Florida Gators

[gatormarc 904]

Yesterday could have gone better. I'd have to go back and rewatch now that I'm home -- but I don't want to -- but I think Napier was just swapping out QBs every series, nothing based on their play. Mertz seemed to be doing well but kept getting pulled. Our running game sucks. Johnson is a good RB, there's just no OL push.

[Bill Lumbergh 7168]

1 minute ago, gatormarc said:

Yesterday could have gone better. I'd have to go back and rewatch now that I'm home -- but I don't want to -- but I think Napier was just swapping out QBs every series, nothing based on their play. Mertz seemed to be doing well but kept getting pulled. Our running game sucks. Johnson is a good RB, there's just no OL push.

You came out of the half needing a spark, and Lagway provided that on his first series. 

Instead of trying to build momentum off of that, he sat out the next series. 

I knew you guys were done after that.

[kevwun 15539]

There was no rhyme or reason to his switching them out.  It was about as clear of proof that they could ask for that he has absolutely no clue what the fuck he is doing.

[gatormarc 904]

2 minutes ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

You came out of the half needing a spark, and Lagway provided that on his first series. 

Instead of trying to build momentum off of that, he sat out the next series. 

I knew you guys were done after that.

Sounds about right. The game is a blur, between the lightning delay, the rain, and maybe too many beers.

[956 Worldwide 34222]

57 minutes ago, gatormarc said:

Yesterday could have gone better. I'd have to go back and rewatch now that I'm home -- but I don't want to -- but I think Napier was just swapping out QBs every series, nothing based on their play. Mertz seemed to be doing well but kept getting pulled. Our running game sucks. Johnson is a good RB, there's just no OL push.

Napier’s QB rotation seemed like a game strategy you create for a lower-tier FCS team when you’re just trying to work on concepts and reps and don’t care how much you win by.  Absolutely not what you do in a conference home game with your job on the line. 

[Bill Lumbergh 7168]

27 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Napier’s QB rotation seemed like a game strategy you create for a lower-tier FCS team when you’re just trying to work on concepts and reps and don’t care how much you win by.  Absolutely not what you do in a conference home game with your job on the line. 

There were rumors Jimbo really wanted out of CS last year, and was coaching like it. 

Everything about how Napier coached yesterday made me think the same might be true in Gainesville.

[billfromlaketravis 11302]

46 minutes ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

There were rumors Jimbo really wanted out of CS last year, and was coaching like it. 

Everything about how Napier coached yesterday made me think the same might be true in Gainesville.

A friend mentioned this theory yesterday and I dismissed it. I think Napier is just a stubborn asshole. 
 

His buyout isn’t bad by modern standards. I believe it’s the $25 million range. They could probably gotten Fisch if they did this in 2023. 

[utexas8 1433]

FSU should hire jimbo and UF Meyer. Seem like good fits.

[TKthunder2 4970]

4 hours ago, Valmy77 said:

I think Florida should wait until after the season to evaluate the head coach situation. Let's not be too hasty and give Coach Napier a chance to right the ship.

Or at least until after November 9th.

If the rumor is true that they want to hire Kiffin (who Vegas thinks will will make the CFP) then waiting until after the season to fire him would be far better than firing him early, letting all your players go into the portal and having very few high school recruits sign on NSD in Dec.

[MonkeyDoughnut 10063]

9 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

If the rumor is true that they want to hire Kiffin (who Vegas thinks will will make the CFP) then waiting until after the season to fire him would be far better than firing him early, letting all your players go into the portal and having very few high school recruits sign on NSD in Dec.

You think keeping Napier changes that?

[TKthunder2 4970]

15 minutes ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

You think keeping Napier changes that?

It’s going to be bad regardless, but letting your team not have someone at the helm for all of Nov/Dec would be worse than keeping him.

[billfromlaketravis 11302]

1 hour ago, TKthunder2 said:

If the rumor is true that they want to hire Kiffin (who Vegas thinks will will make the CFP) then waiting until after the season to fire him would be far better than firing him early, letting all your players go into the portal and having very few high school recruits sign on NSD in Dec.

Does Kiffin like recruiting/working long hours? He’d have to do both at Florida. 

[AUS-97HORN 11580]

I mean wtf did the gator fans expect, they had an over under season win total of 4.     if you see that before the season, just fucking accept its gonna suck, and ride out the season, or you should have fired him during the summer. 

