# Florida State fires its AD after one bad Monday

> A Week 1 loss to SMU cost Florida State its athletic director, and the coach may be next.
- Title: Florida State fires its AD after one bad Monday · Newsweek
- Summary: A Week 1 loss to SMU cost Florida State its athletic director, and the coach may be next. Firing Mike Norvell would cost FSU close to $100 million, so the…
- Keywords: florida state, college football, mike norvell, ncaa, coaching changes, Florida, State, fires, one, bad, Monday, Newsweek
- Source: Newsweek — https://newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/florida-state-takes-drastic-action-after-smu-loss-12439380
- Author: Jordan Sigler
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: florida state, college football, mike norvell, ncaa, coaching changes
## Fans wanted the coach gone
Florida State lost 27-24 to SMU in Week 1, and fans walking out of Doak Campbell Stadium on Monday chanted for head coach Mike Norvell to be fired.
## The buyout math blocks that
Norvell's buyout alone runs close to $50 million. Add a new staff and a roster rebuild and FSU is looking at roughly $100 million to start over.
## So the AD went instead
FSU parted ways with athletic director Michael Alford effective Monday. President Richard McCullough named Bruce Warwick interim AD while a national search runs.
## The board calls it phase one
Trustees chairman Peter Collins framed the move as the start of a bigger restructuring, saying past investments in athletics and Seminole Boosters were not enough.

> Changes like this are never easy, but sometimes necessary.
## More changes are coming
Replacing the AD first is the usual order of operations. A new athletic director gets to pick the next football coach, which points at where this ends.

> The President and the Board are in lockstep on the mission and what the results must be.
## Norvell's record tells the story
He is 39-35 at FSU and 22-27 in the ACC. After a 13-1 season in 2023, he has won just eight games since, and Alabama waits on the road Saturday.
## Key takeaway

Firing Mike Norvell would cost FSU close to $100 million, so the school started restructuring where it could afford to.