Maybe the better approach with Billy Napier is wait and see

Is the improvement the last three games an indicator that Billy Napier's plan is really working? (Gator Bait Photo by Chris Sprears)

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday afternoon:

“Pessimism never won any battle.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

To Billy Napier’s credit, he has always taken the high road when it comes to his future as Florida’s football coach. Despite mounting criticism that he needs to be fired, Napier has maintained that his plan to rebuild the Florida football program from the ground up will succeed. Had the Gators lost to Kentucky Saturday night, the calls for his departure would have sounded like the sonic boom of an F22 flyover at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a firing. Not only did Billy Napier and the Gators beat Kentucky, they stomped the Wildcats. The final score doesn’t begin to tell the extent of the beatdown. Kentucky, which should have beaten Georgia and held the Bulldogs to 262 yards in a 13-12 loss, gave up 476 yards and 48 points. Not only did the offense operate on high octane, the defense showed up for the third straight game. That much maligned defense after the first four games has held UCF, Tennessee and Kentucky to a combined 894 yards and 46 points.

Combine that defensive effort with the explosiveness the offense showed with freshman DJ Lagway showing deep ball throwing skills that haven’t been seen at UF in years and the emergence of freshman running back Jadan Baugh and suddenly the Gators are trending upward. Lagway averaged 18.5 yards per pass attempt against a Kentucky defense that turned Georgia’s Carson Beck and Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart quite ordinary. Baugh showed he can drive the pile between the tackles, make a defender miss and kick in an extra gear once he gets to the second level.

Now a murderer’s row gauntlet of No. 2 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 8 LSU and No. 18 Ole Miss awaits, so the same boosters, alums and fans calling for Napier’s ouster could be roaring again if the Gators find themselves battered and bruised. But what if the Gators win one of those, then knock off FSU in Tallahassee in the season finale to go bowl eligible? When the season began, that schedule had the experts saying Napier would have to do a high level coaching job to get six wins.

So what if Napier pulls it off and gets the Gators bowl eligible? Take a look at Florida’s returning roster and maybe the idea of canning the coach won’t seem like such a great idea. In addition to Lagway and Baugh, the Gators will return four starters and four experienced backups on an O-line that is rapidly improving. Tre Wilson will return to lead a wide receiver corps that has speed to burn. Returning at running back will be Treyaun Webb, Ja’Kobi Jackson and KD Daniels. On defense the Gators will return nine starters and a ton of backups.

After the Gators were slapped around by the Aggies in game three, Billy Napier’s job security seemed to hit the skids. Four games later the combination of defensive improvement, the gelling of the offensive line and the explosive possibilities of an offense led by Lagway and Baugh might have tapped the brakes a bit.

The easy way out is to jump on the fire Napier train, but a better approach might be to wait and see. The immortal words of Master Po speaking to his young protégé Caine – “Patience Grasshopper” – seem appropriate for the moment at least.

SEC FOOTBALL

No. 15 Alabama (5-2, 2-2 SEC): “Alabama is an absolute trainwreck,” says Paul Finebaum. “There’s no sugar coating it. I actually heard someone say that Alabama controls its own destiny. For what? The end of the world?”  Next game: No. 21 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC)

Arkansas (4-3, 2-2 SEC): Arkansas struggled to get its running game going in the loss to LSU. The Razorbacks gained 38 yards on 19 carries. Meanwhile LSU gained 160 and had a 17 minute advantage in time of possession.  Next game: at Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4 SEC)

Auburn (2-5, 0-4 SEC): Social media erupted in a negative way toward HBC Hugh Freeze after the Tigers blew a 17-3 lead and lost to Missouri, 21-17. Next game: at Kentucky (3-4, 1-4 SEC)

No. 2 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC): Georgia forced four turnovers (3 fumbles, 1 interception) and held Texas to 29 rushing yards in 27 attempts … Former Gator Trevor Etienne ran for 87 yards and two TDs in the win.Next game: Open

Kentucky (3-4, 1-4 SEC): After allowing 48 points and 476 yards against Florida, the Wildcats dropped from fourth nationally to 12th in total defense. They’re giving up 283.6 yards and 19.3 points per game. Next game: Auburn (2-5, 0-4 SEC)

No. 8 LSU (6-1, 3-0 SEC): Freshman Caden Durham ran for 101 yards and three touchdowns in the Tigers win over Arkansas. LSU held a 71-50 advantage in plays from scrimmage. Next game: at No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0 SEC)

Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4 SEC): Sophomore safety Isaac Smith had 12 tackles and linebacker Nic Mitchell had 10 in the loss to Texas A&M. Next game: Open

No. 21 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 SEC): Quarterback Brady Cook left the game with an injury, went to the hospital and returned in the fourth quarter when Missouri was trailing Auburn 17-6. He led the Tigers to a 21-17 win.Next game: at No. 15 Alabama (5-2, 2-2 SEC)

Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3 SEC): Brent Venables fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. Joe Finley will take over the play calling. Oklahoma ranks dead last in the SEC and 128th nationally in total offense, averaging 288.1 yards per game. The Sooners have scored only 12 points total in their last two games. Next game: at No. 18 Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 SEC)

No. 18 Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 SEC): Even with two losses the Rebels are still in the College Football Playoff picture, but they’ll need to run the table the last five games to get there. Their biggest obstacle is a November 9 encounter with Georgia in Oxford. Next game: Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3 SEC)

