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Florida Football: Five dream solutions if Billy Napier isn’t the answer

By Benjamin Henderson

Sep 16, 2023; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and Florida Gators offensive lineman Austin Barber (58) run onto the field before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and Florida Gators offensive lineman Austin Barber (58) run onto the field before the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /
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We here at Hail Florida Hail have been very high on Billy Napier and have been willing to showcase patience as he tries to bring Florida football out of the dark ages. Step one has been replenishing the talent pool that, whether or not we want to admit it, was severely depleted under his predecessor.

But with his monster recruiting class starting to show cracks and a couple of on the field losses that bring big question marks for a guy who claims to be detail-oriented, not all of Gator Nation is feeling the vibes in Gainesville.

Unless things go dramatically south in the next month, Napier will be back in 2024 as the head coach of the Florida Gators. But with Vegas odds set at -1000 that he will get fired, it’s not impossible that some deep-pocketed booster ponies up the money for his buyout.

It’s one thing to fire a coach; it’s another to find a replacement that would put Florida football in a better place than it was.

With that in mind, here are the five dream solutions for Florida to pursue if the powers that be decide that Napier is not the answer for 2024.

Florida Football Dream Solutions: Mike Elko

For three straight seasons, Mike Elko had a top-40 defense at the notoriously recruiting hotbed known as Wake Forest.

He followed that up with a one-year stay at Notre Dame before four seasons of more top defenses at Texas A&M, including the 9th-ranked defense in 2020.

In his second season at Duke, Elko’s squad upset Clemson on opening night and was on the doorstep of knocking off Notre Dame and FSU. If not for an injury to his QB Riley Leonard, the Blue Devils probably would have beaten the Seminoles.

Elko is on the top of a ton of coaching search lists as the season is winding down and openings are becoming abundant.

When asked about rumors of Texas A&M wanting Elko themselves, he said this week:

"“Everybody knows I’m very happy at this place. We’re doing a lot of special things at this place. My family is very happy here. We love Duke. We love everything this place is for. Again, I say this all the time, when you’re doing your job well, everybody thinks you’re leaving. When you’re doing your job bad, everyone thinks you’re leaving.”"

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