Forget scared money, most Florida Football fans just want a refund on Billy Napier

When Billy Napier arrived in Gainesville, fans were excited when he declared, "Scared money don't make money." After the stench that was left behind from Dan Mullen giving up, Gator fans thought a new era of taking bold risks was about to begin.

Fast-forward 26 games, and it's clear Napier never planned to do anything other than make money for all of his friends.

Florida Football: Under Warranty

In his debut game in The Swamp, Napier was bold with his decisions to go for it on multiple fourth downs and felt like he was going to live up to his scared money mantra.

It turns out that was fool's gold, as we have witnessed over the last 25 games the most conservative, afraid-to-take-risks program while the rest of the country runs circles around Florida.

Is it 2nd and 10 after failing on a deep shot? Run it up the middle.

Is it 3rd and 10 after your run up the middle didn't work? Throw a screen.

Is it 3rd down on your opening drive and you need to run a play you have had all offseason to script out? Run a jet sweep.

You get the idea.

Napier had every opportunity to hire an offensive coordinator this offseason but instead opted to "promote" Russ Callaway as co-offensive coordinator. His comments made it clear that Napier would still be the one calling plays.

Napier insisted on being the offensive coordinator this season when every logical and rational fan could see his offense has always relied on having a player out athlete someone rather than scheming up ways to get even marginal players open.

The more insulting part is the carousel of Napier's friends who have cycled through Gainesville collecting a paycheck while trying to sell fans the narrative that "No no, these guys are good."

Back in March, we highlighted the fact that Florida's coaching staff for 2024 had the 3rd least amount of Power Five/NFL experience in the SEC. We said at the time:

"But when the entire staff is filled with "rising stars," there are going to be growing pains along the way in a season where Napier can't afford to have growing pains. 2023 was the first Power Five season for Austin Armstrong, and while we generally like his style, Napier already felt that he was in need of a mentor for 2024."

The Gators are on their third defensive coordinator in three years under Napier, each time bringing in a friend from Louisiana.

41 points later, it's clear it might not matter if Napier hired an offensive coordinator because that would just be a friend looking for a paycheck too.

The end result is one of the most insulting afternoons Gators fans have had to endure in The Swamp in quite some time. Most fans paid well over $100 for the experience.

Instead of paying all of Napier's friends, Scott Stricklin should be handing out refunds this afternoon.