So I was all set to post a thread about whether Napier would get a contract extension after this season. My thinking was because after 2 seasons every middling coach we have had got a new contract extension. Ron Zook signed an initial 5-year contract and after 2 seasons he signed a 2-year extension. Will Muschamp signed an initial 5-year contract and after 2 seasons the Athletic Association picked up a 1-year option from his deal. Jim McElwain signed an initial 6-year contract and after 2 seasons he signed a 2-year extension. I do all this research and then see that Napier signed an initial 7-year contract. How in the heck did that happen and why? Muschamp was the coach-in-waiting at Texas and we only gave him a 5-year deal. Napier was at Louisiana and we had to sweeten the pot that much?
The administration is not interested in replacing a coach after another 3/4 years. The intent was to allow for an overhaul that they expect to take time. Regardless of what you or I think, he will be here for another couple seasons.
Because the AD and the UAA fully realized the complete program rebuild that was necessary and that results could not be reasonably expected immediately. This shows the dedication to the process and the significant challenge Coach inherited.
1-2 years to completely destroy it down to the foundations. 5 more years to rebuild it right back to where it originally was in year 0. Equals 7 years. Makes sense.
I'd wait until he earns it. The only reason to give him an extension at this point is to signal to recruits that he's here for the long haul. He still might be, but why take that risk until we know he's our guy. Good news is I think Napier's floor is pretty high in that even if he isn't our guy, he'll have set up the next guy for a far easier situation than Napier himself walked into. If it comes to that though, and we happen to hire a schemer more than a CEO... for God's sakes hire someone who runs a spread with a little tempo (just not so slow) or a defensive guy with an aggressive mentality that doesn't overcomplicate the defensive scheme. It's just astonishing to me that only one of our head coaches has had that mentality offensively since Meyer.
Stricklin got tired of repeating the cycle of 4-year contracts with extensions for winning 9-10 games. I like the idea, but it will be tough for impatient Gator fans to get used to the idea of keeping Napier for 4 years irrespective of winning record, because this administration is not going to fire Napier at $30M+ for a buyout and convince investors to pay $60M for the next guy. Florida and most top programs have about $20M profit to play with, each with different risk levels for financing investments greater than $10M-$30M. All that to say, Napier is not getting fired until 2026 or so when the buyout is below $30M—assuming there are viable replacements in the $60M range.
Contract extensions are usually given out on the silly notion that recruits need to see the coach will be around. Come on, most recruits are already thinking about where they are going after 1 year.
Plus he still has 5 years left on his contract after this year. No reason to commit more. Especially when the results are less than stellar so far.
The more I think about this, if every coach who signs an initial 5-year contract soon gets a 2+ year extension, it's really no different than starting with a 7-year contract. If anything, locking in Napier's 2027 and 2028 salaries at 2022 pricing and not giving him the raise you would give him if you gave him a quicker extension after a shorter initial contract could end up saving money.
Stupid is as stupid does. Who were we competing against to get him in here as coach.....exactly nobody.
The difference is the 85% buyout instead of a fixed value. Here is what it would cost to fire Billy Napier: 2023: Billy Napier’s buyout would be $31.9M (85% of $37.5M) 2024: Billy Napier’s buyout would be $25.7M (85% of $30.2M) 2025: Billy Napier’s buyout would be $19.4M (85% of $22.8M) 2026: Billy Napier’s buyout would be $13.0M (85% of $15.3M) 2027: Billy Napier’s buyout would be $6.6M (85% of 7.7M) Here is a list of buyouts for the last few coaches: Jim McElwain $7.5M (negotiated down from $12.9M) Dan Mullen $12.0M Will Muschamp $6.3M Ron Zook $1.8M Gus Malzahn I believe was paid the largest buyout at $20M. What would Florida pay?
Not that I'm advocating it, but why would the buyout not drop below $30M until 2026? Reports say his buyout after this season is $31M....wouldn't that logically drop by about $7M per year?
Geez, that's painful to look at. The analogy here is going to get a replacement part for your car and settling for a cheap knockoff. It doesn't work and you go and buy another cheap knockoff. Repeat that four times....by the time you decide you should have bought the real thing, you have already spent all your money on the cheap knockoffs that didn't work.
The large salaries and guaranteed 4 year deals probably has played a huge role in the problems with big time football and expenditures. I get the need for 4 year deals, but besides a hand full of coaches most haven't truly earned them.
To make matters worse it establishes a precedent. $51M (2021 dollars) for a nice guy whose head coaching experience is in the Sun Belt Conference. What will the next coach cost in 2026 or later? $100M over 7-10 years?
An outrageous amount of money for a dude who doesn’t know how to use timeouts, can’t keep multiple players off the field with the same number and fields a .500 football team. No doubt we are stuck with him, but it really galls me to reward substandard performance with generational wealth. Let’s talk about the other big problem, what’s Scott Stricklin’s buyout if he were fired…say today?
I have a simple question for all of you geniuses who want to buy him out. Who do you think would want to come and replace him in the middle of the biggest rebuild in program and conference history? No school in the conference has ever been trashed by a head coach as big as Mullen trashed us. 0-10-1 was my freshman year and even Doug Dickey left many All-SEC and All Americans for Pell. I’ve got news for you guys. There ain’t no line outside the door of great coaches fighting to get in.
