Not all Week 1 matchups in college football are created equal. Some teams get the benefit of starting the season with lower-level, out-of-conference “cupcake” opponents to ease into the new season. The Florida Gators (0-1) weren’t afforded such luxury for their season opener this year.
The Gators hosted longtime, though rarely faced, rival Miami Hurricanes (1-0) in what ended up being an embarrassingly lopsided 41-17 loss. The defeat marked the first time the Florida football program had lost a home opener since 1989 and was their sixth consecutive loss overall dating back to last season.
This is a new low for a program that has been on a slippery slope since head coach Billy Napier's arrival. Now in his third season in Gainesville, Napier holds an 11-15 record. But this loss could become one that is remembered for a long time in Gators’ history, as it will not be forgotten anytime soon.
With a loss like this, there is undoubtedly a lot of finger-pointing going around, and most fans have a pretty good idea where to start.
Billy Napier…oof
Billy Napier's seat was already scorching hot before the 2024 season ever began. Now, it's likely more than crispy. This was not just a loss to what might be one of the best Miami (FL) football teams in decades but also a loss in a rivalry game that rarely happens—meaning it required a win.
The good news is the Gators get another chance at Miami next year. The bad news—for Napier, at least—is that he will more than likely not be there to attempt to avenge this year's loss.
As mentioned, this is Napier's 15th loss in just his first game of his third season. To put things in perspective, Steve Spurrier lost only 27 games in his 12 seasons with the Gators, while Urban Meyer lost 15 in six years. Jim McElwain wasn’t even given the opportunity to lose 15 games; he was fired 10 games into his third season at Florida. Dan Mullen, the Gators’ previous coach, was fired after his 15th loss in his fourth season in his 11th game that year.
Saturday's loss was the sixth time the Gators have given up 40 or more points in the last three years, which is highly unexpected for a program like Florida. That’s just one of many signs that Florida football has found itself in yet another bad coaching deal. Any patience that remained with the Florida higher-ups is now razor-thin.
Napier’s teams in three seasons have never looked improved; in fact, they appear unprepared and less talented than most of their competition.
Oh, but Napier can definitely make up for the Miami loss by earning a winning record against the toughest schedule in college football this season. The Gators still have seven more preseason top 25 opponents on their remaining schedule, starting on Nov. 2, when they'll face five of those consecutively to end their season.
Napier's house is probably already on Zillow.
Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin
Just a day before the Gators were routed by the Hurricanes, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin seemed to give full confidence in Napier, saying that “patience is going to be rewarded.”
“Billy is a man of substance; he’s a leader of substance,” Stricklin said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “He is very methodical, which probably, long-term, is going to be really good for Florida and for our football program because he’s not gonna cut a corner, he’s not gonna take a shortcut. He’s gonna [build] a really, really solid foundation. And he’s gonna get this thing going to be at the level that all Gators want it to be at, which is competing for championships, playing in meaningful postseason games. Once he gets it to that point, it’s gonna stay at that point.
“I see the steps he’s taken, the caliber of young people he’s brought in. He’s improved the roster, he’s improved the overall structure of the team. I think we have been patient as a university. That patience is gonna be rewarded. I really believe Billy Napier’s gonna be the head coach at Florida for a long, long time.”
One wonders how Stricklin would respond now.
Florida's ineptitude on the field as of late directly correlates back to Stricklin as much as it does to Napier. Yes, this is just one loss, but it feels like a season-defining one—because it probably will be. Some are projecting that this year’s Florida football team may not win more than two games.
Arriving in 2016, Stricklin began with Jim McElwain coaching Gators football but then dismissed him just before McElwain could finish out his third season. Then he fired Dan Mullen, who did have some success with the program. That’s a lot of buyouts, totaling $19.5 million. When, not if, he fires Napier, the University of Florida would owe him $51.8 million, depending on when they make the call.
But Stricklin’s job is just as much on the line. Not many athletic directors get the chance to hire their third head football coach.
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