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

Here are the comparisons between 2022 and 2023. Everybody can draw their own conclusions.
Comparing statistics from years one and two under Billy Napier | GatorCountry.com

 

Pretty compelling. And I’ll bet those numbers would be even worse if you compared them to the mean under Dan Mullen. Exceptionally worse if you eliminate, as you should, 2021 as an outlier from the norm. And that’s the real comparison we should be making, not 2022 to 2023. Rather how much better is this guy that we can feel good about firing the last guy.

 

Can't wait for the inevitable angry replies for posting data, why you gotta be a hater?

 

That is based on feelings not facts.

Our offense and defense rankings are pretty close to the end of Mullens tenure.

Our recruiting rankings are similar. Even if you say Mullens were fake I’d argue Mullen crushes Billy with the portal. Talent wise it’s close to a wash.

W/L is worse. Mullens last two years were better than Napiers first two.

Im trying to be optimistic but let’s not gaslight. Lets just say we are praying and leave it at that

 

And the existing coach would have kept losing. Nothing you mentioned is a negative when staring at guaranteed failure

 

Winning 4 and 5 games after the previous year won 1 game is an improvement.

If you think Florida football should be compared to a BAD P5 program at its absolute worst (Stanford after a 1 win season) then you are a lost cause.

If Napier goes to Vandy and wins 5 games then we can sit here and say he did fine.

 

Winning games is not the only measurement of improvement. Unfortunately you don’t get to set the terms for the definition. And winning 3 more games when you only 1 the previous year would hardly overshadow two years at the identical record so as to not put that coach on the hot seat but the one who didn’t improve on it. According to you, you would be giving Napier a pass if he went 1-11 year one but won 4 games in year two.

Ir you can’t see how silly that sounds then the problem here is much more personally deep rooted.

I would respect your opinion more if you just said you don’t like him which is a more rational explanation for your position to justify putting him on the hot seat rather than trying to look at his first two years with a team that Mullen left in shambles.


Did it ever dawn on you that Mullen’s motivation to recruit and win probably were impacted by the same cries for his head?

When does Napier start shutting down his recruiting and start looking at other potential programs to steer players to as a result of your incessant and unjustified badgering of his performance?

I guess you would have put Norvell on the hot seat also? Or was his 2 game improvement from 3-6 to 5-7 his first two years at FSU a “keeper” indication? Lots of improvement from year 1 to 2 also there right? How did FSU’s patience pay off for them?

Mac Brown went 1-10 and 1-10 at UNC. I could go on and on. You have a right to your opinion just as I have a right to point out to you how your negativity contributes to instability.

We are never going to agree or persuade the other so you continue to make it difficult for us to convince top athletes that our program is the best landing place for them and I will try to convince them that your position would have ruined brilliant careers of great coaches if other programs and fans had shown the same unparalleled impatience that you do.

 

Did you know Norvell was going to keep losing? Your premise is completely flawed. Having a poor record at a top notched program when you have the BACKING of the school and fans is a selling tool to get players to play for you AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT NORVELL DID. If you can’t see the same trend here at Florida then you are blind and hopelessly biased against Napier.

 

I wasn't sure you were a troll before, now it's quite clear.

Dictionary.com definition of improvement: a person or thing that represents an advance on another in excellence or achievement. 5 wins is a greater achievement than 4 which is greater than 1. It was by definition improvement.

Harbaugh didn't have a 1 win season, his predecessor did. Napier's predecessor was Mullen, Mullen didn't have a 1 win season in his final season.

Mullen's recruiting was impacted by cries for his head? Now you are truly in a fantasy land. He was coming off a season that included a SEC championship appearance, a Heisman finalist and an offseason contract extension. No one cried for his head until well into his final season when he and the team quit.

If you believe Napier gives a shit what anyone on gator country thinks, you are an idiot.

There it is, another Norvell comparison. I wonder what actually will impact recruiting more, loss of scholarships or message boards?

For every Mac Brown there is a Scott Frost. Want to actually convince anyone, do the research. Not anecdotal examples. What percentage of coaches with losing seasons in their first 2 years went on to have a .650 win % (UF's win% since 1950) or better at that same school?

 

Being practical about the upcoming season is not rooting against someone. The weather report for today where I live has a high of 42. Does me wearing a jacket mean I'm rooting against good weather or that I believe what I see?

 

I think the overall program seems clearly improved imo.
Manpower. Recruiting. NIL. Social Media/Marketing Dept. Nutrition Program. Facilities. Improved Student-Athlete housing. All that with a coaching staff that has experience, combined with some eager, talented younger swag.

 

Please....there is no such thing as a message board jockey(s) that causes a program to fail.

 

The problem is that nobody gives a rip about those things unless they are accompanied by W's. Its time for that to begin happening in 2024. No more excuses.

 

Asked and answered multiple times: Yes. He was on the hot seat. No. There was no improvement between years one and two; SWAC simply did not play any scrubs but also cancelled a couple of sure losses in Year 1. Yes. He would have been canned if he turned in a third season like the first two. Yes. He got off the hot seat in the traditional way, winning football games. No. SWAC fan patience had nothing to do with it.

 

It's all your fault

 

AND, he hit on Year 2 of Travis. Travis was not good in his first season (Year 2 of Norvell).

 

That's ridiculous. You know it and I know it. Danny Kanell is hardly a person who speaks for FSU football. Norvell had a first-round draft pick Heismann candidate in Jordan Travis who would have bolted along with half of the team that went undefeated last year had they got rid of him. Your snug "Mr. Know it All" responses are laughable because they only reveal how much you really don't know.

 

Perhaps you think that your words and the words of others who spew out continuous negativity have no impact on outcomes concerning recruiting. So if they have no negative impact is it fair to say that they have no positive impact either? And if not, why are you wasting your f'ng time? Do you think your incessant whining is going to get Napier fired? Or is this your cheap way of avoiding a psychiatrist?

 

And my comment was that you don't simply measure improvement by wins and losses. Please show me that Webster definition and I will agree with you wholeheartedly. The fact is you can't, and so there is no sense in delving into your inane presupposition that you get to define wha improvement is and what it isn't. Your pompous and arrogant assumption that you do only underscores the tepid nature of your postion.

 

As you say. What’s ridiculous is if you think Norvell would still have been around for a fourth season if he had laid a third consecutive egg. But, hey, maybe that’s just me being “snug” again.