DJ Lagway may have left Florida, but one label could follow him to his new home

For as long as DJ Lagway has been in college football, the former Florida Gators quarterback has been tasked with the job of helping his head stay employed.

Lagway was going to be Billy Napier's savior with the Gators. It was a horribly unfair position for a true freshman to be placed in whether he was a five-star recruit or not. Two years later and a transfer to Baylor, Lagway is closer to home and likely more comfortable, but he finds himself in the same situation with Dave Aranda firmly on the hot seat. 

There are some questionable names on this list, but Aranda isn't one of them. Even if you consider the 2020 season as a wash due to the pandemic, and you should, he's had a lot of below-average results after that 2021 season that saw the Bears go 12-2 with a Big XII championship and win in the Sugar Bowl.

So Lagway, whether he deserves it or not, is at the risk of being a labeled a coach killer if he can't get it done with Aranda's job on the line.

DJ Lagway may have left the Florida Gators, but is still being asked to save coaches

If you're looking for another story to just blast Lagway, you've come to the wrong place. Lagway shouldn't shoulder all the blame for Napier failing to work out. If anything, Lagway's play as a freshman probably gave Napier an extra year that he didn't deserve. The pressure fell on Lagway in 2025 to keep it going, and he didn't deliver, but again Napier did him no favors. 

Now he's closer to home and around a program that he has some familiarity as his father, Derek, played for the Bears in the late 1990s. But there's also the lingering fact that his head coach is in a must-win situation. Lagway has yet to be coached in a stable situation. Instead, he's been looked at as a savior, a player that is going to come in with those five-star credentials and simply make everything better. 

Jon Sumrall couldn't take the risk that came with keeping DJ Lagway

The split between Lagway and Florida probably wasn't as acrimonious as it was perceived and, truthfully speaking, both sides are better off. Lagway has made it clear that he wasn't happy in Gainesville, and it seems like football had very little to do with that. There's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes things just don't work out. And now that we've had 6–7 months of the Sumrall experience, it's clear that it probably wouldn't have been a good fit. Sumrall is all energy all the time and Lagway is a very reserved young man. By letting Lagway go and going with Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr., Sumrall has guys that better fit his coaching style. 

READ MORE: New DJ Lagway deep dive leaves Florida fans questioning everything

Lagway may have also found the right place and Aranda might be the right coach for him. If it doesn't work out, it's likely both of them will be looking for a new home in 2027.

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