Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said Friday he believes Billy Napier is “going to be the head coach at Florida for a long, long time.”
Does until November count as a long, long time, Scott?
It’s hard to see Napier surviving past that, even with a more than $25.5 million buyout, if Saturday’s embarrassing showing is a preview of what’s to come the rest of this season. After a challenging offseason that included getting sued over the failed Jaden Rashada NIL deal, Napier badly needed to give Gators fans a reason to invest in a 2024 season that features the nation’s toughest schedule.
Consider that mission badly failed.
No. 19 Miami thoroughly dismantled the Gators in every way in a 41-17 beatdown inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the most points allowed in a season opener in Florida program history. The blowout loss broke a 34-game home-opener winning streak that dated back to 1990. The Napier era in Gainesville keeps hitting new levels of ignominy.
“It’s embarrassing, to be quite honest with you,” Napier said afterward. “That’s how I feel; that’s how our kids feel. We have a decision to make. There’s no excuses. Keep our mouths shut, show up to work and we have to do better.”
Can Florida actually do better? Especially against a schedule with games against No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Florida State and No. 15 Tennessee still to come? There’s nothing Florida showed Saturday – or really during any of Napier’s time in Gainesville – that’d give you reason to believe so. The most depressing news for Gators fans is a 24-point loss to an in-state rival won’t be rock bottom. It almost certainly will get worse from here.
Yikes.
Florida’s defense was no match for Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who lit the Gators…
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Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2024-09-01 01:43:56
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