Florida State football coaching search 2026: Candidates, hot board, names to watch from Seminoles experts

The Noles247 team just revealed their top FSU coaching candidates after Mike Norvell was fired on Sunday, Nov. 1 The fourth Power 4 program to make a coaching move in the 2026 college football carousel is also the biggest one thus far as Florida State fired coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, Nov. 1. Norvell had a tremendous two-year stint in 2022-23, going a combined 23-4. The Seminoles fell flat in 2024, however, going 2-10, and then have gone 5-7 (2025) and 3-4 (2026) since that point, leading to the move after the Week 9 loss to Clemson. FSU us one of the top destinations in college football and has abundant resources, but a reported buyout of just over $50 million owed to Norvell could complicate this search a bit.

Who are the top names on the Florida State hot board? If you want the latest on the FSU football coaching search, see what the proven team of experts are saying at Noles 247, the 247Sports affiliate that covers Florida State. One name that the staff at Noles247 has identified as a potential candidate on their FSU football coach hot board is Duke head coach Manny Diaz. He's 6-2 at Duke this season and has some deep ties to the program and the state of Florida, making him an intriguing possibility.