Dabo Swinney Rips Airplane Banner Demanding FSU Fire Mike Norvell as 'Embarrassing' and 'Shameful'

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney had his counterpart's back after his Tigers defeated Mike Norvell's Florida State squad 34-26 on Saturday.

An airplane flew above the stadium encouraging Florida State to fire Norvell with a banner featuring a spelling error, which prompted a response from Swinney after the game.

"That was embarrassing what I saw above the stadium," he said while also calling it "shameful," per ESPN's Andrea Adelson. "Florida State's better than that. That's not good for these kids. That bothered me, and they didn't even spell his name right. Didn't even have the freaking R in the name. It's just disrespectful.

"There's so many good people at this place and in this program. I've always had a lot of respect for Florida State. Bobby Bowden was one of my heroes in life. [Norvell] ain't gonna say it, but I'll say it. I was freaking disappointed to see that. Hell, they may be flying one around Clemson next time I'm home, but I doubt it. I doubt it. But whoever did that, man, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Florida State is one of the best programs in college football history, and expectations are consistently high.

However, frustration has built up in recent years under Norvell, as the team has failed to live up to the standard he set during the 2023 campaign when the Seminoles went undefeated during the regular season before losing in the Orange Bowl.

Saturday's loss dropped the program to 10-22 since that 2023 campaign, including a 2-10 mark in 2024. Florida State is now 3-5 overall and 1-4 in ACC play this season.

It has already been a year of change, as the school fired athletic director Michael Alford in September. What's more, president Richard McCullough released a letter ahead of the Clemson game acknowledging the frustration within the fanbase:

"We are not asking you to lower your expectations," he wrote. "We are telling you that we share and embrace them. … And we are not asking you to believe that everything is fine. We know it isn't."

With all the noise surrounding Norvell's status and the program as a whole, it would be fair to worry about the team's ability to respond during the final four games of the regular season. 

But the head coach still believes in his players.

"Even with all the other bullcrap that we've had to deal with, these guys fight for each other," Norvell said after Saturday's loss. "I don't question the leadership within our team. Are they pissed off? Yes. Are they angry, sad, mad? All of it? Yes. So am I. There's people that don't want to see you be successful. That's fine. That's part of it. It's really about what you do with the opportunity that's given, and are you willing to block all the other crap out and just go and be focused on your improvement and allowing your best to show up?

"If we can consistently do that as a football team, program, players, coaches, everybody involved, then we will rise up, and I absolutely believe that's going to occur."

There is frustration in place even with Swinney's defense of Norvell, and the Seminoles will look to turn things around with remaining games against Boston College, Pittsburgh, NC State and rival Florida.