“It’s a good, a really, really good football team, and I’m impressed with the film of week one,” – these were the words of the Gators’ head coach after their 34-7 win over Boise State in Week 1. Junior WR Eugene Wilson III said they are ‘foaming out the mouth’ to be facing off against the USF Bulls in Week 2. Florida even paid $500,000 to play against USF. And look how the tables turned. Poor Gators! The Bulls got the fat check and went home with a 16-18 win, cashing on the penalty after Florida’s Brendan Bett’s spitgate controversy. Now, who has to pay the highest cost?

Has to be the head coach, Billy Napier. Standing with a 20-20 record two games into his fourth season leading the Gators, his total pay is worth $7,370,000. Napier is eligible for a maximum bonus of $1,600,000. His seven-year, $51.8 million deal made him one of the SEC’s highest-paid coaches. Now that the Napier craze is slowly fading out, Florida’s coach would be owed 85% of the remaining $22.8 million. This brings up to an amount of $26,704,167. That’s when ESPN’s Paul Finebaum stirred his pot a little more. 

On the September 10 episode of The Rich Eisen Show, Finebaum was asked to comment on Napier’s Florida after their recent loss. Their latest setback is considered to be the worst defeat by the program in 12 seasons and the first loss in The Swamp to a Sunshine State team other than Florida State or Miami since 1938. Finebaum shared, “In terms of Florida, they will be revealed this weekend. They are at Baton Rouge. Not a good place to find yourself after losing to your not-even cross-state rival.”

The wake-up call hit Napier’s crew. They’ve fallen so far that even soft foes are taking them down. Finebaum shared his take, “Florida this year has Florida State and Miami on the schedule. Miami is next week. And they lose to the weakest of the three. I did the calculation on Florida’s 12-game schedule. USF is either the 10th or 11th best team on their schedule.”

Alex Golesh’s boys entered the game playing confidently on defense under defensive coordinator Todd Orlando. Napier’s offense settled for three first-half field goals and took just a 9-6 lead into halftime. Their quarterback, DJ Lagway, faltered as he missed open receivers, throwing high throughout the game, completing 23 of 33 passes for 222 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. On the other hand, their defense was unable to get a stop when it needed it most, allowing USF to march 87 yards on eight plays at the most crucial moment. 

That’s when Finebaum just said it, “So if you’re doing the math on where Billy Napier will be next year, he probably won’t be at Florida.” Isn’t it the same thing pointed out by the national reporter?

AP Reporter hands Billy Napier a “dead man” tag

Florida demands more than mediocrity, yet Napier’s 20–20 ledger screams average. On top of that, the lack of discipline fuels the heat of Napier’s hot seat. Their defensive lineman, Bett, was caught spitting directly on USF offensive lineman Cole Skinner. The incident couldn’t have come at a worse time. And there, Napier’s player got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and promptly ejected. The penalty handed USF a free 15 yards and an automatic first down, moving the ball out to the Bulls’ 39-yard line.

From there, the dominoes fell quickly. One play later, USF connected on a 29-yard pass to set up kicker Nico Gramatica with a chip-shot 20-yard field goal. He drilled it, flipping the Napier and Co.’s script. By year four, with a roster mostly handpicked out of high school by Napier, this level of play is indefensible. On that note, Associated Press reporter Mark Long shared, “Again, I think anybody who watches the program, anybody, whether you’re alumni football, average fan, casual fan. You know, armchair quarterback. You cannot do business, and you go, he’s a dead man walking.” If you think that’s enough blow for Napier, here is some more.

Well, when a more experienced person is eyeing your spot, you get scared. That’s what Billy Napier must be going through since he heard of losing his role to the ex-NFL head coach, Jon Gruden. On the 1010XL: Gators podcast, host Frank Frangie let the cat out of the bag. He said, “Listen to me when I tell you this. If Billy Napier gets fired, and I think he’s going to… Jon Gruden will be in play for that job…Jon Gruden has had conversations in the past with people who care about Florida’s interest…desperately wants back in, and he desperately wants a college job.” Napier’s got two choices now: fix the flaws fast or accept his exit slip.