What a Difference a Coach Makes

Some will dismiss as coach speak. But if you are consistent with your message and follow through then it is real.

This is not the first time he has said the above. He has said the same since the beginning.

 

Napier was the best choice for HC for us, and that will continue to be proven in next few years. We hit the jackpot.

 

Decepticon for sure!

 

Thanks Doc - This is why I am so "On-Board" with coach! Rome was not built in a day!! Neither Was Tuscaloosa or Athens!

What have we all been (WHINING) about for the last 3 years.....
RECRUITING!

I'm on board that the primary reason UF is not a top tier program is..............recruiting.

The University has put all the things in place for UF to emerge from the shadows:

Money
A Hugeeeee Staff! lol
Infrastructure
NIL
Media Market
Enthusiasm
Booster Support
Gator Collective

And they hired a guy that seems to understand that it takes relentless effort at all levels to get where we want to go.

Here UF is, in what is arguably the most H.S. talent rich environment in the Universe outside of LA and probably even exceeding that.

We all know UF fell behind in several areas as compared to Clemson, Bama, UGA, Ohio State and a few others.

Well, its all in place now.

"WE" - The fan base just need to exercise a little bit of patience and let CBN harvest the talent locally to get us back on top.

Sure, it's going to be bumpy a couple of years, but it's not unattainable. It's right in front of us, I believe that.

Just let coach "Saw Wood" for a couple of years and the fire will be burning bright for UF football again!

 

Well, except for Mike Shannahan, Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, and a few others who were dying to become our next HC. But we will never know...

 

You left out Stoops .............. and of course Vince Lombardi.........

 

This is, of course, the key. But one can have the greatest system in place and the soundest philosophy, but if these don't translate to wins and losses, it won't really matter.

 

Yeah those wins and losses ...

 

Every coach has a plan - all of them. And they all sound the same. From Saban to Mullen - they all had a "plan to win". The plan is no longer a secret sauce - it's right there for all to (try to!!) copy.

The difference between Saban and and the others is leadership/presence, consistency, communication skills (huge! Can you take the complex, and convey in a way that moves people), and in short, likability (I don't mean personality, I mean...can you sign top recruits).

CBN seems to be executing well on his plan so far (easier said than done), and one data point for that is recruiting. All 5 of our top true freshmen are playing/starting and playing really well. He closed on 4 of them after he joined us (going off memory). That's already better than our last 4-5 classes - which are loaded with whiffs.

If he can close this class strong....Then we'll be very relevant very soon.

 

That writer doesn’t know squat! I’d say Napier is the exact opposite, if he lays down the foundation of player development, the winning will come. New coaches are typically given a year or two, then fans want to see winning. Mullen won early, but never recruited or built a program that was sustainable. He thought he could coach his way out of a mess, but that will not work in this league. You need top talent year in and year out. In my opinion Napier is the right man for the job. HS coaches seem to love him as well as the players.

 

You forgot Paul Brown and Knute Rockne. I understand ole Knute is turning quite violently for the potential to exorcise the name "Urban" from football and Roman Catholic infamy.

I understand your lack of nuance. You are young, you will learn.

 

We were fortunate that LSU went ALL IN on Lincoln Riley. We got the HC we wanted, ranked #1, while LSU whiffed. Who knows what would have happened had we gone toe to toe with LSU over Napier?

LSU "settled" on Brian Kelly. We "won" with Billy Napier.

And over the next few years, we will beat LSU on the field and on recruiting. And not only that, beginning in 2024, we will be comprehensively relevant for a Title, and it'll stay that way.

 

If I may opine (ie, totally ignorant take), your argument is more aligned with when we hired Urban and Notre Dame and not Napier and LSU. Just because Napier was a coach in the same state does not mean he had a heart for all things Louisiana. His background is Georgia. My belief is that, while he would have seriously considered the merits of LSU, when Stricklin came in with his ideas for the future we would have come up on top.

Not that we have better fans (read these threads) but rather the folks in LA are, um, convinced that they can buy happiness. Not to be Too Hot, but the states of Illinois and Louisiana have been neck-and-neck with which one who can proclaim being THE most corrupt state in the US for quite some time. That is just the way they are wired.

I think Napier is smart enough to recognize that aspect of the state. JMHO.

 

Probably the lone concern I had with CBN was that it seemed like he had a LOT of 1-score games at ULL. Hoping he develops a roster that 1-score wins are the outlier, not the norm.

 

Mullen and Mac completely missed the boat in the off season programs as far as we have heard.

I think Muschamp started OK there but the wheels fell off pretty quickly. Didn’t help that he lost a great strength coach (when Mariotti followed Urbs to tOSU).

Seems Napier really does have the plan and executes it thus far. Starting with the off season. He said from the beginning to be patient.

 

Lincoln Riley was LSU's first choice, and Billy Napier was ours. While LSU was TRYING to land Riley, Stricklin was LANDING Coach Billy. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am close to certain that Stricklin never pursued Lincoln Riley. Granted, LSU may never have had any interest in Napier, and vice versa.

Who knows? You may be right that Napier would have chosen UF over anyone else. I am certainly not any of these coaches, but if I were, I would accept a HC job at UF long before LSU or Southern Cal, for a lot of reasons, in addition to the ones stated by you.

 

I heard from the beginning that LSU wanted a splash hire. They were not interested in Napier one bit.
So for LSU I don't think it was Riley then Napier. It could have been Riley, then Kelly, then another big name.
But I don't think Napier was on their radar.

edit: 62 just posted the exact same thing in the LSU/ Florida thread.