Prior to Saturday's Clemson-Florida State game in Tallahassee, at least one Seminoles fan made their thoughts on the program clear with the help of an airplane banner.
A plane circling the stadium carried a banner stating "Fire Novell + Peter Collins" during the countdown to kickoff. It's probably safe to assume "Novell" was an incorrect spelling of head coach Mike Norvell's name. Collins, meanwhile, currently serves as the chair of the school's board of trustees.
A plane carrying a banner that says “Fire Norvell and Peter Collins” is currently flying around Doak https://t.co/0GdMGlNlmK
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) October 31, 2026
One man who didn't take kindly to the move was Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, who called the scene "shameful" after Clemson's 36-24 victory handed Florida State its fifth loss of the season.
"It was an embarrassment. Florida State's better than that," Swinney told reporters, including Chapel Fowler of The State. "That bothered me. And they didn't even spell his name right. They didn't even have the freaking 'r' in the name. It's just disrespectful. Mike Norvell's a good man. You don't gotta like him as a football coach - you don't gotta like me as a football coach - but that's a good man right there. And he's a hell of a football coach."
Norvell's been on the hot seat at the school for over a year as the program continues to struggle in the ACC. Saturday's loss dropped the Seminoles to 3-12 in their last 15 games vs. power-conference opposition.
One thing keeping Norvell in his position is a $47.1-million buyout if he's fired before Dec. 1. However, Swinney made it clear that he doesn't feel Norvell's salary makes it fair game for the type of criticism he's received.
"Ain't nobody trying to lose. This job is hard," Swinney said. "That's not what's best for those kids out there that are fighting. They fought every second, every second of that game their kids fought. I walked out there pre-game and I looked up there and it really bothered me."
Swinney continued: "I don't know where we became this as a society, where it's just OK to tear people down. It's like a blood sport now. You lose a game: 'Fire everybody. Everybody stinks.' How about we just support the kids. We support the team. ... My heart goes out to Coach Norvell and his family and that team that just fought their butts off every single play. I'm sure somebody had a lot of fun, felt really good about themselves, to fly a freaking plane and a banner around this amazing stadium. It's shameful to me."
