Scott Stricklin needs Napier to have success like Todd Golden

In three years Todd Golden has turned UF basketball into a national power (Photo by Chris Spears)

It was March 18, 2022, just five days after Mike White had stunned the Gator Nation by taking the job at Georgia. Florida fans weren’t exactly unhappy that White was leaving, but the fact that it was Georgia made this a less than amicable divorce.

Everybody agreed that White is a good, likeable man, but likeable and what is perceived as capable are two different things. Florida fans are spoiled by the past success of Billy Donovan. Mike White won more games than he lost, had success on the recruiting trail and even made the Elite Eight in 2017. Had center John Egbunu not suffered a torn ACL, the Gators might have made the Final Four and the trajectory of White’s career could have changed dramatically.

He never replicated the 2017 success and while Florida fans grew weary of good but not great, White and his family also grew weary of fans expectations. So he left, just three days after the Gators lost in overtime to Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Tampa.  

Five days later, athletic director Scott Stricklin hired 36-year-old Todd Golden from San Francisco. Golden had only three years of head coaching experience so many of those same fans pissed off that Mike White left for Georgia wondered out loud if Stricklin was out too far over his skis.

Obviously, Stricklin made the right hire because Todd Golden has the Gators going to the Final Four where they will face Auburn in San Antonio on Saturday (6:09 p.m., CBS). The Golden hire stands as the single most important accomplishment of Stricklin’s Florida tenure.

Nine months after Stricklin hired Golden to replace Mike White, Dan Mullen was fired as football coach. In a very similar whirlwind manner, Stricklin hired Billy Napier, the head coach at Louisiana. Think of the similarities of the two hires. Golden was three years the head coach at a West Coast Conference school. Napier was four years the football coach at a Sun Belt Conference school. Golden was a Bruce Pearl assistant during the same time that Napier was a Nick Saban assistant at Alabama.

That’s where the similarities end. Golden has the Gators in the hunt for a national championship in three years on the job. He has the Florida program structured in such a way that championship success can be sustained. Golden is likeable and approachable. His offenses are wide open and entertaining. He is a media darling.

Although Florida football is trending in the right direction, Napier has only one winning season in three years on the Florida job. Even with another monster of a schedule, Napier has the Gators expected to win eight or nine regular season games in 2025. He has an electric, charismatic quarterback in DJ Lagway and good recruiting has brought in excellent skill people to make Lagway’s job easier.

As good as Lagway is, however, it would be a shocker if the Gators are in the hunt for an SEC championship plus earn an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff. He’s going to need a great season because whether or not Golden brings home a national championship, he’s already accomplished more than Napier.  

From a personality standpoint, Golden comes across fun and approachable. Napier comes across as an old school kind of coach who seems cool and aloof. Gator fans are in love with their basketball coach. They’re still trying to figure out the football coach. They would like to embrace him but don’t seem to know how to do it.

If Todd Golden wins a national championship in seven days, he could probably run for governor and win. He has Florida poised for greatness and at 39 years old, long term success seems inevitable. It’s not difficult to see championships and deep runs in the NCAA Tournament in his future.

Can Billy Napier turn the program into the kind of power that the Gators have become in three years? Comparing football and basketball is like comparing apples and oranges but tell that to a fan base that got spoiled by two football two national titles in three years while at the same time the basketball team went back-to-back.

Todd Golden is the crown jewel in Scott Stricklin’s tenure as athletic director. That jewel will seem bigger and brighter than ever if the Gators win the national championship in basketball. Stricklin desperately needs Billy Napier to turn the football program into something similarly successful.

COACHING NEWS

Villanova: The worst kept secret of the weekend was the hire of Maryland’s Kevin Willard at Nova. In San Francisco at the NCAA West Regional, several people who routinely have inside info to such things, knew Willard was a goner even before the Terps played and lost to Florida in the Sweet 16 round. Willard has been successful everywhere he’s coached. If he can corral the talent in metro Philadelphia then Villanova should do better than it did under Kyle Neptune. Willard’s personality is quirky, which might go against the Villanova grain.

Maryland: One particular insider who works for CBS was quite adamant that the next coach at Maryland will be Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams. The question is why since Maryland is known to have money issues and only God and the Longhorns have more money than the Aggies. Perhaps Williams is more comfortable in a situation where he’s at THE state school and not at one that will always be little brother to big brother Texas. At Maryland, the fertile recruiting grounds of metro DC, Baltimore and the Tidewater area of Virginia would make it easier to land high quality players than in Aggieland.

Texas A&M: If Williams does bolt for Maryland, then who would the Aggies pick up on short notice. They have enough money to make a Godfather offer to someone, but who? Some high profile coach might find the challenge of the Southeastern Conference exhilarating. Then again, many more of the high profile persuasion might think it’s a whole lot easier to win big right where they are. Now, if the Aggies want to get under the skin of the Longhorns they should make it impossible for Ole Miss coach Chris Beard to say no. Beard got run off by Texas, but he’s been basking in success at Ole Miss while Texas has floundered. Another coach who might fit the profile would be Clemson’s Brad Brownell. Brownell understands what it’s like to coach at a football first school, but never in Clemson’s wildest dreams has it had Aggie money.

Xavier: When Sean Miller needed a lifeline, Xavier hired him to come coach for a second time at the school. When Texas came calling, Miller bolted. The new coach is Little Ricky. Former Florida assistant and New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino left the Mountain West for the Big East where he will be going head-to-head for recruits and in ball games against his dad. This is a good hire for Xavier.

SEC PLAYERS IN THE PORTAL

Georgia: SG Silas Demary Jr. (6-5, 195, JR)

Kentucky: PF Kam Williams (6-8, 190, FR from Tulane)

LSU: PF Noah Boyde (7-0, 245, JR); SG Vyctorius Miller (6-5, 185, FR); SG Mike Williams (6-3, 180, SO); PF Corey Chest (6-8, 220, FR); SF Tyrell Ward (6-6, 195, JR)

Mississippi State: SG Martavious Russell (6-3, 190, SO); C Michael Nwoko (6-10, 245, SO; PG Kanye Cleary (5-11, 190, JR)

Missouri: C Jevon Porter (6-11, 235, JR from Loyola Marymount); PF Aidan Shaw (6-9, 210, JR)

Oklahoma: SF Jacolb-Fredson Cole (6-7, 220, FR to McNeese); C Yaya Keita (6-9, 241, JR)

Ole Miss: SG TJ Caldwell (6-4, 190, JR)

South Carolina: SG Treyson Eaglestaff (6-6, 190, JR from North Dakota); C/PF Nick Pringle (6-10, 220, SR); SF Arden Conyers; PG Zachary Davis (6-7, 200, JR); CG Austin Herro (6-3, 180, FR)

Texas: SF Devon Pryor (6-7, 185, SO)

Texas A&M: SF Rob Dockery (6-6, 215, FR)

Vanderbilt: SG Jason Edwards (6-1, 175, JR); SG Jordan Williams (6-2, 215, JR); SG Alex Hemenway (6-4, 190, SR); C Jaylen Carey (6-8, 265, SO); PF Jaqualon Roberts (6-8, 230, SO); PG Karris Bilal (6-2, 190, FR)