Nobody’s seat in college football is hotter than Sun Belt’s very own Billy Napier’s right now, and Florida fans can smell the prophecy from Gainesville to Tallahassee. Four weeks of college football, the Gators have gone from a preseason No. 15 ranking to looking like some D2 elite program. Embarrassing collapse against unranked South Florida? Check. Their blowout loss to Mario Crisbotal’s No. 2 ranked Miami? Final hit on coffin. And let’s not even revisit that LSU meltdown. But despite all that chaos, Napier is still in charge, and the one reason he hasn’t been kicked to the curb yet has everything to do with a teenager: DJ Lagway.

Florida Gators started their season with that 55–0 cupcake win over Long Island, but man, it’s been downhill ever since. They barely scraped by in an 18–16 loss to USF, also got flattened 20–10 at LSU at home, and then Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium served up a 26–7 humiliation. But the last one was brutal. The Gators put up just 32 yards in the first half, their worst since 1986, and somehow managed only one first down. Corey Hetherman literally had the Gators in the palm of his hand. Napier, sitting at 20–22 in his 4th year, has been exposed by SEC rivals, going 3–12 against Florida’s biggest enemies. If he didn’t have Lagway, he’d already be another name in the fired-coach graveyard.

So why hasn’t the trigger been pulled? Enter John Talty. On the College Football Insider Podcast, Talty straightaway explained why firing Billy Napier right now (bye week) would backfire: “But the other piece of it is that, especially right now, guys can redshirt if they want to. And so I just think that it makes sense, because it’s a bye week, but if you say pull the plug… it would seem to make sense to hold on another week or two.” Translation: fire Napier now, and you risk losing the only reason this team still matters — DJ Lagway. According to the NCAA, D1 athletes can red-shirt even after playing  4 games or 5 games into the season. Look, if Napier goes, Lagway could redshirt, pack up, and watch the season from the sidelines.

Lagway hasn’t exactly lit up the field like the pre-season hype promised. Many analysts had him pegged as the best QB heading into the 2025 season, or at least a top-five guy in the country. But he’s failed to turn all that promise into production. Some bookies had him projected to double or even triple his 2024 numbers. At the same time, you can’t pour all the blame on him. He missed spring ball and got dinged up in fall camp. Still, he’s the jewel of Florida’s rebuild, the guy fans were promised would bring back the glory days.

Taking Napier out in the middle of the season could blow apart what little trust he’s built. Talty doubled down: “You can maybe do it on the second bye later in the season, just because if you fire Billy Napier today, does DJ Lagway say I’m red shirting, I’m out of here, you start losing guys, and then it gets really, really ugly down the stretch.” Translation again: ugly can get uglier.

And it’s not like Florida’s schedule is forgiving. According to ESPN and other outlets, the Gators have one of the top three most brutal schedules in the nation. Florida can’t risk it now. The Gators are staring down a gauntlet with No. 10 Texas, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 5 Georgia, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 15 Tennessee, and No. 8 Florida State still waiting.

Mississippi State and Kentucky are basically the only chill spots left on Florida’s schedule. Even then, Mississippi State is no joke. They are 4-0 and already beat the former AP top-12 South Carolina Gamecocks in Week 3. Kentucky is 2-1 but went toe to toe with No. 13 Ole Miss in their 30-23 loss in Week 3. It’s reasonable to say the Gators could hit historic lows anytime soon. But yanking Napier too early before there is a clear plan could tear the locker room apart. If he can’t pull off a win before the second bye week, that is the right time to finally make a move.

DJ Lagway promises to improve

After Florida’s offense flatlined against Miami — 141 total yards, zero-for-13 on third down, their worst outing since the late ’90s — Lagway stood in front of reporters and did something his coach couldn’t: he owned it. “It’s been hard, but let me tell y’all something, we’re going to get things changed, for sure. I can guarantee that. This is not acceptable at all… it starts with me.”

That’s leadership talk, but the numbers tell a grim story. Against Miami, Lagway went 12-of-23 for 61 yards. According to ESPN Research, his 12 completions actually netted negative-three air yards — most of his throws were behind the line of scrimmage. The week before, LSU feasted on him for five interceptions. For a guy who led Florida to a 6-1 record last season, this fall from grace feels like a big slap back to reality.

Still, Lagway isn’t hiding. After admitting, “I didn’t play my best ball tonight… I didn’t make a lot of big plays,” he switched gears with urgency: “I’m going to demand greatness from everybody. We’re done with the playing around stuff. It’s time to get serious. It starts with me.” Napier and Lagway have blamed injuries for Florida’s slow start, but the Gators nation are crying for results. The real test comes against No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Texas A&M in back-to-back weeks. The upcoming bye gives them a chance to reset.