Now that Billy Napier is gone, Scott Stricklin has the task of finding a new coach for the Florida Gators. This will be the third football coach he has had to hire since arriving in Gainesville from Mississippi State.
And the concern that Gator fans have is whether or not Stricklin will screw up this hire, given his track record across the board in Gainesville has been anything but good.
Scott Stricklin whiffs more than he wins
We don't need to rehash the failures of Napier, but the problem with Napier crashing and burning is the massive contract Stricklin doled out with zero safeguards if things went south.
And the issue isn't that Napier was a one-time whiff for Stricklin. Of the coaches he has physically hired across all sports at Florida, he has very few success stories on his resume:
Cam Newbauer, Women's Basketball - 46-71 overall, was extended, then had to resign under allegations of player abuse that Stricklin tried to sweep under the rug.
Tony Amato, Women's Soccer - Fired after one year due to, shocking, allegations of player abuse that Stricklin tried to sweep under the rug.
Kelly Rae Finley, Women's Basketball - Brought some stability for women's basketball, but the program has been largely stuck in mid and is not among the top half of SEC programs.
Samantha Bohon, Women's Soccer - This was a once proud program that hasn't had a three-game winning streak since 2019. Her first three years were an unmitigated disaster, and while they have been "better" in 2025, the results they are getting are mostly due to their goalkeeper, they still have just wins in SEC play, and they are still a bottom-half SEC program.
Dan Mullen, Football - If we are being fair to Stricklin, Mullen left Gainesville with the third-highest winning percentage of any Gator coach in history with at least 40 games coached. But it was also obvious Mullen was never going to make it to the mountain top, given his disdain for recruiting.
Billy Napier, Football - He goes down as the single worst football coach Florida has had since the 1940's. But hey, at least he is a good person.
Per Nilsson, Women's Tennis - Last year was the first near in Gainesville for Nilsson after a lengthy run at Pepperdine, and the Gators went 9-14 in 2025.
Adam Steinberg, Men's Tennis - Steinberg came to Gainesville in 2023, and in his two years at Florida, he has gone 13-12 and 15-12. Mind you, this team won a national title in 2021.
Ryan Theis, Volleyball - He had the task of replacing long-time coach Mary Wise, and it is just his first year in Gainesville, but Florida is currently 11-7 and is unranked.
But what about Todd Golden?
The one get-out-of-jail card that Stricklin seems to have is his hiring of Todd Golden, and it seemingly acted as the springboard for why Stricklin got an extension this summer.
But let's also be honest about two things when it comes to Golden:
- He came with a glowing recommendation from Bruce Peral, so it's not like Stricklin did some deep digging to find him.
- The only reason he hired Golden was because Mike White opted to leave on his own for Georgia. Stircklin seemingly had no interest in firing White, even though it was clear Florida was suffering.
So even with the Golden hire, there are reasons why Gator fans are going to be skeptical of anyone that Stricklin gets to lead football in 2026.