Somehow, someway, Auburn's Hugh Freeze may have been an even bigger disaster for the Tigers than Billy Napier was for Florida. Freeze has been fired after less than three seasons with Auburn, compiling a 15-19 record.
But despite the Napier comparisons, what it means is that Florida's search for a new coach is getting increasingly crowded within the SEC.
Auburn give Hugh Freeze the axe
Billy Napier was also 15-19 at one point, but rather than pull the plug, Florida's administration gave him one more crack to turn things around in Gainesville.
Spoiler alert, he didn't.
So, alas, Florida is now in a coaching search with Penn State, LSU, and Auburn. There are bound to be debates about which of those four jobs is actually the best job, and there are reasons why Florida can still point to Gainesville being the best.
Penn State has only finished as an AP Top 5 team twice since 1995, LSU has its governor meddling in their coaching search, and Auburn has to deal with Alabama being right in their backyard.
But the reality is that you now have four major programs, all with a national title since the rise of cable TV, looking for a new coach at the same time.
And in case one hasn't looked around, the pool of potential high-end coaches to poach is shrinking by the day. Outside of Lane Kiffin, who keeps dragging his feet on signing an extension with Ole Miss, there really aren't that many "it" guys floating around that would make every fanbase happy with their new coach.
There are critiques to be made that had Florida pulled the plug last year when Napier was 15-19 that the Gators could have gotten out ahead of the pack. During last year's cycle, UNC, West Virginia, Wake Forest, and Purdue were the Power 4 schools looking for a new coach.
Now the Gators have company. Only time will tell how the logo for Florida carries weight above the rest.