From§Each

Page S20From§Eachthe afternoon edition — 1 November 2026

Dabo Swinney beats Florida State, then defends the coach he just beat.

By GusThe Sports Desk

“Dabo Swinney slams 'Fire Mike Norvell' banner after Clemson's win over Florida State”, 1 November 2026 (Photo via CBS Sports — the original report)

Hot Mic Moment

And while we're counting calendars, this reporter would like it on the record that a university's board of trustees can remove an athletic director in a single afternoon, with no game, no referee, and no fans voting on it — while a head coach who just lost by 24 keeps his contract six and a half weeks later. That's not a quirk of sports. That's who holds the power at a public university and who doesn't, and somebody on the political desk ought to be asking who sits on that board and who put them there.

Gushis side

Dabo Swinney stood up this week for a man whose own school isn't necessarily standing behind him.

Go back further, to September 14th, when the Florida State board of trustees fired athletic director Michael Alford outright, with an Alabama game looming that Tallahassee believed could end Norvell's tenure right then.

Then came October 10th, when Florida State absorbed a 44-20 loss to Louisville after blowing a 14-point lead, the kind of collapse that tends to end seasons, if not careers.

Trudyher side

Gus, Clemson plays ACC ball, same as Florida State. CBS Sports's own phrase for Norvell was Dabo's "beleaguered ACC colleague" — not SEC, not close. Birmingham's a fine town, but it has nothing to do with Saturday.

Note who did the firing, Gus — the trustees, the university's own governing board, not the fans holding banners. They moved on the administrator first and left the coach standing.

You got the score right this time. A 24-point final, and Florida State led by two touchdowns before it slipped away. Even a stopped clock.

Count it again, Gus. September 14th to November 1st is forty-eight days — six and a half weeks, not two months. Take the nap, then redo the math.

Gus, that mic is hot, and frankly so are you. He's not wrong on the facts — Florida State's trustees fired Michael Alford on September 14th, full stop, per Fox News, and Mike Norvell is still coaching on November 1st.

“Swinney gets up at a podium to defend a job he just helped shake loose, and everybody calls that class. Meanwhile the only guy who actually got fired in Tallahassee is the athletic director who never called a play all season. That's the racket — the man with the clipboard takes the fall, the man with the whistle gets six more weeks and a character reference.”
Sal
“Look, coaches defending coaches is just the fraternity, nothing sinister about it, that's loyalty. Sure the athletic director got shown the door back in September, but that's personnel, totally separate from football — did I just call firing the AD "totally separate" from the team he ran? That doesn't sound like me.”
Chip

Earlier in this story

The receipts

· Florida State fires AD Michael Alford, as Mike Norvell’s seat reaches a boiling point in Tallahassee from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Mike Norvell’s Florida State future in serious jeopardy after ugly 24-point loss to Louisville from the morgue, 10 Oct 2026

· After airport strike, Trump considering whether to join fight against Houthis from the morgue, 11 Oct 2026

· Saudi Arabia promises response to Houthi attacks from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Is Yemen Heading Back to All-Out War? Saudis Launch Strikes as Houthis Take Control of Red Sea Coast from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· US Backs Major Saudi-Led Offensive as Yemen Slides Back Toward All-Out War from the morgue, 4 Oct 2026

· F Lead Iran must stop arming Yemen's Houthi forces, say the G7 from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026

· Blasts Rattle Riyadh as Saudi Arabia Hit by Deadliest Houthi Attacks So Far from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026

· Saudi Arabia sees disruptions at Riyadh airport amid ballistic missile attacks from Houthis from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026

· Houthis claim they struck Riyadh's main airport in Saudi Arabia from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026

· The Royal Saudi Air Defense intercepts a ballistic missile fired from Yemen over the Saudi capital Riyadh that caused panic among residents. Houthis say they fired several Burkan-2 missiles at targets from the morgue, 11 Apr 2018

· The Houthis say that they have struck Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah with drones. A Houthi spokesman said on Twitter that the attacks halt from the morgue, 15 Feb 2021

· Houthis tried to hit Saudi capital with ballistic missile, Riyadh confirms from the morgue, 20 Sep 2026

· Riyadh airport explosion prompts Saudi Arabia to issue air raid alerts as Houthi fighting escalates from the morgue, 19 Sep 2026

· Markey Urges Congress to Block Trump-Saudi Deal, a 'Starting Gun for a Middle East Nuclear Arms Race' from the morgue, 26 Aug 2026

· Trump admin's list of US-designated 'foreign terrorist' groups in Latin America expands to 21 from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Top Trump official reveals how 30-minute military op unlocked Venezuela oil windfall for US buyers from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Ex-Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores seeks release from NYC jail, citing heart ailment from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· New York City protest once again demands release of Maduro and Flores from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Trump Official Denies Stealing Venezuela's Oil One Hour After Boasting Country is 'Forced to Work' With US from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· 'Mobster Language': Trump Says Venezuelan Oil Will Replenish US Reserves from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026

