McCullough opens FSU AD search, doesn't mention Norvell

The letter's most-quoted line is the closest thing to a mea culpa FSU fans have gotten out of the top of the university.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

Florida State President Richard McCullough: “We are not asking you to ignore the results. We are committed to changing them. And we are not asking you to believe that everything is fine. We know it isn’t.”

"We know it isn't." That is a school president saying out loud what every Seminoles fan has been yelling for 2 years. Since winning the ACC title in 2023, Norvell is 10-21, and FSU is 3-4 going into Saturday's game against Clemson. McCullough also wrote that FSU should compete for championships and called that standard "not negotiable." Nice words. The problem is what the letter left out.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Florida State president McCullough has released a letter addressing fans' frustrations and announcing the start of an athletic director search. Mike Norvell is not mentioned. "Our vision has not changed." t.co/d1yMwOfqu6

No Norvell. Not a vote of confidence and not a hint of a change. McCullough asked fans to keep backing the current players and said the vision hasn't changed, and the head coach's name never came up. In a letter written because fans are furious about the football team, that silence says plenty. You can read it as a school that has already decided and is waiting for the right moment, or as a school that still hasn't decided anything. Neither one calms anybody down.

That's also why the AD search matters so much. Florida State fired athletic director Michael Alford last month, so the person who would normally own a coaching decision doesn't exist yet. The ESPN report says the search will begin "soon," once the school finishes evaluating how the athletic department runs. Even the president admits it's taking a while.

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

FSU president acknowledges the school is moving slow in AD search. He also says out loud: "And we are not asking you to believe that everything is fine. We know it isn’t.”

Andrea Adelson

@aadelsonESPN

FSU president Richard McCullough writes letter to athletics community, addressing fan frustration. He says the university is “methodically working on a plan” to position athletics for success moving forward. Search for an AD will start soon. No mention of Mike Norvell t.co/vb4TGFnHJ4

This is a school that already chose to stand pat once. At the end of last season McCullough announced Norvell would stay, with personnel restructured and more resources behind him. A 3-4 start with a new AD still nowhere in sight isn't what anyone was sold. The longer the search drags on, the longer Norvell coaches in limbo and the longer Florida State waits to start whatever comes next.

What to watch: Clemson on Saturday, and then how quickly FSU names its AD. If the hire comes fast, the Norvell call probably follows soon after. If it doesn't, expect more letters and more angry fans.