Florida State president Richard McCullough isn't asking fans to believe everything is fine: 'We know it isn’t'

Florida State president Richard McCullough is steering into the skid. He addressed the turmoil swarming his school’s athletic department, including its highly scrutinized football program, in a letter to Seminoles fans on Tuesday.

FSU is only 3-4 this season on the gridiron, and 10-22 since authoring a 13-0 start that featured an ACC title during the 2023 campaign, and the school hasn’t hired a new athletic director after firing Mike Alford on Sept. 14.

McCullough, who took over as university president in August 2021, wrote Tuesday that FSU will be able to begin the search for its next AD soon. Also in that letter, which doesn’t mention beleaguered head coach Mike Norvell by name, McCullough outlined his expectations for the Seminoles community.

“We are not asking you to lower your expectations,” he said. “We are telling you that we share and embrace them.

“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.”

He went on: “What we ask now is that you stand firmly behind our current student-athletes. Show them your support. Pack Doak Campbell Stadium for the remainder of this season and bring your energy and passion to support our team at each and every game. Our players show great commitment and effort every single day, and they deserve your continued support on and off the field.”

FSU brought Norvell aboard to return the program to prominence in December 2019. At the time, Norvell was coming off a successful four-season run at the helm of Memphis, which he guided to a pair of 10-plus-win campaigns.

In Year 3 and 4 at FSU, Norvell delivered those kinds of results. His Seminoles turned the corner in 2022, winning 10 games overall and posting a winning record in the ACC for the first time in six sesons. The next time around, in 2023, FSU went undefeated in conference play and emerged victorious in the ACC championship game.

But, down to their third-string quarterback by that point, they were controversially left out of the then-four-team College Football Playoff.

What followed was an embarrassing Orange Bowl defeat, a 2024 season that ended with a 2-10 record and a 2025 that was marginally better.

Norvell entered this season with his seat plenty hot. The Seminoles have been mostly competitive. Of their four losses so far, three have been to opponents who were ranked at the time. Then-No. 19 SMU beat the Seminoles 27-24. In Tuscaloosa, FSU staked itself to a 21-6 advantage against then-No. 10 Alabama before letting that lead slip but eventually drawing within one score in the final frame. Last time out, the Seminoles went into the fourth quarter ahead of now-top-ranked Miami on the road. The game went to double overtime, with the Hurricanes prevailing.

Still, FSU fans are clamoring for more than just moral victories. Heading into Saturday’s game against Clemson, the noise surrounding Norvell and the Seminoles remains loud.

“I hear you,” McCullough said at the beginning of his letter on Tuesday. “I understand your frustration. And I share your expectations for Florida State Football and Seminole Athletics.

“I know some of you are questioning whether university leadership understands the seriousness of this moment, whether meaningful action is taking place behind the scenes and whether there is a clear plan for the future.

“Those are fair questions. You deserve to know that your passion, your investment and your expectations are not being taken for granted.

“Let me be clear: The leadership team and I care deeply. And we are methodically working on a plan that positions Florida State for sustained success.

“Would we like this work to move faster? Absolutely. But meaningful, lasting change requires us to make the right moves in the right order, at the right time, and that is what we are committed to doing. Our responsibility is to make the right decisions for Florida State’s long-term future.”

McCullough explained in his memo that, before the school could start officially searching for a new AD, it had to re-evaluate the athletic department and accordingly define roles, responsibilities and expectations for whoever would receive that position.

The athletic department, according to an Oct. 8 report from ESPN's Pete Thamel, is more than $430 million in debt.

“Our vision has not changed,” McCullough wrote. “Florida State should compete for championships, develop exceptions student-athletes, attract outstanding coaches and personnel and operate with the resources, leadership and commitment necessary to succeed at the highest level of college athletics.

“That standard is not negotiable.”