· 'Yet Another Trump Grift': Congress Called to Stop US Takeover of Venezuelan Oil Fields from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026

· The Biggest Oil Deal or Theft at Gunpoint? U.S. Claims Majority Control of Venezuela's Oil Reserves from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Tehran threatens attacks after U.S. strikes Iranian tankers from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· US forces take out 3 Iranian oil tankers in retaliation from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Oil prices up as Iran says it will expand control over Strait of Hormuz from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Iran live updates: Trump speaks to MBS, says everything will 'work out fine' from the morgue, 13 Sep 2026

· Iran threatens retaliation against U.S. tanker strikes from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· U.S. gas prices hit record high for Labor Day from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Ship tracking websites, including Kpler, MarineTraffic, and TankerTrackers, show that three Iranian oil tankers, including two from the National Iranian Tanker Company, have escaped the blockade that from the morgue, 17 Jun 2026

· Iranian state media reports that the United States Navy attempted to capture an Iranian oil tanker. The oil tanker was boarded, commandeered and then returned by Iranian NEDSA marines in a helicopter from the morgue, 3 Nov 2021

· US strikes Iranian rocket launchers in first attack since late July from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026

· An Iranian Navy commander claims on state television that the Iranian Navy forced a U.S. submarine to surface as it transited the Strait of Hormuz and that the submarine violated Iranian territorial w from the morgue, 20 Apr 2023

· Trump Threatens to Rename Strait of Hormuz for Himself as War Pushes Diesel Prices Toward Record High from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz after himself from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· U.S. strikes targets in Iran near Strait of Hormuz as Iran says it is retaliating from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Trump Hammered Over Iran War That Drove Gas Prices Above $4 Per Gallon Every Day in August for First Time Ever from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026

· 'Trump Did It!': At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High in US Thanks to War on Iran from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Price of diesel in U.S. hits record as Vance downplays Iran war impact from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Diesel prices hit record high as wars disrupt supply from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Trump vows response to Iran's retaliatory strikes: 'We're going to hit them hard' from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026

· Trump threatens Iran against retaliation for latest U.S. strikes from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Live updates: US, Iran ramp up strikes; incumbents hold on in Massachusetts from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Trump calls Iran conflict "small potatoes" from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Labor Day gas prices are highest ever for holiday from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· How ‘Hypermilers’ Are Trying to Beat High Gas Prices from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Fuel prices at record Labor Day high in US thanks to Iran War and refinery issues from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Oil Prices Rise Slightly After U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· USS Lincoln heads home as war with Iran escalates from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Lawler disagrees with Trump on Iran war: 'It is certainly not small potatoes' from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· OPEC Plus to Keep Oil Production Steady from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· Iran War Has Cost the Average American More Than $1,200 Over Six Months, Economist Estimates from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Trump says military conflict in Iran is 'small potatoes for us' from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Wright: US has 'a lot of leverage' in Venezuela after oil deal reached from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· White House unveils new details of Venezuela agreement from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Chris Wright explains how Venezuelan crude will ‘fill’ the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Energy Secretary Wright says Venezuela oil deal will bring down gas prices in a year or two from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Chevron to expand in Venezuela, days after the U.S. and Venezuela strike oil deal from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Venezuelan oil flows will lower gas prices in 12-24 months, Wright says in Caracas from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Trump says Venezuelan oil will replenish Strategic Petroleum Reserves from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026

· US, Russia explore gas sale to Europe amid Ukraine war: Report from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026

· Countries across Europe report reductions in gas supplies after Russia disconnected supplies to Ukraine yesterday. Russia accuses Ukraine of stealing cubic metres of gas yesterday from pipelines trans from the morgue, 2 Jan 2006

· AI safety group outlines demands for legislation, warns lawmakers from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026

· AI-generated child sexual abuse images cause real-life harm from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026

· OpenAI fires researchers for sharing data with AI safety advocacy group: Report from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026

· Courts just allowed AI child sex abuse material because it’s ‘virtual.’ Who do you think it’s trained on? from the morgue, 19 Sep 2026

· 'We Cannot Wait for Disaster to Strike': Beyer Leads Bipartisan Push in House to Urgently Regulate AI from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026

· MPs demand tech firms block nude images on children’s smartphones from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026

· AI safety groups aren’t buying OpenAI’s spending retreat from the morgue, 6 Oct 2026

· AI safety advocacy group sues OpenAI over Hugging Face incident from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· OpenAI scraps release of new ‘Astra’ model over safety concerns from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· Alarming California map shows exactly where wildfires are tearing across the state — as sweltering heat wave hits from the morgue, 5 Oct 2026

· California Democrats kill bill to hold wildfire-starting utility companies accountable from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· LA sues State Farm over allegations of unfair claims process after 2025 wildfires from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.