One thing I will say here... We should have already had a basic agreement with coaches that will replace the two that were let go. That is horrible timing... taking too long to remedy. If we already had these two defensive position coaches we could move forward with everything else, like keeping our recruits, and keeping the players already on our team in place. It seems like we fired those two defensive coaches and then decided to look for replacements instead of having a very good idea of who we would be replacing them with already in hand. Maybe Napier did and we just have to wait... but the optics are very disconcerting and painfully slow forthcoming.
Does the UAA not spend top 10 money on the football program? If you’re talking about NIL and buying players, that’s on you as much as anyone else.
Freshman that sign now can and do leave even before the season starts, that was never the case before the NIL. And one more detail... I was not taking about graduate transfers... right now a junior can transfer without sitting at all.
Serious question, what exactly has been enjoyable about watching this program the last few years? At least A&M and SC are trying, Mississippi State fired their coach, Kentucky has learned how to steam roll us, Arkansas beat us with an inexperienced coordinator, and Vandy just sucks. So we should just be content to be in the cellar with Vandy? A school half our size with less resources in a state with only 7 million people? If this really where the university wants to go with the athletics department then they should just quit and get out of the SEC and join a horrible all sports conference like the Ivy League or ACC. Looks like they already have done the first part. BTW, FSU would be more than happy to take our place.
They do that without even hitting the portal because the schools release them from their LOI. Rashada didn’t have to use his freebie to go get his bicycle in Arizona. We released him from his LOI, and he signed with them just like every other hs player. That’s not a portal issue. That’s a school being scared of the bad optics issue.
Three straight bad hires, each leaving us a little worse than the one before, leads to mediocrity for a long time. One day, someone with the decision-making power will wake up and realize we need an established winner to lead our program. But that day’s not today.
We can still be an elite academic institution and have a powerful football program. Shoot, UF has been a very good school for a long time now, didn’t stop us in the past. We’re also the flagship university in the most talent rich state in the solar system. We have way too much to offer players to not try and be competitive.
Dan Dickey and I were buds in junior high. I remember dressing down fans, at Gator Growl, calling his detractors “turkeys.” He had a formerly hostile crowd eating out of his hand.
It appears the boosters in the former Confederate states have a level of wealth our newer money boosters simply don't.
That was someone else's fault, but I get what you mean. That whole NIL deal was wrong from the beginning and Napier did the right thing and let him get out of his commitment. But some ask to be let go even if they get what they asked for. I feel like this signing is almost meaningless, becasue even if you get what you asked for some other school could approach to you and says, "hey, we never singed such and such now we have more money for you... come play for us." And just like that they seem to walk with no reason other than they're getting a better NIL after they sign. But you're right, that might just be up to the coach to let these players out of their commitment. I would like that to be taken out of the coaches hands... if that's what it takes to stop these other schools from tampering once a kid signs to play for your school.
I've always looked at this way. I think the HBC's success was his offensive genius in a league still dragging it's feat. Meyer's success was a precursor to what Saban brought to the league Those two are rare. I don't think UF can be as successful in this new reality of CF If you took a 1000 fans/alumnus/staff from each school in the SEC and asked them what was more important to them: Academics or Winning Football All the schools would be 100% Winning Football UF and Vandy would be mixed. This is just my opinion. Most of the time it sucks.
