Prior to the 2025 season, very few people would have had on their Bingo card a world where James Franklin got fired before Billy Napier. Even as recently as two weeks ago, it would have seemed crazy for Franklin to go ahead of Napier.
And yet here we are, where Franklin is out at Penn State, and Florida fans are expecting to continue to smile and nod as Napier is going to lead the Gators onto the field this upcoming Saturday against Mississippi State.
Penn State fires James Franklin
The knock on Franklin was that he could never "win the big one," but Penn State was still a perennial top ten program during his time in Happy Valley. As recently as two weeks ago, he was coming off an appearance in the semifinals of the playoffs and had an overtime lead against Oregon.
So why is it that Penn State seems more serious about trying to win a national title and fired the guy who was within eight minutes of going to the national title game last season, while Florida's administration just looks around and goes, "But guys, remember the four-game winning streak? Remember beating Texas? Wasn't that neat?"
At some point, the problems Florida has stop becoming a Billy Napier problem and it turns into a Scott Stricklin problem. Would an interim coach have magically saved the 2025 season? It is for UCLA, which helped accelerate Franklin's departure.
However, Florida should never have needed an interim coach for 2025, as the administration should have anticipated this issue in 2024. The four-game winning streak was fool's gold, but like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football, they convinced themselves, "He's going to get it right this time."
But after scoring three points in the final three quarters despite a five-star QB, two five-star wide receivers, a future NFL running back, an All-American center, and two offensive line coaches, Florida continued this charade while Penn State looks to the future.
Smile and nod.
Just smile and nod.