Napier might still be coach if he had grabbed Stricklin's lifeline

(Photo by Chris Spears)

Thoughts from an eventful Monday:

Even before the 2025 season began, Billy Napier sealed his own fate. It happened in what athletic director Scott Stricklin described Monday as “hours” of conversations about the need for Napier to give up play calling to focus on the duties of being the head football coach at the University of Florida.

"I shared with him that I thought that his strength may be in leading the program and overseeing the bigger picture," Stricklin said. "But at the end of the day, my philosophy is, you hire head coaches – as athletic directors, you hire head coaches – you give them authority to make decisions on how they want to run their program, and you hold them accountable to that."

There are reports that Napier did reach out to Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., but when Weis elected to stay put, there were no further discussions with anyone else. Napier remained the play caller and up until the very end, was defiant in his decision to maintain the status quo, often stating that he, better than anyone else, knew what the offense was capable of, therefore it was better for him to call the plays. It was thought that Florida’s offense would be dynamic this season due to the return of quarterback DJ Lagway, running backs Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson, and a covey of wide receivers with great speed.

The offense should have been explosive, but it is ranked 13^th among the 16 SEC teams (92^nd nationally) at 363 yards per game. The injury to Lagway was a setback, but the biggest problems were predictability and inconsistency. The play calls rarely fooled anybody and made it seem as if Napier was playing not to lose rather than playing to win.

His adamant refusal to take his thumb off the offense ultimately got Napier fired. He should have listened to his athletic director. Scott Stricklin wasn’t trying to turn his head coach into a puppet, but he was offering a lifeline.

Had Napier reached out to take the lifeline, he might still be Florida’s head coach.

MORE FROM SCOTT STRICKLIN

"My sense is we will have a wide variety of candidates," Stricklin suggested. "We want people who can win championships at the University of Florida. That's going to be our goal. We want somebody who can come in here, be a strong leader and win championships. And, like I said, there's probably people from a lot of different backgrounds that could have the potential to do that.

"It is tricky. There are three current coaches in college football who have won national championships. So unless one of those three decided that they want to come and we think they're the right fit, we're going to have to be making a projection somewhere along the line. Sometimes you find that person. And we've had instances here where we've brought people in. My guess is most of the coaches have won national titles at the University of Florida across various sports. I don't know this for a fact, but my guess is the first time they ever won one won was at the University of Florida. We need somebody to come join that list." 

INTERIM HEAD COACH BILLY GONZALES SAID IT

“I love Florida. You all know I love Florida. This is a special place to me. My daughter was born here 20 years ago. I've been here with three different head coaches. Won two National Championships. I've seen what it can do -- not just the University of Florida football, but Mr. Stricklin talked about the academics. You talk about all the other athletic programs around here. It's a special place.

“A goal of mine would be obviously be able to stay here. My first goal is to make sure we put a fantastic group of players on that football field that are going to compete and play for the University of Florida.

“I told these guys yesterday -- it's really important that I tell my room this -- when you're in my room, the wide receivers, I always talk about you play for the patch. And that means a lot to me. It means a lot to our players.

“I had a long talk with Brandon Spikes this past year. We went back. It is, you play for the patch. And I think that's the most important thing. The players, we play for the patch. You represent your name on the back of your jersey.

“I think when you put them together, I think you get something special.”

STEVE SPURRIER SAID IT

On the “Another Dooley Noted” podcast, Steve Spurrier said, “Coaches, they’re as good as their record, and unfortunately Billy’s record wasn’t all that good. In four years, not just this year. Our management, our AD and president, whoever, thought it was time to go ahead and make a change.”

PAUL FINEBAUM SAID IT

“It should have been done at the end of last year, but Napier won a couple of games so AD Scott Stricklin went all-in on him. But, he was never the right choice. That was obvious early on. They struggled. They hung with him. Nice guy, everybody loved him – but he could not win big games or enough big games.”

DJ LAGWAY SAID IT

“Yeah, I’ll just say my whole thing is to keep the guys together. We got to go finish strong these five games. I'm going to play my heart out. I'm going to continue to get better each and every day, and my guys are going to do the same thing. That’s our goal.”

