Every year, Billy Napier has had some kind of fork-in-the-road moment with the staff at Florida Football. Last year, there was massive speculation as to whether or not the Gators would hire an offensive coordinator, only to settle upon the same structure he had used during his first two years in Gainesville.
Once again, Napier has a decision to make, and there is some intrigue on which direction he will go.
Florida Football: Keep making changes
With the departure of Austin Armstrong to Houston, Florida has an opening for its official 11-member coaching staff to fill. Armstrong's opening leaves intrigue because it isn't 100% clear what his role was in 2024.
After serving as the defensive coordinator in 2023, Armstrong was "co"-defensive coordinator with Ron Roberts in 2024. In reality, Roberts called the plays, so it's doubtful Napier would bring someone in just to be a guy in the background for Roberts.
This topic of intrigue was set ablaze by Gators Online reporter Zach Abolverdi during an appearance on Hightop Sports on Monday. Abolverdi alluded to something big happening that wasn't player-related and said, "If this happens, it might be the biggest scream let out by (Hightop Sports)."
More news to report from @hightopsport pic.twitter.com/0E5eUeTrjs
— David Soderquist (@HightopDave) December 24, 2024
Well, we know Florida has to hire a coach for the staff. Is there a hire out there that would genuinely make fans excited?
For most fans to genuinely pop at whomever Napier hires, it would need to be a high-level offensive coordinator. It would require Napier to go against everything he personally has stated about his coaching philosophy, but the reality is that Florida was 63rd in points per game against FBS opponents and 47th in yards per play in 2024. Florida also punted the ball once for every offensive score they had and was 85th in this metric.
There is also online speculation about whether or not Napier could be looking to bring in Charlie Strong. He was spotted recently at Florida facilities. Since departing Florida in 2009 to go be the head coach at Lousiville, Strong has been bouncing around assistant jobs since his last head coaching gig in 2019 with USF. But if Roberts is sticking around, it's not clear where Strong would fit on staff.
One thing to also keep in mind is that contracts for assistants run through January 31, so there could be some unexpected twists and turns when it comes to filling the staff.