Less that 24 hours after Dabo Swinney went to bat for Mike Norvell, Florida State fired the embattled head coach.

Clemson’s longtime head coach expressed his displeasure with a banner that was flying overhead at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday that read in part, “FSU Fire Novell….” Whether or not the misspelling was intentional, no one knows. Either way, Swinney was not happy.

On the field, Swinney’s Tigers would go out and defeat the Seminoles, and the next day, FSU dismissed Norvell. The Seminoles dropped to 3-5 with the loss.

“Disappointed for him and his family,” Swinney said Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “I mean, I understand. We all understand in this business. That’s just the way it is. We’ve got to win. Anybody can win on any given day, but none of us are allowed to lose. Anybody can beat anybody, but you better not lose. I mean, that is just kind of how it is.”

Norvell went 41-39 in his seven seasons with the Seminoles. However, the past few seasons have been very underwhelming. Since missing the 2023 College Football Playoff despite winning the ACC and sporting an unbeaten record, Florida State went just 10-23.

“This is the life we chose,” Swinney added. “He understands that. That is why you’ve got contracts. He did not just happen upon Florida State. This guy has been a very successful coach for a long time. He earned the opportunity there and was just a couple of tough breaks away from having one of the best seasons they have had there in a long time.

After that playoff snub in 2023, Florida State hit on hard times, struggling to just a 2-10 record the following season. The Seminoles only improved by a little bit in 2025, going 5-7. In all, Norvell had five losing seasons in Tallahassee.

“Sometimes you can do your best, and it just does not work,” Swinney said. “There are a lot of things you do not control. But what you do control is your effort, your attitude, your preparation — whether or not you are doing your best or not. And then you live with the consequences, whatever happens. In this profession, that is just part of it. He knows and understands that.”

Norvell’s record against Swinney’s Clemson teams surely wasn’t impressive. Novell went 1-5 against the Tigers, with his only win coming in overtime during the 2023 campaign.

Swinney once again voiced his unhappiness with the banner that was flying overhead on Saturday, noting those kinds of things crosses a line.

“That does not mean you can’t do things with dignity. It was just disappointing to see that. It is not good for recruiting. It is not good for those players. Hey, you don’t have to like the coach. The coach can stink. You can fire the coach and all that stuff. I get all of that. But destroying people and trying to humiliate people — I just think we have dehumanized so many things in this profession. It is just not good. I don’t think it is good for anything. I get the wins and losses. I get all of that. This is your profession, and I know people will say, ‘Well, you got a contract, and you are going to get paid all this money’— hey, this is what you love to do. And he earned that contract. They gave it to him for a reason. It did not work out, and that is why you have contracts. You just do the best you can every game and every season. If it does not work out, all you can do is keep moving forward. I know that is what he will do.”