Hey, Florida Gators fans, not quite sure whether to call it good news or bad news. Looks like Billy Napier’s safe for another year. Guess the Gators are trying to keep him cool in that hot seat. Expected, though. But what comes off as a surprise is the AD playing mind games to keep Napier in the hood for some longer time. Wait a second! Weren’t the Gators already having the hefty amount of $26.7 million handy to bid farewell to Napier? Well, as Florida Gators announced the shocking decision to give their HC another chance, history shows it’s not wise for them.

Thursday, November 7, came up with a big surprise for the Florida Gators fans. All thanks to their AD, Scott Stricklin who put an end to all the speculation and doubts about the 2024 season being the last chapter of Napier’s coaching stint with the Gators. In a letter, the AD pleaded to the fans, “continue standing behind Billy and his dedicated team while we work together to build a championship program.” Yes, we know, that’s some extra sweetness for Napier, who failed as a coach as DJ Lagway and co. stands at 4-4. This made CFB analyst Josh Pate dive into the matter since the decision looked a bit odd. And it did not take him much time to find the pin in the haystack as he stated,  “They don’t have a president right now at the University of Florida. There is no president, so they’re in a sort of interim capacity right now.”

Isn’t that weird? Hold on as Pate loosens the knots of the mystery. Since the head of the program is not there, that allows AD Stricklin to make the calls. And that’s when he ensured to extend Napier’s tenure. Well, the analyst is not criticizing this decision, as he claimed that he would have done the same if he had been in the AD’s role. But what he tried to mean is something else.

Standing now, we finally got to know about the Florida Gators’ intention to manage without a president. “If they had a permanent president in place…may have been the case that Napier got fired.” Well, it looks like the Gators are not good at taking lessons from the past. 

Florida Gators’ gamble with Billy Napier relies on other factors

The Gators had their closure after they lost to Texas A&M 33-20. Reports said that the HC’s agent Jimmy Sexton had also negotiated the buyout amount. And the program seemed to be so desperate to get rid of Napier that they even agreed to pay 85% of its deal in case they failed to provide any legitimate reason to cut him off. But now that AD Stricklin made some last-minute plans to keep the HC in the hope of better days, they need to understand a basic fact.

The weapon to flip their poor narrative is not Napier but their QB Lagway. And the theory goes like the HC should get to ride the storm out with his handpicked blue-chip QB. That has been the case with other mid-tier coaches like LSU HC Ed Orgeron with his QB Joe Burrow. The numbers say with Burrow, the HC was 25-3 but when the QB left, the HC was 42-45. Now, given the current situation, analyst Greg McElroy’s quote seems to be ringing in the ears. 

When the news started to do rounds that the 2024 season will mark the last chapter of HC Billy Napier, on the ESPN College Football podcast, the analyst dropped a big claim. “Florida they’re going to fire Billy Napier it is a matter of time. Is it today? Is it tomorrow? Is it the next day? Is it next week? It’s inevitable. It’s moving in that direction,” stated McElroy. Now let’s see when that sweet time arrives for the Gators!