**Buzz Buzz Buzz** - How did we get here?

I suppose the reason I believe that is how the team seemingly has rallied behind him. Based on what I saw tonight, given the improvement over the past month, I believe he can win with this group. His willingness to let DJ sling it early was a bit different so maybe he’s realized it works. I believe DJ is a generational talent and can change the trajectory of this program. I’d be willing to give CBN another year to see what he does with this receiving core and young RB’s. But, I get people wanting him gone. Just not sure starting over is the way forward. Just my $.02 and very well could be wrong.

 

Someone needs to tell Cignetti he isn't supposed to win for a couple years, he's making a lot of coaches look bad.

 

Everyone wanna give Billy a pass because he’s down to his 3rd string QB. I’m pretty sure Urban won a National Championship with a 3rd string QB in Cardale Jones.

 

You keep telling these pumpers to keep pumping.

 

Bad comparison especially pre-portal but I just don't think people realize how bad the perception is recruiting-wise and that it's not gonna get better. Assuming Stricklin is making the hire he needs to meet with DJ and family, keep them informed, and get financial commitments from the guys who matter. It's just comparable to turning around an oil tanker in the Suez Canal at this point, seemingly impossible.

 

My point is at what point do the excuses go away? I understand that we lost a few QBs along the way in Max Brown, Kitna, Simmons, Stokes and Rashada, but to depend on a PWO in Warner to be your #2 going into the game, it’s not a good look. Who’s fault is that?

 

Miami out coached the shit out of us, and also had a super stud QB. Again, that's what was so agonizingly frustrating about the Miami game. Months to prepare, and we showed up prepared, undisciplined, error prone, out of place, and with a shitty to non-existent game plane. And made our typical half time adjustments ("looking good boys! Keep at it.").

The team that showed up v Tenn, UK, and UGA prolly beats that admittedly solid Miami team--certainly a respectable showying, anyway.

 

Florida's Billy Napier nears end after Georgia loss
If this is truly a Napier quote then he needs to be gone. It should not take 3 years to believe you can win.

 

Well, time to add my "wisdom" after the UGa game. I am pleased with what the players did. THAT is what a quality program is supposed to look like. I did not believe we had what it took to win the game. But Beck isn't all that good and their running game was not very "Dawglike". And so, the dramatics. VERY entertaining, especially under the influence of alcohol. It was a shame that Lagway got hurt. It is what it is.

And now, to the rest of the story (at least the story according to me). Year 1 was supposed to be a nice honeymoon with some understandable glitches, because of the previous regime's nonsense. For some odd reason, winning winnable games did not appear to be Napier's focus. The two egregious ones, IMO, were the FSU game and the bowl game. You could argue that both were lost by the same player - AR - but then that means the rest of the team did not matter. Obviously AR did not play in the bowl game and so his blame means no one was a viable Plan B. Anyways, the end of the honeymoon came prematurely. Napier's choice.

Year 2 was supposed to have two things: Napier's better handle on the job and what is the makeup of the team and to purge more players who were not bought into his vision. We can go into all sorts of machinations as to how it transpired, I will just go to a symbolic aspect: the infamous Black-out game at home against Arkansas. Under NO circumstances did I think he could lose that game and continue as the HC. The game was like Ga Southern was for Mus-take. But we moved on.

Now to this season, Year 3 after the Year 2 debacle. Napier has sold the idea that short-term wins and losses are not as important as long-term program building. And as we all realize, his program building looks a LOT like Years 1 and 2. I won't rehash what I have already posted on this thread (#2882). But still, we have to recognize the salient point with Napier:

He CHOSE this path and decided to not short-circuit the process for a feel-good win. What the team showed against Kentucky and UGa is what we should have seen at least by the middle of Year 2. And this year, with the obvious problems of playing so many top teams, would have been mainly a less-ideal fan experience but not a deal breaker. Yes, there are "those folks" who keep asking "why can't WE get a Lincoln Riley or a Brian Kelly" but overall, we would have had a firm focus to the future and what we all want in UF football.

And now, the injury bug has hit hard. Lagway may not be back by the end of the season. Again, it is what it is. Napier CHOSE to take this path and his complete lack of urgency for whatever reasons. It appears as if this team does not have the resources to win the remaining games, except for the FSU game. They can be noble as they were against UGa, but still the losses are going to manifest. And so, Year 3 is going to be a 4- or 5-win season and no bowl game.

I am sorry his Year 3 got further complicated with the injuries. But.....again....he CHOSE this path. He effectively burned through his political capital a LONG time ago. Unless there is some kind of miracle, Year 4 is not going to manifest or the UF powers will signal that the UF brand is no longer what it was. And even with a change of HC next season, a change to what? Napier 2.0 or a "whale"? Personally, I am not up for either.

 

Is Auburn about to put Freeze on ice? The Barn is in really bad shape, he’s been a disaster hire for them. That would be 2 back to back coaches of 2yrs or less. Apparently they would only owe him around $20mil.

 

Serious question - in the NIL era does any D1 team really go 3 deep with legit SEC caliber QBs?

 

Can we have 3 scholarship QBs?

 

That is a terrible article from a writer with an agenda

 

I thought the article was pretty spot on. At some point the process has to equate to wins. I get that Hayes isn’t the biggest Napier fan, but I didn’t see anything wrong with his article.

 

In my opinion this is particularly egregious and worthy of far more discussion. Perhaps it is one of those things that will be written about extensively after he is fired.

It seems to me as if the only reason we’ve seen some of the progress that we have seen this year is because either (A) circumstances such as injury forced Napier’s hand into putting some of the best players on the field, (B) players lobbied him for changes or (C) he got desperate last night and finally got aggressive with his play calling.

These things, along with all the back breaking gaffes we’ve seen over the past three seasons isn’t what great coaches (or even really good coaches) do.

 

In my opinion this is a nothingburger. Players talked to their coach?

 

Napier always has said you have to adapt and I think he gets that. The issue is he takes way too long to adapt. The above should’ve been a year 1 thing, not a year 3 thing. Look at how quickly Cignetti turned the culture around at Indiana. It took him 1 off-season.

 

The coach is supposed to be WAY ahead of his players in strategy, evaluation and play calling, that’s what we pay him millions of dollars for. Meeting with the coach to clear the air or voice concerns out one thing, when they have to tell him how to run the team it’s another thing alltogether.

 

well that wasn’t an answer

but guaranteed a 3rd scholarship QB would be a 2* kid who likely wouldn’t fare any better given the reps a 3rd string gets.

 

We would’ve had Simmons if we paid him enough. He would’ve been perfect.