[Captain Obvious 516]

1 minute ago, AUS-97HORN said:

I mean wtf did the gator fans expect, they had an over under season win total of 4.     if you see that before the season, just fucking accept its gonna suck, and ride out the season, or you should have fired him during the summer. 

Napier giving up play calling duties or at least attempting to install an offense that took advantage of Lagway's athleticism would have been nice.  

[campcrunk 2277]

I feel for UF fans. Yesterday, I saw a team that was absolutely clueless in all phases of the game, especially coverage and pass D generally. Zero identity or strategy on offense.  It was like looking through a time portal to the Charlie Strong years. I half expected Napier to forget his QB's name and botch a coin toss

 

Edit: I also wanted to point out that this board would be treating a 13 point win over this UF team like a loss - and rightfully so

Edited September 15 by campcrunk

[Nivek 16741]

10 minutes ago, campcrunk said:

I feel for UF fans. Yesterday, I saw a team that was absolutely clueless in all phases of the game, especially coverage and pass D generally. Zero identity or strategy on offense.  It was like looking through a time portal to the Charlie Strong years. I half expected Napier to forget his QB's name and botch a coin toss

 

Edit: I also wanted to point out that this board would be treating a 13 point win over this UF team like a loss - and rightfully so

They have won 2 titles since we won our last. 

[gatormarc 904]

2 hours ago, AUS-97HORN said:

I mean wtf did the gator fans expect, they had an over under season win total of 4.     if you see that before the season, just fucking accept its gonna suck, and ride out the season, or you should have fired him during the summer. 

I think I said something before the season, it's not really what the record is. It's how the team is performing and how the recruiting class is coming together.

The end result of the season probably doesn't change, but if the PTB have an actual strategy that in spires the current players and recruits to stay committed, that's when you would need to act. But that's a big IF. I haven't heard of any homerun hires out there that can stabilize the program between now and when they step on campus.

[bad_teammate 13087]

4 hours ago, utexas8 said:

UF Meyer

This, but unironically

[ClubWhatever 12079]

What's Matt Rhules buyout?

[Underdog 28371]

2 hours ago, campcrunk said:

I feel for UF fans. 

 

[ApocalypseTexas 297]

Anyone know if he ever got the cap off the water bottle?

[Elmer_Fudd 22023]

3 hours ago, campcrunk said:

I feel for UF fans. Yesterday, I saw a team that was absolutely clueless in all phases of the game, especially coverage and pass D generally. Zero identity or strategy on offense.  It was like looking through a time portal to the Charlie Strong years. I half expected Napier to forget his QB's name and botch a coin toss

 

Edit: I also wanted to point out that this board would be treating a 13 point win over this UF team like a loss - and rightfully so

They looked like a Charlie Strong team last year.   That season opener vs Utah was pathetic from a coaching/being prepared standpoint.

Edited September 16 by Elmer_Fudd

[Doc Sam Beckett 5781]

In his second full season as head coach, Dabo went 6-7, thanks in large part to his horrible offensive coordinator. I didn't think Dabo was smart enough to fire that drooling moron, but he did, and went on to win 2 national championships.

The offensive coordinator that was fired, immediately making Clemson light years better?

You guessed it, Billy Napier 

[CurlyDumps 4416]

8 hours ago, gatormarc said:

Yesterday could have gone better. 

That's a very, uh, zen take on what transpired. 

[HeHateMe 877]

1 hour ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

In his second full season as head coach, Dabo went 6-7, thanks in large part to his horrible offensive coordinator. I didn't think Dabo was smart enough to fire that drooling moron, but he did, and went on to win 2 national championships.

The offensive coordinator that was fired, immediately making Clemson light years better?

You guessed it, Billy Napier 

Buying recruits to save his job helped Dabo too.  Or having the church buy them. 

[statsman 5361]

5 hours ago, Nivek said:

They have won 2 titles since we won our last. 

Sure. And we have played for a NC since they last played for one. 
 
Tim Tebow is 37. 
 
Edited: googled Chris Leak. He was coaching a HS in 2016. He was charged with an illicit affair with a 16 year old, but charges were dropped when the victim declined to support them. 