South Carolina (4-3, 2-3 SEC): The Gamecocks lead the SEC and rank second in the nation with 28 sacks. Kyle Kennard leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally with 8.5 sacks. Next game: Open

No. 7 Tennessee (6-1, 3-1 SEC): Dylan Sampson put the Vols on his back and led the way in the win over Tennessee. Sampson ran for 139 yards and two TDs, raising his totals for the year to 838 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Next game: Open

No. 5 Texas (6-1, 2-1 SEC): The SEC fined Texas $250,000 for delaying the game with Georgia by throwing plastic bottles on the field to protest a pass interference call. The protest must have worked however because the zebras reversed the call and allowed an interception … HBC Steve Sarkisian says the Longhorns will be sticking with Quinn Ewers as the starting QB. Next game: at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1 SEC)

No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0 SEC): The Aggies didn’t play well at Mississippi State, but they escaped with a 34-24 win. Freshman QB Michael Van Buren torched the Aggie defense for three touchdown passes.  Next game: No. 8 LSU (6-1, 3-0 SEC)

No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1 SEC): The Commodores are ranked for the first time since 2013. Their five wins are the most at the start of a season since 2008. Next game: No. 5 Texas (6-1, 2-1 SEC)

AROUND THE STATE

Florida Atlantic (2-5, 0-3 American): The open date will be used to figure out what can be done to fix a defense that has allowed 79 points in its last two games, both losses. Next game: Open

Florida International (2-5, 1-2 Conference USA): The Panthers can’t run the ball (101.29 yards per game) and that has plenty to do with their current 2-game losing streak. Next game: Sam Houston (5-2, 2-1 Conference USA)

Florida State (1-6, 1-5 ACC): The Seminoles still haven’t produced a 300-yard game on offense although they did come close against Duke when they generated 291 yards. FSU averages a pathetic 276 yards per game, which ranks 132nd out of 134 Division I teams. Next game: at No. 6 Miami (7-0, 3-0 ACC)

No. 6 Miami (7-0, 3-0 ACC): Cam Ward threw for 319 yards and four TDs in the Canes win over Louisville. It was Ward’s seventh consecutive game with 300 or more yards. Next game: Florida State (1-6, 1-5 ACC)

South Florida (3-4, 1-2 American): The Bulls need three more wins to become bowl eligible. Four of the five remaining games on the schedule are winnable. Only Navy seems to be a guaranteed loss. Next game: Open

UCF (3-4, 1-3 Big 12): The Knights ran for 315 yards with RJ Harvey going for 196 and two TDs and freshman QB Jacurri Brown for 154 and two more TDs. Despite this, UCF blew a 28-14 lead and lost to No. 10 Iowa State 38-35. Next game: No. 11 BYU (7-0, 4-0 Big 12)

LET THE FIRING SEASON BEGIN!

East Carolina and Southern Miss avoided the November rush by firing their head coaches. ECU and Mike Houston parted ways after a Saturday loss to Army while Southern Miss fired Will Hall after a loss to Arkansas State.

Houston and ECU were 3-4 this season but just 27-38 overall. Houston was 37-6 as the head coach at James Madison prior to ECU. Houston was being paid $2,349,000 a year. Blake Harrell will be the interim coach.

Hall was 14-30 at Southern Miss after going 56-20 as the head coach at West Alabama and West Georgia. He will be owed $860,000. Reed Stringer will be the interim.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Kalen DeBoer is discovering first hand what it’s like to coach in a fishbowl. Not only that, he’s also learning why coaches like Dan Lanning at Oregon are breathing a sigh of relief because they sent a thankee for asking but no thankee I’m not interested note to Alabama athletic director Michael Byrne when he used the Coconut Telegraph – also known as the agent Jimmy Sexton network – to gauge interest in who would be the sucker who tries to follow Nick Saban.

Back in the 1970s when he was the young and successful head coach at North Carolina State, Lou Holtz was asked if he would like to succeed Woody Hayes at Ohio State. It seemed natural. Lou was a former Woody Hayes assistant and Woody was his mentor. To everyone’s surprise, Holtz replied, “Never follow a legend like Woody Hayes, but I wouldn’t mind being the coach who follows the coach who follows the legend.”

When Bear Bryant retired after the 1982 season, it took Alabama 25 years and six coaches to find its next Bear Bryant. When it comes to Kentucky basketball, John Calipari became the latest to discover you’re just another coach until you’ve won four national championships like Adolph Rupp did.

At Florida, we thought we had our next Steve Spurrier in Urban Meyer, but six years was enough. We’re on the fourth coach since Meyer retired after the 2010 season, the sixth since Spurrier retired from UF after the 2001 season.

So, back to Alabama. Kalen Deboer was 104-12 as a head coach prior to taking the Alabama job. He’s 5-2 now and there is every good chance he could lose another game with Missouri and LSU still on the schedule. Another loss and the entire Bama fan base may suffer the rupture of internal organs due to a fit of apoplexy.

The fans would love it if DeBoer were to resign about now, but he would be crazy to do that since he has a $70 million buyout. He needs to win big to appease the masses or simply follow the Jimbo Fisher example and make them fire him. Jimbo’s squeezing by on $75 million that the Aggies paid him not to coach. Life is rough.