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Alex Golesh’s rebuild was harder than Billy Napier’s and yet he still beat Florida

If you want a true dumpster fire, look no further than what USF was in 2022
ByBenjamin Henderson|
Sep 6, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh talk before the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Sep 6, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh talk before the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

As the clock hit zero against USF and Billy Napier fell to 20-20 as the head of the Florida Gators, there was still a small sliver of Gator Nation who wanted to give the fourth-year head coach the benefit of the doubt. Mind you, some of these excuses were literally "Well, the band was playing when Florida got the ball back on offense." Still, others want to point to some missed opportunities that could have gone Florida's way, and are concerned about having to restart and rebuild once again under a new coach.

But if one is concerned about having to start over with another new coach, one just needs to take a look at the coach who just beat Florida as proof that it's possible to turn things around if you are the right guy.

Alex Golesh's dumpster fire was far worse than Billy Napier's

While it is less and less now, there is still this lingering belief that Dan Mullen left the Gators in such bad shape that it's unfair to expect Napier to have cleaned it up by now.

May we introduce you to Jeff Scott and the state he left USF in?

Unlike Napier, Scott was a successful offensive coordinator with Clemson and was with the Tigers when they won their national titles in 2016 and 2018.

Scott took over the reins at USF in 2020, and it's not possible for a tenure to go much worse than what he did.

In 2020, the Bulls were 1-8. In 2021, they went 2-10. And in 2022, they almost beat Florida, then promptly went 1-11 in a season where Scott was fired before it ended.

Alex Golesh inherited a team that won four games combined over the previous three seasons. Billy Napier inherited a team that went to a bowl game the year before.

And yet, fast forward three seasons later, and Golesh built a program from the literal ashes that waltzed into The Swamp, went toe-to-toe with Florida, and walked away with a win.

This doesn't mean that Golesh is the coach the Florida Gators should target immediately, as he has also shown some notable inconsistencies during his time with USF.

But it is saying that the right coach can dig you out of a hole, no matter how deep the coach before left it.

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