Looking Ahead To The 2024 Season & Beyond - Thoughts?

A 2 loss season sounds like Christmas comes early to me. We're not even close to that currently.

 

We need to be the poachers instead of the poachees. I wouldn't mind getting a couple of top notch DE and OL. Preferably from some of the good teams we play next year.

 

I wasn't wrong, Kevin Steele is/was a veteran DC, who had been a DC at Bama. He wasn't a 30 yr old newbie (no offense to anybody).

I guess we just disagree. I don't think we r achieving anywhere near Dabo's first 2 seasons and think the game as moved on from his model anyway. The portal and NIL has changed everything. Even Dabo needs to adjust to the current landscape.

 

I have some hope for us but don't guage the progress by that FSU game. I described that game and the Utah game back then as 2 very bad teams seeing who could outlast each other. I predict FSU gets the last playoff spot and is destroyed by 40 points minimum by Georgia or Michigan.

 

Agree, but sadly some would start calling him Mark Richt after about year 5 and not seriously contending for a title, imagine going 7 seasons like Dabo did.

 

FSU is going to lose 14 starters

 

I sat down and looked at next year's schedule. Based on today's team (which should comprise the majority of next year's team as well) and today's coaches, we got nothing for 2024.

If BN gets an OC and that's as of this writing a big "If", will he be a "yes man" or a young Steve Spurrier. Going with the former we will be lucky to duplicate this year's abysmal record in 2024.

 

Worth a read.

Five Thoughts: Staff shake-up – Inside The Gator

 

I agree that we should have a full-time Safeties coach.

 

It already has in some quarters.

 

After year two, I am now even more solid that BN wasn't ready to coach in the SEC. Unfortunately, this article leads me to believe BN isn't up to the task off the field either. We all know he is getting his third year, but there needs to be some hires in the off-season that make sense. Nothing in that article made BN look like an SEC caliber coach operating at a high-level.

 

I don't disagree and there isn't a lot of coaches out there that have started this poorly and turned it around. I personally think he will be the coach starting the 2025 season. I think he can somewhat survive a .500 season next year as long as recruiting holds steady. His buyout structure tells me that is what the administration is willing to tolerate. After the money they've put behind him I don't see the boosters shelling out for his buyout too soon. I think SS goes with him if it fails.

 

I hope I'm wrong, but with that incredibly daunting schedule next year it could be "dead man walking" for CBN. Some rabbits have to come out of the hat. Fingers crossed.

 

That also depends on some very fundamental questions, such as why does UF field sports teams in the first place? Entertainment? To provide scholarship opportunities for athletes to attend college? To compete at the highest level for championships? or?

 

That is more what the admin is picturing our situation is IMHO. A mess takes time to correct.

How much time depends upon what Sticklin and the admin are thinking.

I think that the heavy hitters and the admin are behind Stricklin at this point.

How long that continues is anyone's guess. I think 5 years is probably the end of the string but we shall see.

I do not think many heavy hitters want to dole out a ton of money so we will ride for a few years and hope that the plan takes shape and leads to a strong program.

Recruiting is the key IMHO. The better the recruting classes the more rope Napier will have.

 

Stricklin will NOT get another bite of the apple in terms of hiring another coach...his fate is probably more aligned with the BB team making the NCAA. There is no way there will ever be a vacancy at the AD and HBC at the same time.

 

I know this is off-season for us and that kind of blows. But this has all been discussed ad nauseum. It is what it is and recruiting has GOT to be the priority. Losing defensive linemen stinks but if we target quality transfers then all is well...for now. Obviously that also means doing WAY better in getting O-line talent. I do not know what will be the final WR class, transfer or HS. Lagway should get some younger players interested. Seaton would be EXCELLENT. We shall see. But we need some experienced beef for next year.

Now, to what I think the OP wants, even though it has already been discussed before. Napier is plainly behind schedule. His transfers have been alright but Norvell has cleaned his clock in that arena. It may be his demand to get young guys trained his way for 3-5 years instead, but still his political capital is effectively gone. He is now on his own. It would be great if Mertz plays the "Leak" role and Lagway the "Tebow" role, but all this has to be proviso'd with the knowledge that all the coaching turnover is going to have to mesh in a hurry. That is NOT a good thing. All we can hope for is that Napier learned a lot about coaching acumen and communication. Otherwise, he is in a real mess of his own doing.

I won't play the game-by-game game with our schedule. I will only say that, if he does not show real improvement playing UGa and FSU and gets to only 6-6, he probably won't see 2025. He may IF the first thing is to fire Stricklin in late 2024 with early 2025 being his audition with the new AD. Then he gets...?

It stinks but it IS real.

 

I have no inside info but I think we lose one of our tight ends. We didn't utilize them nearly enough.