Billy Napier facing criticism in 2024? AD for the Florida Gators replies
As the college football offseason gets underway, the usual conjecture about which coaches are under pressure to resign is bound to surface. However, the man who hired Billy Napier at Florida seems to be of the opinion that the temperature on whichever seat is under fire doesn’t seem to have increased. The term itself offends Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, who asserts that Napier’s place in the Gators football program is assured through 2024.
Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel, “I don’t care,” either the rumors or the language. “It is irrelevant. It’s an invented word. They can be included on any list that people want. It is not related to reality at all.”
You may understand why the term has been used given SEC expectations. Napier has finished at or above.500 in each of the last two seasons despite going 11-14 overall, 6-10 in SEC play, finishing no higher than fourth in the East Division standings, and losing in their only bowl game. Napier began his coaching career in the Swamp with consecutive losing seasons, becoming him the only Florida football coach to do so since the end of World War II. In addition, it’s conceivable that the Gators’ 2024 schedule will be the hardest in the SEC, if not the country.
Napier has responded by making some significant changes, including the addition of veteran Ron Roberts to help with linebackers and overall defense, Craig Fitzgerald for strength and conditioning, and a top-10 recruiting class headlined by five-star quarterback DJ Lagway, the No. 2 signal caller on the 247Sports Composite. He will provide support for Graham Mertz, the experienced transfer who showed growth throughout the previous campaign.
“I think Billy is real,” Stricklin declared. “As a leader, I trust him; I believe in