Almost everyone in the country was in agreement that Billy Napier needed to be fired. He leaves Gainesville as the first coach since the 1940s to have a losing record, and it's telling that he got fired following a win.
But at least one national analyst seems to think that Florida is making a mistake by starting over, and it's by an analyst who seems to think Gator fans shouldn't expect to have a national seat at the table.
Tim Brando thinks Gator fans are toxic
Taking to X after the news of Napier was let go, current Fox Sports analyst Tim Brando had some choice words aimed at Gator fans:
"It won't matter except they'll be starting over again. Meaning, the wait for what they want in Gainesville just got longer. I've said this before and I will again. The Gator fan base is TOXIC. I've known Scott Stricklin a long time and he now must again cave to the wishes of their fans.
He better go outside the box for this hire because that's what it's gonna take! Fans hate reading the word "TOXIC", and I get that. Not that many others aren't, but they fail in understanding the history of their program."
Brando goes on to try to make the point that Florida wasn't great before Steve Spurrier, and therefore, Florida fans shouldn't expect a place at the top of the mountain forever.
He also points out that, unlike others within the SEC, the Gators have two other major in-state programs they have to contend with (FSU and Miami).
This falls in line with what Brando has stated in the past about Florida, and, quite frankly, it is an asinine take to believe that Gator fans are in the wrong for wanting Napier gone.
This notion that if you weren't good at football prior to color TV, you aren't allowed to have expectations is just insane. We are at the point now where there are going to be legit coaching candidates for Florida who weren't even born when Spurrier first got hired.
But because Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Notre Dame, and Southern California won a bunch of titles in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, we can't take stock of the current landscape and envision a pathway for Florida to be good.
What's comical, and what Brando does make a passing allusion to, is that Florida fans are far from the only "toxic" fanbase in the SEC. In fact, we would question any fanbase that would have stood by idley as their head coach was 22-23.
But today is a new day, one freed of Billy Napier.