Is Billy one of the HC’s with the most to prove this season?

Are we talking about this year or next? I can live with a 7-6 record this season. But he will be done if that’s his record in 2024. It won’t be up to me. He just will be.

 

Either year. Pick one.where’s that 7th win that’s inexcusable coming this fall.

 

I think Napier was more concerned with getting his system in place than winning the three extra games. Those 3 games are relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things. They weren’t going to add any trophies to the case. A lot of fans don’t like that, but it’s true. He’s been planning four or five years out since he stepped on campus, and he said when he came in that a lot of folks were not going to like the way he did things in the beginning.

That doesn’t mean he was sabotaging the games purposely, but he was definitely looking towards the future. He was playing a lot more of the younger guys and giving them longer leashes. Removing veterans from the team that were not fully bought in. He made a lot of decisions last year that may have hurt us last year, but may also make us better in the future. He knows what he wants to do here. If he’s given time, I believe he will be successful here. He seems to me, to be doing what he said he would do. This staff is not lacking in effort, which was the biggest shortcoming of the last staff.

 

Sure. This year the 7th win can be whatever UCF-quality team we play in the December 19th 10,000 Flushes Toilet Bowl.

Next year, he needs to beat Kentucky, UCF, Miami, Samford, Texas, aTm, and Mississippi State … without excuse. He also probably needs to find two wins out of Georgia, Tennessee, SWAC, LSU, and Ole Miss. SWAC and Ole Miss look like the most possible as things stand today.

But ask me again at the end of the season. If it’s another losing season this year, then 2024 is just pro forma.

 

You just named our entire schedule. We would have to win a game or two as underdogs.

 

You asked a question. I answered it. If you don’t like the answer, move on to another point. Or we can just agree that we both hope to see a measure of improvement this season followed by noteworthy improvement the year after. And we can disagree on what will happen if there is no improvement during the same span.

 

So implying Coach Napier doesn't really mind losing is supported by what evidence?

Here's is your guy's overall record:



Kiffin went backwards last year -- after one good year. Maybe he doesn't hate losing as much any more?

Oh but his recruiting, "like his life depended on it," put him at #28 to Billy Napier's #14 head-to-head with an average recruit rating of 92.03 for Florida to . . . wait for it . . . 89.85 for Kiffin.

In 2022 Kiffin's class was #27 . . . behind Coach Napier who just had a few weeks to recruit.

In 2021 Kiffin was at #17. Certainly not "recruiting like his life depended on it." That was his high-water mark, BTW.

I think Kiffin is a troubled attention-seeker who talks smack and then usually doesn't back it up . . . so he takes his shots when he can. Like trolling Florida yesterday. No need for it and it won't soon be forgotten.

Coach Napier is building something special before our very eyes. Some can't see it yet but it's happening.

Does he have a lot to prove this year and next? Sure. Most do.

 

2024 is shaping up to be the hardest schedule in the country. There had best be some sparks of life this season.

 

(sighs) I never said Napier really doesn’t mind losing. It was another poster who asserted that Napier might have sacrificed a few wins in favor of implementing his system for the long term. I have no idea if there is any truth to that, and it doesn’t really matter.

My comments of going out and hiring someone like Kiffin were predicated on another losing season (or two) coupled with another subpar (and it was) recruiting class. That’s a scenario none of us wants.

Finally, it’s silly to compare Ole Miss recruiting classes to ours. They don’t want to hear it, of course, but Ole Miss is a joke. If I call them a second-tier SEC team, then I’m being generous. They haven’t won an SEC Championship since before the 1964 Civil Rights Act (and one has to wonder frankly if anything in college football really “counts” before integration). For Ole Miss, their recruiting classes are great. Sadly, for Florida, our recruiting class have been below average. I don’t like that prick Kiffin. He’s not “my boy.” I wanted him to fall flat on his ass like he did at Tennessee. But I’ll give him this: he has recruited better than anyone should expect at Ole Miss, and he is doing more with less in the toughest division in college football. Do I think he would do even better at Florida than he is at Ole Miss? Of course. But what I want is the same thing I think you do: Billy Napier to succeed and turn this program around.

 

Well this is the first post I remember where you've made that very clear to all of us. Thanks!

 

Historically at least until the 2022 Defense showed up (Ooops...they never showed up )

 

Although I agree that progress is not always measured strictly by W and L's, a major part of BN's job is to attract and develop a serviceable QB. He said it himself: Its a talent acquisition business. If he has a "terrible" QB situation, that's on him. Lack of progress in the W-L column could eventually hamper his ability to recruit the type of players that make a difference in that metric (unless we suddenly have a very rich uncle pass away) and exhaust a significant portion of the goodwill of the fans.

 

Mullen had no interest in firing anybody. It was obvious to me (IMO) that Mullen had checked out. A huge payday awaited him for when he was going to get fired. Trask leaving, EJ not panning out, the D continuing it's pathetic performance, all factors that seemed to have made Mullen's choice simple.

 

Lagway better be good. There really are no other options now.

 

The portal is always an option. One can’t argue that it didn’t work out for Tennessee last year.

 

With Lagway coming next year, not many would be interested unless it was a one year deal.

 

Yeah, hard to say. Isn’t a one-year deal what Tennessee benefited from last season? I’d say that stroke of luck was the difference of a couple of wins.

 

Listen, Ohio State cos h job potentially at risk if he keeps losing to Michigan even though Day has a good record otherwise. Billy gets 2 more years minimum. However, he can’t keep losing to TN, UGA and FSU in same year. Can’t lose to all your major rivals each year and survive long term. Mullen really handed him a dumpster fire of a roster As I look back, even our highly praised S&C coach was not very good under Mullen. This is the foundational class and if we can have others just like it we will be fine.

 

Stroke of luck could happen but not something to build on. Maybe a top qb comes here for a year but it’s doubtful. There aren’t many out there.

 

25 and 26 are going to have expectations. 8 wins have to be the floor and Lagways sophomore season will start the judgements in real time.