As if Billy Napier doesn’t have enough to worry about.
Not only does the embattled Florida Gators football coach have to deal with pitchfork-wielding fans who want him fired …
Not only does he have to figure out a way to complete an Everest-like climb to elevate his struggling program to a point where it can somehow compete with colossus SEC rival Georgia …
Not only does he have to try to navigate the toughest schedule in the country in 2024 …
But in recent weeks, he’s had to grapple with UF icon Steve Spurrier questioning the direction of his program, fellow Gators icon Emmitt Smith excoriating UF’s diversity policies, and the NAACP advising Black student-athletes to think twice about signing with programs in Florida.
Let’s start with Spurrier, UF’s most legendary sports figure, recently calling out Napier’s organizational acumen in an interview with Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette.
“There’s a feeling around the Gators of ‘What the heck are we doing?’ ” Spurrier said. “ … There’s a lot of questions that I don’t have the answers to about organization. … Just because you hire the most people doesn’t mean you’re going to win. All these extra people, I question how much that really helps.
“Billy is a good guy who works his tail off,” Spurrier added. “I like Billy, good family man. But we do wish the organization was a little bit more tidy.”
Nobody should be surprised that the tell-it-like-it-is Head Ball Coach gave an honest opinion when asked about Napier’s bloated support staff, but it’s certainly not the type of criticism Napier needs at this point. Besides, bloated support staffs are all the rage now in college football, where multi-million-dollar head coaches have been given a blank check to hire an army of assistants, analysts and quality-control…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/emmitt-smith-steve-spurrier-uf-230300563.html
Author : Orlando Sentinel
Publish date : 2024-03-16 23:03:00
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