JAKE SLAUGHTER SAID IT

"I think change is part of life. I would say that there's that happens with change, especially one like this, it comes with changing coaching. It does a lot, and I think that we're going to lean on each other in the locker room. We're going to lean on each other in the coaches that take care of us now. We're ultimately going to work to make each other proud and play our best ball."

MYLES GRAHAM SAID IT

“I'm living out my dream honestly, despite the circumstances everything that's going on, I'm still living out my dream. This is what I prayed for, and I'm extremely excited to keep fighting with my guys. I give them five more opportunities to play the game I love and with my brothers. So that means a lot to me.” 

NAMES YOU’RE GOING TO HEAR DURING THE COACH SEARCH

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss: Ole Miss boosters want to raise Lane from the $9.2 million he’s making now to $11.2 million with a rollover on his contract. That means Florida is going to have to be pro-active, perhaps to the point of making a Godfather offer. If Ole Miss is willing to pay $11.2 then Florida has to be willing to pay $12.2 or $13.2. That is a huge commitment of financial resources at a time that the stadium will be undergoing renovation, but this is a coach who can restore Florida football to the highest levels. If he can win 10 or more games consistently at Ole Miss, he can certainly do that well or better at Florida with the many resources he will have at his fingertips. Nobody knows, understands or manipulates the portal as well, so that makes Kiffin the coach Florida has to do everything within its power to land.

Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri: Like Napier, he got his start in the Sun Belt, but unlike Napier, he has won and with far less in terms of money, facilities and support. He has a legitimate chance to post a third straight season with at least 10 wins. His offense is ranked 10^th nationally and his defense 5^th.  He signed an extension that pays him more than $9 million and has him contracted to Mizzou until 20230.

Jed Fisch, Washington: He is a Florida grad who was a student assistant for Steve Spurrier. He’s a buddy and former roommate of Philadelphia Eagles VP/GM Howie Roseman, another Florida grad. He rebuilt Arizona when it was a disaster, taking the program to a 10-3 record in year three. At Washington, he went 6-7 in year one and has the Huskies 5-1. Very bright offensive mind who runs a similar offense to the one Spurrier ran at Florida. Washington pays him $7.7 million.

Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: He is being mentioned by a lot of network types, but the question that should be asked is why leave Notre Dame? He has already played for a national championship, has plenty of resources at his disposal and the Notre Dame brand can get him into any door in the country. People who know him closely say the only job he would leave Notre Dame for is Ohio State, his alma mater. Freeman was a linebacker for the Buckeyes and was the leading tackler when the Gators beat Ohio State in the 2006 national championship game. He’s paid $7.5 million at Notre Dame.

Rhett Lashley, SMU: The gozillionaires who write the big checks at SMooz say they’ll spend whatever is necessary to keep him in Dallas. They need to put their money where their mouths are since he’s only making $3.5 million. He’s a bright offensive mind. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand he’s got an easier path to the College Football Playoff going through the ACC than he would in the SEC. He’s also one of the favorites to be the next coach at Arkansas.

Jeff Brohm, Louisville: Pete Thamel of ESPN suggests Brohm could be a candidate. He is a former Louisville QB, who played for Howie Schnellenberger. He’s 89-53 as a college head coach at Western Kentucky, Purdue and now Louisville where he is in his third season. Why would he leave Louisville, which is his alma mater? Plus it’s an easier path to the playoff through the ACC than it is in the SEC. He makes $5.5 million.

Alex Golesh, South Florida: Yes, he’s from a group of five program, but he’s a hot property. He knows the Southeastern Conference from his time at Tennessee with Josh Heupel. His South Florida offense ranks No. 1 in the American Conference and 13^th nationally. The Bulls average 476 yards per game. That’s 113 more per game than the Gators, who he beat in game two. He took over a bad situation at USF, has taken the Bulls to two straight bowl games and has them on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff. He’s paid $2.5 million.