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

I’m not sure we could figure out how to fund your airfare and game tickets. Ask that guy for some money

 

If that is the case then we are generally a losing program because we have only won 3 NC championships in 117 years (3%). We have 8 SEC Championships in 91 years (a whopping 9% of the time). Harbaugh went 4-8 and 5-7 his first two years at Stanford. That is 9-16(36%). Napier is 11-14 (44%) in his first two years at Florida. According to you, we would have had Harbaugh on the hot seat and would have branded him a poor coach. That is ridiculous.

Things got better when the talent got better coupled with the patience of the fan base at Stanford. One of my best friends who is running for US Congress is a graduate of Stanford. They don't have the same sense of desperation that fans at Florida have.

 

Since 2010, we have had 5 coaches who have coached more than 4 games, and 7 who have coached at least 1 game. Georgia has had 2 and has won 2 NC and was on the brink of winning a 3rd. We have not even challenged for an NC in that same period.

Many of those years were underperforming years for Richt. He lost 4 or more games 1/3 (5 out of the 15) of the time that he was head coach at UGA. You cannot convince top talent and their parents to commit to a program year in and year out when year in and year out you have wagons being circled to get rid of the coaching staff. Somehow Richt would steal player after player after player from our musical chair coaches despite a lackluster outcome (ZERO NCS and one SEC Championship in 15 years). That is stability. That is what paved the way for Smart's success. Families knowing that the coach is not going to be character assassinated week in and week out By people who know NOTHING ABOUT FOOTBALL and wanting their athlete son to be a part of that family. Your pathology in an inability to connect the dots is epic.

All we got was a quick fix, 50 arrests, and a murderer with Meyer along with the two NCs, that did not foster stability. In fact, it hurt us more than it helped us.

 

I have not called for Napier’s firing. I have said repeatedly he deserves this third season to show improvement. I challenge your assertion that he should have any guarantees beyond that absent demonstrated improvement. And I challenge your assertion that stability, even if it’s stability where losses exceeds wins, is somehow a virtue. You can complain about those righteously dissatisfied with the current trajectory of the program all you want. You can blame them for a third underwhelming recruiting class under Napier if you want. They are not just going to shut up if the current trend continues. Napier will be gone if he does not pull off seven wins now with what he has. If he does lead us to a winning season, then he’ll get the grace to build on success. Whine about those circumstances if you like. The heat Stricklin took in that ill-advised “Ask the AD!” segment on X told me all I need to about how much juice he’s got left in him if Napier fails (for the third consecutive time) to perform to minimum standards and Stricklin fails to act.

 

Five coaches have coached 4 or more games for us since 2010. That's an average of 2.6 years. That's musical chairs. How much success have we had?

For a stretch, our offense was in the bottom five in college football. That is under your musical chair strategy.

Why was it like that, because people like me were calling for Zook's head game in and game out (however not after 2 years). Spurrier 12 years and Meyer 6 years- the only two coaches who have won NC Championships. Does that sound like musical chairs to you? No, it sounds like stability. Stability that was made possible by great recruiting. Great recruiting was made possible by the support of the coach and program. Until Gator fans learn this formula, our programs are doomed to mediocrity. Look at what Golden has done. Even though Mike White did not win (I was his worst critic), he provided stability to get great portal players, and now Golden is getting quality personnel and is a better coach with a better staff.

 

It is all relative. Stanford plays in a weaker conference so their expectations for success with any coach must take into consideration the fact that back then, the PAC 10 did not have the level of competition that the SEC does.

So they beat USC, perhaps USC shouldn't have been #1 when they did. That means nothing and is at best an aberration. Look at the recruiting class that Napier had until people like you started bashing him publicly which undoubtedly was cannon fodder for negative recruiting of several of the top players we lost.

Florida plays in a semi-pro conference. Some of the best coaches in the game coach in the conference.

