will not be cheap. CBS puts Norvell's buyout between $47.1 million and $50.3 million, with total staff buyouts that could pass $65 million. The athletic department also carries $437 million in debt and has had no permanent athletic director since September.

Two current ACC coaches lead the early lists. Wake Forest's Jake Dickert has the Demon Deacons at 7-1 and second in the league, and both CBS and HEAVY rank him near the top. Duke's Manny Diaz started his career as a graduate assistant in Tallahassee, and CBS notes he is 24-11 in Durham with an ACC title from 2025. The open question is whether his three seasons running Miami count against him. CBS also lists Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, New Mexico's Jason Eck and defensive coordinators Blake Baker of LSU and Glenn Schumann of Georgia. HEAVY adds Colorado's Deion Sanders. Then there is Jimbo Fisher. Citing On3's Pete Nakos, HEAVY reports that Fisher has quietly lobbied for a return and talked with donors about the roster and NIL situation. CBS treats him as a wild card.

What it means for Boston College

Stockstill's first game is Saturday at Boston College on ACC Network. Florida State is 1-4 in the ACC, and the Eagles are 4-4 overall and 2-3 in league play. The Seminoles have averaged 30.6 points a game, but the defense has collapsed during a three-game losing streak, allowing 44 at Louisville, 43 at Miami and 36 to Clemson. All three of their road games this season have been losses: at Alabama, Louisville and Miami. Their wins came over New Mexico State, Central Arkansas and Virginia.

The market still has Florida State favored. Across 12 venues, the Seminoles are 6.5-point favorites. Novig lists them at -111 on that spread, and BetMGM's -110 is the best price anywhere. On the moneyline, Florida State is -233 on Novig. Boston College is +213 there, with Hard Rock Bet's +220 the longest price on the board. The total is 51.5, with the over at -113 on Novig and -110 at FanDuel. The venues disagree only slightly. Sportsbook hold runs 3.5% to 5.8% on the moneyline and 3.8% to 6.7% on the spread, and one book has the Eagles at +7.

Full prices are on the game page, and the season is on our Florida State page. Stockstill needs three wins in the last four games to make the Seminoles bowl-eligible, and Saturday is the first of them.