The Florida Gators’ loss may not appear to be devastating, especially since the College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams. They should not be eliminated from contention after just one loss. However, this was no ordinary setback for head coach Billy Napier and his crew. The Gators were brutally trounced by their in-state rivals, the No. 19 Miami Hurricanes, who beat them 41-17.
Adding to the burden, Florida has a difficult remaining schedule that includes games against powerhouses such as Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida State. If the Gators do not turn things around immediately, victories will be difficult to come by. And Florida legend Steve Spurrier feels the coaching staff must excite the team.
“We need one of our coaches to get mad,” Spurrier stated on the “Another Dooley Noted Podcast” (h/t On3’s Kaiden Smith). “I’m not sure if any of them are capable, but I’d want to see one of them on the sideline throw down his sheet, take off his headset, or do something. Somebody, get upset.
Napier might involve wise to take Spurrier’s advise and exhibit some enthusiasm, as his time in Gainesville may be running out. Florida’s lack of development under Napier, who had an 11-14 record in his first two seasons, was highlighted by the blowout loss to Miami. Meanwhile, Mario Cristobal, who took over for Miami exactly the same year Napier moved in Florida, has a 13-13 record. Steve Spurrier, the man giving this critique, is a football legend in Florida. He guided the Gators for a 122-27-1 record throughout his 12 seasons as head coach. Spurrier was already a standout quarterback for Florida, having won the Heisman Trophy in 1966. For Napier, advice from someone with Spurrier’s heritage is more than a suggestion.
The SEC, like the national polls are only concerned with Ws. IMHO the sooner we buy out our current coach, the sooner we can ID the BEST replacement. We are heading for a bad losing season due to the toughest schedule in the nation…we are going to lose these games. Why not make a change now, give an asst coach the chance to run things and dissuade our current and future 4s and 5s from the portal…Either way we have at least 3 years of losing which is totally unacceptable to alumni, boosters and fans