Florida State attempted to hire Lane Kiffin before deciding to stick with Mike Norvell, per report
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
Lane Kiffin made the controversial decision to depart Ole Miss for LSU prior to the postseason and now chatter is ripe with other scenarios that never materialized. This apparently includes another Florida program that fascinatingly went after him.
ESPN is reporting that Florida State attempted to hire Kiffin before deciding to stick with the embattled Mike Norvell. This comes after previous reports that Florida made an aggressive push that Kiffin ultimately turned down. Here’s an excerpt of ESPN’s report from Mark Schlabach:
At the same time, Florida State athletic director Michael Alford also was wooing Kiffin behind the scenes, sources familiar with the search told ESPN. Kiffin and Alford had worked together at USC — Alford as the Trojans’ associate AD from 2000 to 2003 and Kiffin as Pete Carroll’s tight ends/wide receivers coach from 2001 to 2003. But Florida State hadn’t fired embattled coach Mike Norvell, whose program had slipped dramatically after going 13-1 and winning an ACC title in 2023. The Seminoles cratered last season, going 2-10, followed by a 5-7 mark this year.
Per ESPN’s report, Florida State athletic director Michael Alford reportedly pursued Kiffin privately all the way until the middle of November when it was clear he wasn’t coming, which led to the announcement Norvell would return.
Norvell would’ve been due $54 million if Florida State fired him without cause, along with an additional $18 million for his assistants, according to ESPN.
