The word of former Florida head coach Urban Meyer still means a lot in Gainesville, even with the way he left and went on to coach at Ohio State. Of course, the biggest story coming out of Florida right now is not if the Gators will fire Billy Napier, but when they fire him. However, Meyer believes that there is a huge reason the Gators are keeping him around.
That huge reason is like $21 million huge.
That $21 million is the buyout for Napier, which is a lot of money, but not the largest buyout those in college football have ever seen. Clearly, the contract given was not the best choice, but this is where Florida is, and now the tough decisions need to be made.
Urban Meyer is big in Gainesville, but not big enough to keep Billy Napier around
The Florida Gators are still paying off the buyout of former head football coach Dan Mullen, which could be a big reason why the Gators don't want to take on yet another buyout. However, is a buyout worth years of losing because Napier can't pull it together to give the fans a true winning season? Plus, even when Napier gets fired at some point in the future, there will then be a couple of years of rebuilding that will most likely take place.
So, at this point, there is no point in just waiting out the buyout. The Gators are a part of the SEC they have the money to pay the buyout, so give the fans what they want. Clearly, Napier isn't going to take this team where everyone wants it to go, so don't waste the time keeping him around, and let's get someone else in the building.
Meyer's claim makes sense; a buyout is certainly something to keep in mind, but it can't be the only thing keeping a bad coach in town.