Among the laundry list of complaints Gator fans have about the Billy Napier Era is the lack of intensity and competitive fire on the sidelines. Seldom does Napier look like he is engaged with what is going on, and rarely in the post-game does he sound like someone who had an investment in the final result.
When juxtaposed with DJ Lagway's demeanor after the Texas A&M loss, Florida fans are just begging for someone in charge to have a pulse.
DJ Lagway is over all the losing
Let's just play a little game and see if one can figure out who said which quote. One is from Napier and one is from Lagway following the loss to Texas A&M:
"I kind of told my guys on the offensive side, especially, I'm not comfortable with this losing stuff. I don't rock with the losing. I don't like that. We can't get comfortable with this. It's not, it's not acceptable. And I feel like there's a lot of guys responding to that, and it's not acceptable, and I'm tired of it, and I can't go on like this."
"Well, I think we' played some of the better teams in the country. Our team has been in the game. I think that you can see that DJ is getting better as he gets more reps and more opportunities, obviously, you can see the impact that Dallas is having on our team. And you know outside of the first couple of possessions tonight, we played pretty good defense."
In case it wasn't obvious, the first quote is from Lagway and the second is from Napier.
Lagway comes across as urgent, looking for accountability, and isn't content with any moral victories.
Napier comes across as more coach-speak nonsense with the type of measured response you would want from your yoga instructor, but not your football coach who is 21-23.
There are U9 soccer coaches with more intensity than Napier at times. And while throwing hats and clipboards doesn't automatically make one a good coach, there has to be some sense of urgency coming from the captain.
And if Napier isn't going to steer the ship, then at least Lagway looks like he is going to try.