The Dan Mullen Era didn’t end well in Gainesville, but it was better than it gets credit for. Mullen was the 3rd winningest coach in Florida history, and had there been expanded playoffs, the Gators would have made the postseason in 2019 and 2020. The entire point of hiring Billy Napier was that he was supposed to get Florida to take that next step and be the type of program that would make the semifinals and beyond once expanded playoffs did come into fruition.
Well, the field for the semifinals is set, and Florida is nowhere to be found. When one looks at the four teams that did make the semifinals, it’s a reminder of just how far adrift the Gators became during the Billy Napier Era.
Florida has yet to make a playoff
Your final four in college football consist of Miami, Oregon, Indiana, and Ole Miss. The Hurricanes haven’t won a national title since 2001, the Rebels haven’t done it since 1962, and Oregon and Indiana have never done it. In fact, if the Ducks or Hoosiers do win it all, they will be the first first-time national champs since the Gators won their first in 1996.
Translation:
These are not juggernauts from the past decade, and they still found a way to make the semifinals while Florida has a new coach.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal was hired at the exact same time as Napier. Cristobal also entered the 2024 season on the hot seat as he had zero clue how to take a knee. Miami got serious about NIL, beefed up its trenches, and has been on an upward trajectory ever since the 2024 opener. We even said going into that game that it had the feel of a “Loser Leaves Town” match.
Well, Napier lost, and he has left town.
Dan Lanning was hired to replace Cristobal at Oregon, which in turn means he was also hired at the same time as Napier. Yes, Lanning has the benefit of Nike money, but money alone isn’t why he has won at least ten games all four years he has been in Eugene.
The best Napier could reach was eight.
Indiana is the envy of every major program, as Curt Cignetti has turned around a permanently dormant program into a team that just railroaded Alabama in the playoffs. The Hoosiers have upped their NIL efforts, but does anyone believe they have more NIL money than Alabama? Cignetti was hired two years after Napier and is the favorite to win the national title.
Indiana picked the right coach from the Sun Belt.
Then there is Ole Miss, which had the coach Florida was trying to get, but got boxed out by LSU. Say what you will about Lane Kiffin, but he built a program that beat Georgia even after he left.
We are coming around to like Jon Sumrall, but he was never Plan A for the Gators.
Florida was seen as a dark-horse contender to make the playoffs in 2025 and instead embarked on one of the worst seasons in program history. That’s how far detached from reality the Billy Napier Era was in Gainesville.
The semifinals are also a reminder that it doesn’t take forever to turn around a program, especially in the age of the Transfer Portal.
Hope springs eternal for 2026.