Hail Florida Hail
Fansided

Florida football: ESPN says Napier is a coach to watch in “hot seat” article

By Will Thomas

Nov 25, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier gestures during the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier gestures during the second half against the Florida State Seminoles at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Florida football is coming off of a 6-7 season, but the general consensus around the program is that Billy Napier has the Gators moving in the right direction. No, they won’t be competing for championships next season, but there’s a lot of momentum around the program.

Despite this optimism, ESPN is skeptical about Napier as we head toward the 2023-2024 season.

Adam Rittenberg wrote an article where he went over coaches that could be on the hot seat, that are coaches to watch in regards to the hot seat, and coaches that may be on retirement alert.

Napier made the list as a coach to watch. You can read the full article here.

For comparison, Rittenberg also included Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher in the “coach to watch” category.

Rittenberg says of Napier,

"“[He] would really need things to go wrong to not reach Year 3 in Gainesville. He inherited a messy situation. But Florida continues to fall behind Georgia, winner of the past two national championships.”"

This is true, the Gators are starting to look pale in comparison to their rivals in Athens. But context is important here. Kirby Smart didn’t walk into Georgia winning all these games and recruiting all of these five stars.

It took time for him to develop his program into what it has become. Give Napier that same amount of time with the recruiting momentum he’s building and you never know what could happen.

Adam doesn’t think there’s any way that Napier doesn’t make it to the opening weekend of the 2024 season, but there is a path for his seat to get hot.

"“But if the Gators struggle to reach bowl eligibility and can’t find a good path forward on offense, there will be some desire for a complete reset. Napier asked for a lot when he arrived and Florida came through for him. Soon, he must do the same.”"

If you asked me I don’t think Napier’s seat actually gets hot unless we go 5-7 this year and recruit poorly. You’ll have plenty of people online making it seem like he’s gone, but don’t expect the admins to seriously consider a change regardless of what happens.

Keep up with Florida football at Hail Florida Hail. 

Home/Florida Gators Football