There are 7 SEVEN SEC schools that have higher recruiting classes than we do and we are 15. The other 2 top state schools also out-recruited us this year. And you know the ONLY thing they all have in common, is they don't have a fan base bashing their coaches the way we do.

Let's stop this implosion-styled approach to discussing Florida Football and Basketball. We went from 3 to 15 not because we lost games- Miami lost games. Oklahoma lost games. Auburn lost games. Tennessee lost games. We went from 3 to 15 because most of you had Napier's neck on a guillotine and those schools capitalized on our negative self-perception.

I am sure Napier wasn't convincing them that we were going to beat Georgia, LSU, FSU or Kentucky, but what he probably was telling them was that with them, and with the strong fan support behind him, next year we can make some positive strides. I am sure we will, but because of the negativity that permeates this forum, Napier's job has become a lot more difficult. THANKS A LOT.

 

He gets paid an insane amount of money to do a difficult job. That includes expecting noise when you’ve had two losing seasons in a row, we’re seeing no improvements in basic fundamentals, no improvements in player discipline, no improvements in playcalling, regression on special teams, and frankly — no matter how you want to spin, minimize, or excuse it — no improvement in recruiting. And you are delusional if you think the recruiting class dropped from 3 to 15 because of noisy, impatient, ungrateful fans. It dropped from 3 to 15 for the same reason those fans got noisy, impatient, and ungrateful: because of too many men on the field (or too few), because of two players on the field with the same number, because of going for it on fourth down in your own territory in the 2nd quarter, because of — and this is important! — five straight losses to end the season, including 2-6 (0-6) Arkansas at home. I’m going to say that again: 2-6 (0-6) Arkansas at home. Arkansas didn’t beat any other SEC (or FBS, I think) team last season. Sure, other teams came in with NIL money, but you are lying to yourself if you don’t think it was an even bigger motivator to go somewhere with coaches that look like they know what they’re doing.

Unlike Willie Taggart, Napier is fairly getting his third season. You want to scream at someone? Scream at him to go out there and earn it.

 

This fanbase has unreasonable and currently unattainable expectations. We are in the toughest and most competitive league in sports. The cupboard was bare when Napier got here. It is unreasonable to think that he would in this conference be able to turn it around in two years- ESPECIALLY when a coach is condemned for every mistake and every poor judgment call. Why would talent- transfer or HS- commit to a program en masse (yes we will get some but not a uhaul shipment) when we as fans are not being positive about the program ourselves?


What is worse, when players commit to a school and become cognizant of the criticisms of coaches and players, they play tighter and with a sense of apprehension. “I wonder if this is the play that they are going to destroy me in Gatorcounty on” instead of “this is the play that will be on ESPN’s top 10. We are dealing with young and impressionable men. When you have a bevy of top talent year in and year out, the older players can coach up the younger players. When the older players are being destroyed in forums, why would the younger players look up to them?


Unfortunately, we are being EASILY negatively recruited because people are calling for Napier’s head if we have only 7 wins or less. It is the instability that got us into this mess and only stability will get us out.



Where is TAMU in the recruiting rankings now that Jimbo is their victim of musical chairs? They have the 12th ranked class in the SEC and 22nd overall. They were number 1 in the SEC and overall in 2022, and number 5 and 13 in 2023. This is with a gun slinger coach with an NC championship on his gun belt. I am sure the TAMU fans were screaming for his head also. His recruiting plummeted, and he had NO VALUE to the university anymore.


The reality is hoping for a home run hitter even when you get an elite coach is NO GUARANTEE.

 

Our fans like you have wanted Billy gone after year one . He has earned his money. You can revisit insanity all you want but if you and you’re legion of kooks wanna run him out of town you take stupidity to a new level .
This schedule is brutal next year. Saban or Kirby couldn’t win 7 games next year. Napier must have 4 years.
You guys piss me off !