Edited September 16 by statsman

[markstanco 12461]

The last few hires were successful (obviously) before hired. This is aggyish in a lot of ways. They have money, fan support, recruits, but they have culture issues apparently.

[Zeus 5900]

Send him back to wherever on the short bus with the AD too. Starting Mertz was just such garbage. 

[Zeus 5900]

11 minutes ago, markstanco said:

The last few hires were successful (obviously) before hired. This is aggyish in a lot of ways. They have money, fan support, recruits, but they have culture issues apparently.

 

Jim Mcelwain had no control over the players and no offensive scheme. They had a credit card scam scandal with like 20 players. 
 

Dan Mullen did run an offense but zero defense, he also supposedly wasn’t much for recruiting or program building really. They had a guy throw a shoe through the fog against LSU lost them the game. Zero discipline 

 

Billy has done fine with discipline and recruiting, but horrible with scheme. The Miami coach said they drilled the top 6 plays from last year and were able to diagnose and stop the Florida offense with ease. They didn’t evolve or mix it up from year to year. The scheme is so simple a fucking Miami Hurricane DC can stop them easily. 

 

Either Billy needs to hire a real OC under him or fuck off. 

[msucolt45 3978]

 
Jim Mcelwain had no control over the players and no offensive scheme. They had a credit card scam scandal with like 20 players. 
 
Dan Mullen did run an offense but zero defense, he also supposedly wasn’t much for recruiting or program building really. They had a guy throw a shoe through the fog against LSU lost them the game. Zero discipline 
 
Billy has done fine with discipline and recruiting, but horrible with scheme. The Miami coach said they drilled the top 6 plays from last year and were able to diagnose and stop the Florida offense with ease. They didn’t evolve or mix it up from year to year. The scheme is so simple a fucking Miami Hurricane DC can stop them easily. 
 
Either Billy needs to hire a real OC under him or fuck off. 

Hey Man, the current Miami DC is a McNeese alumn, Lance Guidry, so I take offense to their defensive scheming vs Florida!

Hook’em!!!

[msucolt45 3978]

Quoted the wrong poster, as it’s already in the new day, and I have to get my fat ass up in about 4 hours!

F- Gator, Miami, and all others in this thread that don’t wear Burnt Orange!

Hook’em!!!

[Longboard Horn 39985]

Their program is going from bad to worse. They just lost to aggy with a back up QB. Holy fuck Arch is gonna skull fuck them when they come to Austin.

[locodos 5326]

31 minutes ago, Longboard Horn said:

Their program is going from bad to worse. They just lost to aggy with a back up QB. Holy fuck Arch is gonna skull fuck them when they come to Austin.

[Bookman 4600]

After Steve Spurrier left, Florida has had:

1. Three seasons with Ron Zook.

2. Six seasons with Urban Meyer - Two National Championships

3. Four seasons with Will Muschamp.

4. Three seasons with Jim McElwain.

5. Four seasons with Dan Mullen. 

6.  Three seasons with Mark Napier. 

I wonder if the admins ever think "gee, maybe it's us." 

 

[closetojumping 62030]

The current DC is Ron Roberts. The guy is a retread bum. He was run out of Auburn on a rail last year for similar poor performance.

[Pam Cummings 9499]

Napier is done. Cooked. Finished.

 

That's my breaking news for the day

[hornian 5183]

53 minutes ago, Bookman said:

After Steve Spurrier left, Florida has had:

1. Three seasons with Ron Zook.

2. Six seasons with Urban Meyer - Two National Championships

3. Four seasons with Will Muschamp.

4. Three seasons with Jim McElwain.

5. Four seasons with Dan Mullen. 

6.  Three seasons with Mark Napier. 

I wonder if the admins ever think "gee, maybe it's us." 

 

Is Billy his middle name? Or did you just pull “Mark Napier” out of your ass? 

[Elmer_Fudd 22023]

7 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

The current DC is Ron Roberts. The guy is a retread bum. He was run out of Auburn on a rail last year for similar poor performance.

Didn't Dave Arranda give him the boot two years ago at Baylor as well?

[BurntOrange&White 39220]

8 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

Napier is done. Cooked. Finished.

 

That's my breaking news for the day

[WinningIsHard 3978]

I think there was a contingent on this board that wanted Texas to hire napier and had vitriol for the sark hire, that seems to have worked out nicely for us haha. Napier sucks and it couldn't happen to a better program. 

