By: Matthew Weatherby
Capital Sports Network
20-20. That’s Billy Napier’s record in his time at Florida to this point. Since Urban Meyer left the program after the 2010 season, Florida has hired four new head coaches, with Napier being the fourth. The others were Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, and Dan Mullen. Those three carry some common traits: they all finished first in the SEC East (which no longer exists but did for Napier’s first two years) at least once, and they all carried winning records during their time at Florida. They also share similar timelines. Mullen and Muschamp were both fired at the end of their fourth year, and McElwain was fired after getting blown out in Jacksonville, 42-7, by Georgia.
Why does it matter?
Napier is now entering year four, and the university has had a surprising amount of patience with its current head coach, given their firing track record. The difference is that Florida was left with very little talent on the roster following Mullen’s firing, largely due to his well-documented distaste for recruiting. When you pair that with Napier’s impressive recruiting over his time at Florida and a belief in the culture he was building, there was reason to suffer through the bad to reach the good believed to be on the other side. That optimism grew after finishing 8-5 with what many believed to be one of, if not the hardest, schedules in the country. When you combine last year’s finish with what the Gators had returning this year, there was hope and preseason expectations in Gainesville for the first time in a long time.
So, what changed in two games?
Everything really changed in one game. The counterargument to firing Napier after a Week 2 loss is that it is an overreaction to what is a really bad loss, but still an overreaction given the length of the season and the talent on the roster. However, the USF game exposed glaring issues that many overlooked in past years because of how far behind the eight ball Napier’s time at Florida felt. He was kept around despite the lack of success on the field because of what he was building off of it, but now that feels in question. On Saturday, the Gators were sloppy, undisciplined, and worst of all, outcoached by USF. These were issues that were not as obvious until this year. It raised doubts about the supposed culture-building under Napier, especially when paired with game mismanagement, questionable play calling in crucial situations (including having a 170-pound receiver try to trap block a defensive tackle in the fourth quarter), and poor timeout usage late. Instead of beating a team they were favored by 17.5 points to defeat, Florida instead made a difficult schedule look even more daunting.
What does it mean moving forward?
Do not expect a lot of change in the near future when it comes to the way things are run in Gainesville. During Napier’s Monday press conference, he said he would not relinquish his play-calling duties and defended his use of timeouts in the fourth quarter, or lack thereof. It is not all bad in the Swamp, because Florida is still a very talented team and will probably beat a couple of opponents they are not expected to. However, this should not be mistaken as the turning point that changes everything, as happened for Notre Dame last year following their loss to NIU. That Notre Dame team was more talented, better coached, and had a schedule that pales in comparison to Florida’s 2025 slate. It is also important to note that this is Napier’s fourth year, the same point at which two of his three predecessors were fired.
One final thought, since I have seen it on message boards and social media: no, the Gators are not going to be able to go out and pluck a head coach like Dan Lanning or Marcus Freeman from their respective schools. Florida does not have anything to offer that would be enticing enough to lure them away.
