Clemson's Swinney rips 'embarrassing' FSU fans' plane stunt which called for Mike Norvell's firing

Nov. 1—TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Something was on Clemson coach Dabo Swinney's mind during his postgame press conference.The Tigers had just taken down Mike Norvell's Florida State squad 36-24 on the road. As he fielded questions about freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds' breakout and Elyjah Thurmon's injury scare, it continued to eat away at the back of his mind. Then, in the middle of answering a question about how Clemson bounced back in its big road win, he'd had enough.He had to talk about the plane."It was embarrassing what I saw above the stadium. It's embarrassing. It was an embarrassment. Florida State's better than that. That's not good for these kids. It's not good for them," he said, his voice growing louder and more fiery with each word. "Listen, hey, I get it, man. Everybody's got contracts and all this type of stuff, but man, that bothered me. And they didn't even spell his name right. Didn't even have the freaking 'R' in the name."What happened?Prior to kickoff on Oct. 31, a plane was doing laps around FSU's Doak S. Campbell Stadium. It was towing a banner which read "Fire Mike Novell + Peter Collins."Norvell, whose name was misspelled on the banner, is FSU's seventh-year coach and has struggled in recent seasons. FSU (3-5, 1-4 ACC) went 23-4 from 2022-23 but is 10-22 since. He was fired on Nov. 1, one day after the loss to Clemson, university president Richard McCullough told ESPN."It's like a bloodsport now. You lose a game, fire everybody. Everybody stinks," Swinney said. "How about we just support the kids? We just support the team? We count them all up at the end of the year, and we go from there."Collins is the chair of Florida State's board of trustees. His name is spelled correctly, but being mentioned on the banner was a misfire. FSU's board is appointed through a strictly regulated process, and members can only be removed by one of three parties: The Florida Board of Governors, the Florida Commission on Ethics or the actual governor of Florida.According to a post on X by popular account Message Board Geniuses, which compiles humorous posts from college football online fan forums, someone posted earlier this week about an account on the FSU site Noles247's message board. The user, named "SamPoe865," claimed to have crowdfunded for the banner. He posted a partially redacted invoice for $3,550 as proof.Swinney can relate to facing outside noiseOne line from Swinney's rant, "We count them all up at the end of the year," sounded eerily similar — actually, identical — to a line from a rant earlier this season.After Clemson's 51-10 loss at LSU, the first game of the season, Swinney was asked if he had any regrets about the Tigers' roster construction. The 18-year head coach thought the question was premature and gave a colorful response, even questioning the reporter's football background. He also invoked the idea of "counting them up" once the season is over."Did you play football? OK, well, they give you 12 games, and at the end of the year, you count them up," Swinney said back in September. "That's when those type of questions are fair, to me. Not after one game to maybe the best team in the country."Clearly, Swinney empathizes with what Norvell is going through, and he wasn't willing to stand by and watch."He ain't gonna say it, but I'll say it. I was freaking disappointed to see that, and hell, they may be flying one around Clemson next time I'm home, but I doubt it. I doubt it," he said. "Whoever did that, man, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. That's what I would say."Clemson is set to host Florida State next season. Norvell won't be on the other sideline.Reach Jackson Castellano at jcastellano@postandcourier.com. Follow him on X @jaxacastellano. Want more Clemson news delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to The Tiger Take.