[gatormarc 904]

1 hour ago, Bookman said:

After Steve Spurrier left, Florida has had:

1. Three seasons with Ron Zook.

2. Six seasons with Urban Meyer - Two National Championships

3. Four seasons with Will Muschamp.

4. Three seasons with Jim McElwain.

5. Four seasons with Dan Mullen. 

6.  Three seasons with Mark Napier. 

I wonder if the admins ever think "gee, maybe it's us." 

The administration changed between #4 and #5.

Jeremy Foley was considered one of the best ADs in the country and made a ton of great hires across the board in athletics and is a major reason why UF has the streak of 30+ years finishing in the top 10 in the all-sports rankings, though it could be argued that he never made a good one for football. Spurrier was one of the last hires that Arnsparger made before returning to the NFL, and it's arguable that Meyer's hire was directed and made happen by then-president, Bernie Machen who had just come from Utah the year before. 

Stricklin has been the AD since 2016 and he brought Mullen with him from Miss St. and of all of the hires, the only one that's been successful has been Nesty, our swimming coach.

He's also made two spectacularly bad coaching hires in women's basketball and soccer. Both who not only never won, but were fired over abuse accusations.

[South Austin 51965]

aggy will overpay for DJ Lagway in the off-season.

[boilerhorn 1292]

UF will have to do a reset.  There is no combination of coordinator shifts or lower-level coaching changes that will salvage this.  They are hiring tier 2 coordinators fired for poor performance at the likes of Baylor.  They're doomed until the reset occurs.

[BurntOrange&White 39220]

Florida needs to figure out if they're set on keeping Stricklin as AD first....

[gatormarc 904]

3 minutes ago, boilerhorn said:

UF will have to do a reset.  There is no combination of coordinator shifts or lower-level coaching changes that will salvage this.  They are hiring tier 2 coordinators fired for poor performance at the likes of Baylor.  They're doomed until the reset occurs.

Mullen was really bad at hiring assistants. He kept going to the well with some of the same guys that worked with him before, left and failed elsewhere.

We found out later that it's just that he was really an unlikable person so the only people who would work with him were the same people who knew they could put up with him or had failed elsewhere and at least were going to get a better paycheck.

I honestly don't know what we'll find out with Napier. He came in with the demand for an open checkbook, hired 100 staffers, but then just kept hiring friends from his wedding party as assistant coaches.

[ClubWhatever 12079]

42 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Didn't Dave Arranda give him the boot two years ago at Baylor as well?

Yes.  Because, predictably, their defense took a huge hit once Rhule's players left.  And Roberts replacement was so terrible that they replaced him with the head coach.

[gatormarc 904]

2 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Florida needs to figure out if they're set on keeping Stricklin as AD first....

We're in the middle of a president search.

Fuchs stepped down in 2022 and DeSantis forced in Sasse, a politician from Nebraska with almost no educational experience. 

He lasted 18 months before stepping down and they're now dealing with tens of millions of missing dollars that he apparently handed out to his friends.

Fuchs is back in as an interim.

 

[Helobious 9459]

13 minutes ago, BurntOrange&White said:

Florida needs to figure out if they're set on keeping Stricklin as AD first....

They hired an AD from Mississippi St, and are now shocked that he’s turned them into Mississippi St

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

8 minutes ago, gatormarc said:

Mullen was really bad at hiring assistants. He kept going to the well with some of the same guys that worked with him before, left and failed elsewhere.

We found out later that it's just that he was really an unlikable person so the only people who would work with him were the same people who knew they could put up with him or had failed elsewhere and at least were going to get a better paycheck.

I honestly don't know what we'll find out with Napier. He came in with the demand for an open checkbook, hired 100 staffers, but then just kept hiring friends from his wedding party as assistant coaches.

Let’s grant he’s an asshole who hires cronies. 

Is he concussed, or what did he promise Mertz that keeps him from making Lagway the guy? The season is in the tank. What you have to sell is the future and, if the future carries inherent problems (“hey, he’s a freshman, but he’s going to learn”), so much the better. Mertz isn’t it. Why not rip off the Bandaid?

[Horn80 6017]

Napier firing is on an egg timer.