Billy Napier has yet to produce a winning record in two tries at Florida, but that does not effect his job status heading into Year 3, says AD Scott Stricklin.
“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. It’s a made-up term,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “People can put them on whatever list they want. It has nothing to do with reality.”
Napier is 11-14 overall in his two seasons at Florida, including a 6-10 SEC mark. The 2023 Gators scored a 29-16 win over No. 17 Tennessee, but their other victories came over FCS McNeese, 3-9 Charlotte, winless-in-the-SEC Vanderbilt, and 5-7 South Carolina. Florida closed the season on a 5-game losing streak -- grated, four of them to year-end AP top-12 teams.
When the public last saw Florida, it was unable to hold on to a 12-0 lead at home to a compromised Florida State team, scoring just three points over the game's final 35 minutes.
Florida should be much better at quarterback heading into 2024, though. Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz returns for his second season in blue and orange, and Napier signed the top-rated high school quarterback in the country in 5-star DJ Lagway.
Napier brought in veteran Ron Roberts as co-defensive coordinator, but has thus far resisted calls to hand over the offensive play sheet or to appoint a designated on-field special teams coordinator.
Assuredly part of the reason why Stricklin is so staunch in his support of Napier is that it's unlikely he'd get a third trip to the plate to hire the spiritual successor to Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. Stricklin fired Jim McElwain in 2017 and replaced him with Dan Mullen, who lasted four seasons. Mullen led Florida to the 2020 SEC title game, but the Gators are 8-16 in SEC play since then.
“I get it,” Stricklin said. “It comes back to the record. You make a field goal against Arkansas and you stop a fourth down at Missouri, the record is still not what we want, but it’s a different conversation; the temperature’s come down a little bit.
“Everything you’re talking about are symptoms; the cause is the record.”
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.