Orlando Sentinel: UF AD Scott Stricklin Insists Billy Napier Is Not On Hot Seat

Their jobs are tied together, so of course SS will give him the "vote of confidence" in the off season. He is not going to say anything different out loud.

 

Uh oh. The “vote of confidence” speech is usually a clear indicator of one thing.

https://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/news/foley-1000-percent-convinced-muschamp-is-the-guy-to-lead-gators

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Probably the right thing to do given the schedule next year. I don't think I've ever seen a more brutal schedule by any team.

 

Good to hear. Thanks ET

 

Poor reporting in this article. If you say that someone hasn't made certain hires without adding that reportedly he has made attempts to hire people for those positions, it's not just incomplete reporting, it borders on inaccuracy.

 

I would say, historically, that an athletic director coming out and saying the head coach is not on the hot seat is the first public acknowledgment that there is serious noise in the system. Ironically, Stricklin just confirmed that Napier on the hot seat. The only real question is the heat tolerance on that seat and who has or will have the power to make that call.

 

First I’m hearing of that. What OCs or ST coaches has he tried to hire? And which of the OL coaches has he let go to make room on the staff?

 

It's a stupid article; no AD is ever going to say a coach is on the hot seat. EVER.

 

All anyone has to do is read threads on this forum to get that. That's no big deal.

What do you expect him to do or say when a reporter asks him questions about that?

We have a brutal schedule in '24, and Napier will be coaching our team all season-book it. The complainers need to stifle at this point. It's inappropriate.

 

In unrelated news, when most married people are asked in front of their spouse if they love them, they say yes.

while I don’t believe CBN is on the precipice of being fired, what do you expect the AD to say.

 

I seem to remember right up until a day or maybe it was too, before the game in Jacksonville., Stricklin and radio jocks that have inside scoop saying McElwain was not going to fired.

 

Couple things:

I didn’t start the thread.

Coach Napier is on the hot seat.

Only Napier can rescue Napier.

I truly hope that he does.

 

Coach Napier is only on the hot seat with the chronic complainers on this board. Not with the people that matter.

 

I'll bite. Some of the people who are usually on the same page as me in support of Napier may disagree with me on this one but I think it's easy to say he is not on the hot seat now but that could very easily change.

As most have said record alone doesn't mean much but if we have the same issues again this year as we did last year then even playing an NFL schedule isn't going to get him a free pass because of the fallout that would accompany said performance.

The supportive (but comcerned) fans can't have it both ways. We can't argue that we were a few plays a way from a winning record last year even with a historically bad defense and several game management and special teams mistakes and then put up a losing record again this year with a veteran QB and potential talent infusion. Either we improve or we don't and I don't really think strength of Schedule is the deciding factor. We had a tough schedule this year and yet still should have beaten Missouri and could have beaten Utah and fsu with just some discipline and a few less mistakes.

The fallout from a 3rd year stuck in neutral would be too much to navigate recruiting going forward in my opinion.

Let's hope that's a moot point. The optimist in me thinks the added defensive coaches will shore up the defense and the offense will only get better with what we have returning barring injuries.

 

I have generally defended Napier but was kind of worried that it would get to this point. Now it has. It is really hard to overcome it as a head coach here when the winds blow against you.

Napier was brought in as a system and process coach, a guy with a plan, to do things the right way. In some ways he has - he got out the gates very strong with recruiting. However it’s difficult to succeed at Florida by recruiting alone, because to keep getting recruiting success, you have to have success on the field. I worried much of the year that the recruiting class could fall apart, and to a degree it did.

Two years in he is clearly still learning the job. While on the one hand it is good to see he is willing to adapt, unlike his predecessor, it also feeds the perception that he didn’t get things right the first time around and is learning real time. While this is not fair, I always looked at AA on the sideline, at 30’years old, and wondered is he really the best guy for the job? Is he a guy that recruits look at and see as a guy the want to play for? Now they are bringing in a guy as a kind of mentor for him and have overturned much of the staff in two years.

I do think Napier is adapting, getting some decent talent in the portal and filling holes, while at the same time numerous starters leaving. Is it enough? Time will tell.

Next year’s ridiculously difficult schedule really makes it hard for him. It is not out of the realm of possibility that we win only 2 or 3 games, and I’d be shocked if we win 5 or more. Can he survive with another losing season?

I’m tired of rolling coaches every 4 years, but truthfully, and I wouldn’t have said this a couple of years ago, if we could get Lane Kiffin I’d take him in a heart beat.

 

It's just false to say that "many" want to read that CBN is on the hot seat. In fact, just the opposite: it's much closer to the truth to say that NOBODY on this board wants CBN to be on the hot seat.

Just post the article, offer to help those who have trouble opening it, and call it a day.

 

Why even bother to speculate about this now?

 

Lame kitten will not ever be a coach at UF. No way our admin or BOT would ever approve that for the same reason that Lame had no chance to be the head coach at Alabama.

I have no comment on the rest of your post.

 

We both want Napier to succeed. This is not yet, say, the 2014 scenario where most of us knew Muschamp was going to get canned, the fourth season he got was a waste, and we just wanted the decision makers to speed up the inevitable.

But the “people that matter” have observed two straight losing seasons, neither of which should have been losing seasons. They have also observed the same jaw-dropping lack of progress in areas such as special teams. The complainers, about whom you are complaining, have just complaints. If there is not significant improvement in the areas Napier is being paid very good money to improve, then the hue and cry will become too great for the “people that matter” to ignore. A fourth season is not guaranteed and it is not inevitable. Napier has to earn it.