 

Disagree. I think that they could. Moreover, I think Napier can, too. And in fact he’ll have to. Because despite what you hope or wish, Napier is not going to get a third consecutive consequence-free losing season. Not happening. He has to win now, and I hope he does.

 

We have had a lot of ugly losses under Napier many of which could have been avoided with a little more talent and depth. Were there fundabmental blunders? Yes. Once again, one would expect them to dissipate with deeper talent and more depth and staff adjustments.

So the quetion is not whether Napier performed poorly with substandard SEC talent, the question is what can he do when he gets SEC talent accross every position? That can only be answered with recruiting, and recruiting is not based on wins and losses (look at Auburn and Tennessee who both out recrutied us despite dismal seasons). If you call the NIL factor a wash for all programs in that they can match whatever the other scholl offers, and you minimize academics (otherwise we would have the edge), then the perception of the climate of the school as it relates to its attitude toward the program HAS to be paramount.

 

I hear ya but please understand that he has gathered what looks like an SEC roster . If Billy is let go these players are gone , essentially the young talent will be depleted. Netween you and I who could Florida really get ??? So you know where I’m coming from . I realize we might win 5/6.
With a little smarter play ( and yees it’s on Billy) we could’ve won at Mizzou, home Arky, and home FSU .

Sorry I came across hard . Strong whiskey in play after bad golf

 

That’s like saying, “unethical Nole.” Is there some other form?

 

Hey, doctoral dissertations are MY purview. No upstarts!

Okay, I can share the position, as long as I keep the "keeper of the smarmy" position all to myself. BTW, good post.

 

Nothing wrong with your take, except for 1) what was Michigan before Harbaugh came in to get it back to where it belonged, 2) what was his pedigree, both at Stanford and with the 49rs and so he "gets it" and finally 3) he WAS their savior/favored son. And he was "all-in", whether he had it all together or not. And now that he has FINALLY gotten Michigan to "the promised land", he has abandoned them (albeit in a better place than when he arrived).

So, this would be okay with you if, say Kerwin, had the exact same pedigree (and he plainly does NOT) and decided to parlay his NC into being an NFL coach right after spending countless number of years, both with his being a middling (or worse) performer at your university as well as the terrible drought prior to his coming on-board? Can't say no, just that it is like saying what we would do with our money when we hit it BIG in the lottery; just blather because we will be in a different emotional state when we do than when we merely dream. Easy to say now.

I know it is early in the process, but how is that Bama post-Saban thingy working out? You think the afterglow of the NCs and almost hit in the last season will power the "Boering" coach through some tough patches, especially with NIL running rampant? Methinks it is going to be "interesting" there for a while.

 

Maybe it’s time to move up to the ladies tees wing, or start the whiskey before the round.

 

I support Napier currently. My faith is that like it or not he is a work in progress and the offseason changes and talent infusion will lead to better results going forward strength of schedule be damned.

With that said I'm in total agreement with your post. He has a hand in his own criticism for sure. Where I would disagree is with some of the members here that don't acknowledge the productive steps along the way this off season. Those changes have to show results. If not, the pitchforks will justifiably be out in full force.

 

C'mon. Zook went 9-4 with an SOS that was every bit as tough, a two-deep of freshmen and sophomores and a true freshman at QB. People didn't care much about the challenges then, did they?

Otherwise, I generally agree with you. Napier needs another year...

 

There are so many things that could happen between now and next sex

Everyone knows Bama is going to take a hit. Why? Not because their recruiting has gone down this year (it will in the next year guarantee you that), but because the stability is gone.

Saban is a great coach, but he brought stability to the program that fostered great recruiting of coaching staff and of course players.

 

The 2 prior coaches at Stanford were a combined 16-40, Jim Harbaugh's first 2 years were an actual improvement. Way to cite the most irrelevant example you could find because you didn't take 30 seconds to look into the context. If you can't comprehend the difference in performance and expectation between Stanford football and UF football, there is no point in continuing.

No one cares about your friend or his senses.