Hiring Billy Napier sends the right message for Florida

“There’s no timetable. We want to take the time we need to get the right coach. We’d love to have one tomorrow, but that’s probably not realistic.” – Scott Stricklin

That was last Sunday when Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin was fielding questions about who’s next after announcing that he had dismissed Dan Mullen as his football coach. No one expected a head coach a day later, but it was clear that no matter how Stricklin tried to downplay the process for hiring a new coach that he understood he was on the clock.

Stricklin grew up in the Southeastern Conference and cut his administrative teeth at Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi State before arriving at Florida. He’s seen Tennessee turn coaching search fiascos into an art form and he was keenly aware that he couldn’t allow the perception that he was settling for a third choice, which is what happened in 2017. Chip Kelly and Scott Frost both had offer sheets in hand that they parlayed into contracts for the jobs they wanted so Mullen was the compromise hire. Bringing in Mullen from Mississippi State frazzled quite a few relationships, many of which won’t heal any time soon.

There was no fiasco and no settling for a third choice when Stricklin hired Billy Napier from the University of Louisiana Sunday, just seven days removed from giving Mullen the pink slip.

“I’ve followed and studied Billy Napier’s career with interest, and he became the primary target immediately after this position came open,” Stricklin said in a statement released Sunday afternoon. “We felt confident he would be an excellent leader for the Gators, which is why he was the only candidate I met with about the job.

“Billy’s ability to bring highly-talented people together – players, coaches, and staff – along with his vision for having a strong, relationship-based culture is what made him such an attractive choice. Add in how detailed his plan is for player development, staffing and recruiting, along with a sustained desire to improve, and it’s easy to see why he’s been successful.”

Stricklin got the coach he wanted and in doing so sent a bold message to Florida boosters, current Gator players and future recruits that the recovery from a disastrous 6-6 season will begin immediately. Napier will coach Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship Game next Saturday, then he’ll arrive in Gainesville to be introduced next Sunday. If his coaching pedigree is any indicator – he’s worked for Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban – then you have to know plan to transform Florida into its current state back to a championship level program that can be sustained has already begun.

In evaluating the shortcomings of Mullen and his staff, Stricklin was keenly aware of how recruiting had fallen off and the direction the program would be headed if something were not done immediately. By getting Napier signed, sealed and delivered quickly, there is a chance Florida’s floundering recruiting class can be salvaged. The early signing period begins on December 15, so Napier will only have a few days to create some momentum, but his reputation as a relentless recruiter and a winner – he’s 32-5 in the last three seasons – should help him persuade some highly ranked kids to at least give UF strong consideration. Among high school coaches in Louisiana, Napier’s reputation is impeccable. When he recruited for Dabo and Nick, he ventured into Florida on a regular basis so he’s not exactly an unknown in this state.

The importance of Florida’s 24-21 win over Florida State Saturday cannot be emphasized enough because it made the Gators bowl eligible. With those 15 extra practice days the Gators get for the bowl game, Napier will have a chance to evaluate the UF roster to determine who wants to be here. There have been whispers for the last two or three months that quite a few players on the UF roster felt under-used or ignored so bowl practice might serve as a chance impress the new head coach. The extra practices should also give Napier an extended opportunity to re-recruit a few players who might be thinking seriously about entering their names in the NCAA transfer portal.

There will be no shortage of players in the transfer portal and this will give Napier a chance to plug a few holes in the Florida roster, much the same way Mel Tucker did at Michigan State. Tucker added 21 players to his roster, most notably running back Kenneth Walker III, the Wake Forest transfer who will be a Heisman Trophy finalist. When he arrived at Michigan State, Walker wasn’t a household name, nor was left tackle Jarrett Horst (now injured), who was an All-Sun Belt selection at Arkansas State or former Florida corner Chester Kimbrough, a starter at MSU from day one. There is talent in the portal that can indeed supplement good recruiting of high school kids.

A year ago, Napier had his choice of Auburn, Tennessee and South Carolina, but he held out another year at Louisiana waiting for the right job to come along. In Lafayette, he was an hour from Baton Rouge and already had the great relationships with high school coaches in the state, but LSU chose to ignore him, instead going after a home run hire that has never materialized. Jimbo Fisher, Dave Aranda and Lincoln Riley all turned LSU down, giving the impression that it’s Tennessee déjà vu in Baton Rouge. LSU had a full month head start on Florida but it only took Scott Stricklin seven days to find a replacement for Dan Mullen. LSU, meanwhile, just two years removed from a national championship, may be at a critical juncture in its attempts to hire a successor to Ed Orgeron.

Florida has avoided the bad optics while getting a coach who seems to have all the qualities needed to pilot the football program back to a championship level. If this coaching search had lingered, it would have sent a very bad message but the speed in which Stricklin hired a coach that is universally acclaimed as a budding superstar should tell recruits, current players and both Florida fans and boosters that despite bad recent trends, the head football coach at the University of Florida remains a very desirable job.