Article: No, Florida won’t fire Billy Napier in 2023. Yes, the pressure is mounting quickly.

Excellent choice to bring the word 'lame' into the discussion. It perfectly describes that sad excuse provided for pretending Norvell's first season did not happen. Like it or not, it counts and is on his record. By the way, 10 and 3 in the ACC is not impressive though you seem to be impressed with it.

 

I’ve said many times that I think we are now where FSU was a couple of years ago. And look at them now. I think we may have one more worse year next year because of the brutal schedule but if Napier keeps recruiting likes he is and finally gives in and gets a dedicated offensive coordinator. I think the future could be very bright indeed.

 

This is a new day and age. We have the portal, NIL, facilities, analytics, etc, etc.. All kinds of stuff that wasn't in the coaches thought process back then. It's almost more important, as a head coach, to manage those aspects of the game than anything else. Kirby, Saban, Dabo, etc all became very proficient at hiring OC's.
CBN seems like a bright guy, and i'm pretty sure he hasn't 'failed' yet at anything. This offseason, there will be very simple solutions to the 'coaching' aspects of our team if (most probably) he hires a good OC and takes are of the special teams.

CBN is not Mullen, he will go out of the box to make changes if necessary. Mullen was married to his cronies, the biggest one was TG. CBN hired one of Mullen's guys (Billy G) and (IMO) quickly made a change in DC.. CBN seems flexible and thoughtful, and I truly believe he will do what's best for the team.
No matter how you or some of the others want to depict our current situation, it's totally premature to come to some of the negative conclusions that are being spouted on this board. I don't understand what people don't get about a total rebuild. Success or failure will be obvious down the road in a few years.

 

Not if the minimum is only eight games, it doesn’t. Spurrier never won fewer than 9 in his entire twelve years. Meyer’s worst season here saw 8 wins. Zook won 8 twice and was fired for winning 7.

Does anyone really think it would be okay for him to win only 7 games in his third year? That’s acceptable now?

 

Hyperbole...so, yes.

 

Is she wrong?

 

We trade Vandy, South Carolina, and Missouri for @Miss State, Texas A&M, and @Texas next year. When’s the last time we didn’t play Vandy?

(What happened to the SEC East?)

And, let’s say Utah for Miami.

Then, there’s McNeese State/Charlotte for UCF (who’s no pushover).

We could go 1-11 next year.

They say assistant coaches are either good coaches or good recruiters.

I think we have a group of good recruiters.

After early signing day, maybe we’ll have some assistant coaches hitting the road and Napier getting some assistants who know how to coach.

Who knows?

 

I’m pretty sure that he failed to beat Arkansas Saturday. A team that had lost six straight, that hadn’t won an SEC game this year and a game called by a first-time OC. Not because his team didn’t play well enough or because they didn’t play hard enough, because they did. They lost in large part because he failed to put them in the best position to win, quite the opposite at times, as he has done a number of times this year.

 

I can't help you. You are just going to have to suffer through this year and next. Unfortunate you can't see the big picture. In the end he may fail, or he may get us contending again. I choose to "try" and enjoy the season, even though it's difficult. A lot of miserable people on these boards.

We've been caught in a 14 year cycle of poor performance, time to try something new and actually support a coach for more than a year or two and give him a chance to fix this mess.

 

I’ll bring it up, FSU’s schedule helps prop up Norvel. Look at the tomato cans they have faced this year. Now Clemson seems to have joined the tomato can party. On top of the schedule it helps when you have a 6th year QB at the helm. It took him what 5 years to figure it out. Most QBs only get 4 years to figure it out….

 

In terms of raw talent, the Florida Gators are #15 in the country, in what Billy Napier calls a talent acquisition business. Apparently talent is not enough to win games. Billy Napier and his staff need to figure out how to convert superior talent into wins, because they are running out of excuses.

Talent Profiles of UF Opponents this season (UF Talent Profile Rank - 15th)

• Utah - 33rd (L)
• McNeese State - 200th (W)
• Tennessee - 16th (W)
• Charlotte - 80th (W)
• Kentucky - 31st (L)
• Vanderbilt - 58th (W)
• South Carolina - 22nd (W)
• Georgia - 2nd (L)
• Arkansas - 32nd (L)

Future opponents

• LSU - 7th
• Missouri - 25th
• FSU - 20th

I like Napier and I want him to succeed, but he is running out of excuses. His staff of 75 needs to run some analysis and explain how less talented teams keep beating Florida. I understand that the talent profile does not account for injuries, lack of experience, and bad fits, but Napier needs to figure something out to make the 15th most talented roster look like a top 20 team.

 

We could also go 11-1, one seems as hyperbolic as the other, but in the crazy world of college football I suppose anything is possible.
I think most fans (not to be confused with reasonable folks) would peg the number between 4 and 8. If it’s 4… or worse, Napier is in trouble, if it’s 8… or more, the heat will dissipate at least some. Anywhere in between is anyone’s guess.
The schedule does appear daunting, but not as daunting as when it was first announced.
Miami is definitely underperforming, so is UCF and both of those are home games. Georgia is Georgia and until we prove otherwise a loss, FSU is at their place… the question is can they continue to be as effective in the portal as they were this year.
LSU, Kentucky, Ole Miss look to be all tough games , but they all are at our place. Teas A&M is as big an enigma as anyone in the country in that they are not performing anywhere close to what their recruiting says they should. They also come to Florida.
Both UT’s (Texas and Tennessee) will be tough games and both are at their place.
What does all that tell us… since no one here appears to be prescient, (at least that I’ve noticed) nothing, because there are too many variables to be confident one or the other… in your own wise words “who knows”.
We’ll all find out together, negative nellies and sunshine pumpers alike.
Here is to the finding out, hopefully we all remain Gator Fans during the trip, because to paraphrase a famous saw “If you love the Gators you always will… or you never did.”

 

Not all schedules are created equal, however. A 10-win caliber team could win 8 games because they happen to have played an ungodly difficult schedule.

As an example, look at Zook's 2003 team. Can you tell me which teams he lost to that he should have beaten. The Gators played seven teams with 10+ wins, plus 9-win Arkansas.

So you live in the SOS-era past, where 9 wins is the minimum standard? Wake up. For the past 14, we're a middle of the pack P5 program. Do you think Nebraska and Miami are demanding championships or bust, firing the coach after 3-4 years if they don't match or exceed the Sacred SOS standard by Year Three?

 

Who evaluated our talent at 15th?

 

247 Sports.

 

The "funk" we have been in for the last 10 or so years is getting old. It seems we are the only ones struggling with internal issues? What is going on behind the scene that we aren't aware of?

 

When the going gets tough, the crazies get going. Twas ever thus.