GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The start to Billy Napier’s third season at Florida didn’t go well. We’ll wait to see whether he’ll finish it.
It would take the second-biggest buyout of a coach in college football history — $26 million — but Florida’s administration has to ask itself some hard questions after rival Miami completely thumped the Gators on Saturday in front of 90,000 in The Swamp.
And Florida hasn’t been patient in the past. Since Urban Meyer resigned at the end of the 2010 season, the Gators have cycled through Will Muschamp (28-21 from 2011-14), Jim McElwain (22-12 from 2015-17) and Napier’s predecessor, Dan Mullen, without blinking an eye.
It’s hard to tell where the Gators have improved since Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin pulled the plug on Mullen with a game to go in his fourth season in 2021. Mullen went 34-15 in his four seasons coaching the Gators, including 11-2 in 2019. Stricklin told Paul Finebaum this week he expects Napier to “be at Florida for a long time.”
That could mean just through the season.
“I really believe Billy Napier is going to be the coach at Florida for a long, long time.”
Scott Stricklin says patience with the Gators under Billy Napier will be rewarded: pic.twitter.com/c8trlykrOR
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 30, 2024
You might’ve missed it, but Florida has an interim president in charge amid an entirely different scandal. Once a new president is hired (which could be a long way off), I’m fairly confident Stricklin and Napier could be looking for work.
Here’s what we know: The Gators haven’t gotten any better since Napier was hired. They’ve actually gotten worse on defense and are giving up more points than they did under Mullen — which many said was Mullen’s biggest fault. And the offense? It’s more conservative than Mullen’s, and it also doesn’t score nearly as much.
Napier is 11-15 in Gainesville and has lost six games in a row. Florida has endured three consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the 1940s, and it was obvious on Saturday that the guy coaching the other team has made Miami better than Napier has in the same time frame.
“Miami outplayed us. They out-coached us,” Napier said after his team was out-gained 268 yards by the 19th-ranked Hurricanes.
“It’s embarrassing, to be quite honest with you. It’s how I feel. It’s how our kids feel. We have a decision to make, and there’s no excuses. Keep our mouths shut, show up and work. We have to do better. I do think our players will show up and we’ll respond.”
Is his message falling on deaf ears? Saturday’s loss ended a 34-game streak of wins in home openers. Nick Saban, who hired Napier and Miami coach Mario Cristobal at Alabama as assistants with the Crimson Tide, said before Saturday’s game Miami would beat Florida because it had Cam Ward. But Miami was more than a quarterback better than its longtime rivals.
Speaking about Napier and Cristobal, Saban said coaches deserve more than three years to rebuild a program.
But it’s fair to point out that Napier has plenty more resources than his predecessors had. Mullen fought for a new $85 million standalone football facility, and it opened when Napier took over. Florida’s support staff under Napier is significantly larger than Mullen’s (it grew by 17 staff members to 62 total) and the assistant coach salary pool has doubled. Florida’s NIL efforts have buttoned up, too.
So why haven’t the Gators improved? Maybe it’s just Napier and the way he’s tried to rebuild his roster.
Florida’s recruiting class last season fell apart after reaching top-five status. None of the three classes Florida has signed since Napier’s arrival finished in the top-10. The 2025 class ranks 23rd. You can bet the dozens of recruits in attendance Saturday came away more impressed with Miami than the Gators.
On top of that, only 12 players remain from his first team at Florida, and he might’ve gotten rid of some who could have helped him.
Virginia Tech pass rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland and Pitt safety Donovan McMillon acknowledged last month there is a large collection of ex-Gators who are part of a text thread dubbed “Florida’s Land of Misfit Toys.” Some were recruited by Mullen, others signed by Napier. Most were not happy with the way things ended for them.
McMillon led Pitt in tackles last season and earned All-ACC honorable mention after appearing in only five games in his final season with the Gators. Powell-Ryland, who started his final five games with Florida, earned All-ACC second-team honors last year with 9.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Ex-receiver Xzavier Henderson led Cincinnati in receiving in 2023.
“There are guys all over the country that are making plays somewhere else,” McMillon said of his former UF teammates. “And I’m excited for them.”
There were a few guys making plays for the Gators on Saturday. But not nearly enough.
The Gators play Samford next week before facing Texas A&M. Odds are pretty good quarterback DJ Lagway will be starting for Graham Mertz next week. He left Saturday’s loss with a concussion.
Lagway could be a special player for the Gators. But the Gators’ issues run much deeper than who is playing quarterback.
“It’s going to come down to the high-character guys that we have and guys need to keep their confidence,” Gators center Jake Slaughter said. “That’s all it is. Leaders need to lead and bring guys with them.”
Right now, I just don’t see it. It all feels like it’s just a matter of time before Florida is looking for a new coach.
(Top photo: Chris Leduc / Icon Sportswire via Getty)
