When I see some BN detractor/lurking hater trot out those verkakte class ranking comparisons, I know I'm dealing with a BS agenda - for the exact reasons you spelled out. The "Billy can't recruit crowd" needs some new material. Badly.
I'm not so sure Mullen realizes His negative contributions to the Gator program. The context of his remarks appears to be facilities only. Everyone remembers Smart took issue with his ignorant comment about recruiting, and I doubt he still understands that was a contributing factor to his downfall! And recruiting is a major fix to the Florida Gators. No doubt, the transfer portal could be as important as the recruiting.
Except I also have perspective. I find it too easy to simply blame Mullen (and Grantham of course) than recognize the myriad factors that contributed to our demise...
I agree, but that happened to other coaches as well. Zook had to replace 12 starters in 2002. Look at the Lost starters in 2013 and when Mullen took over. As for floor sweeping, let's see how many of those are left.
For the record, I was always supportive of Billy, so I can rest assured I'm not included here. But blaming Mullen for Billy's problems is lame. There are many reasons why Billy is struggling, and this year, the potential SOS may be monstrous. How many "clueless" folks here demand seven wins or he's gone?
I agree the Gators were a "major train wreck!" For around 15 years the offense suffered in recruiting--beginning with Muschamp right through Mullen. BN did not have a world beater reputation, but he has recruited remarkably well! And, yes, the expectations of resurrecting this program in two or three years has been unreasonable lunacy! BN would have had a top three recruiting finish if it had not been for NIL bidding wars. I am sure BN's record was used against him, although Miami hasn't suffered in recruiting due to a lousy record. I'll go so far as to say that part of fixing Florida is the negativity by some fans!!!
Mullen is right on this one. And for those who don't remember, I was banned from her about 15 years ago for criticizing JF ( a man I respect and admire) and all but predicting this day would come. Classic Hubris. There is a life lesson in this for everyone. NEVER take anything for granted.
What factors, other than the laundry list of chronic blunders and persistent deficiencies preceding Mullen's turn as HC - that have already been posted by me and others, are you referring to? Example: "Any reasonably observant fan probably understands that we cratered in '21 due to a long-standing history of bad hires, subpar facilities, chronically slipshod recruiting and a HC who thought himself incapable of being wrong about much of anything." (Taken from my post #47 above). To be excruciatingly fair, I could have also thrown a jab at the glaring lack of foresight and commitment to the FB program on the part of the AD's office - for well over a decade. Touche. Now to your post, I haven't said, nor have I heard anyone else say that the DM fiasco occurred in a vacuum - or that he was solely responsible for the collapse of the program he led. But the conclusion implied in your post seems to be that the "loyalists" don't want to criticize BN or hold him responsible for his very spotty performance to date. Or, that we may be too lazy or dumb to dig into things more deeply. Or, even more incredibly, that DM isn't to blame for his inaction re TG - or his failure to perform his duties as a recruiter and as a program leader at a championship level. But FTR, lame or not, my primary point remains that if I ever need any more self-serving crap out of DM, I'll just squeeze his head.
If the expectations had been championships or being competitive with Georgia, Alabama et al, then, of course, you would be right. But the expectations have been for winning seasons and not getting embarrassed by Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Oregon State et al. And those expectations are neither lunacy, unrealistic, nor unreasonable. The excuses for Napier not meeting these expectations are surreal. But the good news is, one way or another, we’re not going to suffer a third season of excuses standing in for a winning season.
We will just have to agree to disagree. Anyway, this post is about fixing Florida. The interview with DM kicked this off by saying that Florida fans had no idea, but the Gators have been behind for years. Subsequently, the fix is going to take some time. He suggested that it will take four or five year. I just don't believe that is an unreasonable expectation!
It might take four or five years, yes. But Napier does not have four or five years to earn a winning season. He has approximately one.
If you’re holding Billy Napier “responsible” for a 10+ year slide into mediocrity then you’re more clueless than I thought. More likely you’re just an obnoxious incessant whiner
Is it okay with you to hold him responsible for the bizarre decision to not have a special teams coach, for this odd insistence on having two OL coaches, for having two players on the field with the same number, etc.? Or do we lay those things at Mullen’s feet as well?
Every coach makes their share of mistakes. I am not excusing Napier for the items you listed. He made those mistakes. When there are two losing season in a row, those mistakes become very obvious. If the Gators were undefeated for the past two season those mistake would be overlooked. At the end of the 2021 season, we all knew that Mullen left Napier had a multi season rebuilding project. We also knew that there would be more than just a few bumps in the road. Now as we enter the 2024 season, everyone should be expecting realistic results and not excuses. If the results are positive, then the the use of two o-line coaches and the absence of a Special Teams coach will minimal and probably not a subject of conversation. If the results are negative, then Napier's position will be more than just sitting on a hotseat.
No insider information. I just have the average man’s ability to read a room. The grace for Napier’s “process” is over. He burned it himself with performance that was his fault, not Mullen’s. The time to show results is now. There won’t be a Season 4 without seven wins in Season 3. That’s my prediction.
Showing competency in all aspects would go a long way. Continuing to look disorganized would just feed the fires.
Fantastic, another thread about all the hills BN has to climb to work, both ways, in tornadic blizzards. Anyone with any common sense knows Mullen left the program in bad shape, hence why I have no inclination to hear Mullen's thoughts on the matter. It should be equally common sense that the program has not shown much progress to date. Was UF behind in facilities? Of course it was, but that was before Napier. Napier has objectively had the most resources of any UF coach ever in terms of facilities, amenities (new housing), and support staff. The ROI has been 11-14. Thus far, BN has done less with more than any coach in the past 70 years, but again he is digging out of a hole and we all know it. Why is it unreasonable to want the freaking hole to stop getting deeper, or (clutches pearls) start getting shallower?
