Billy Napier to Florida

It’s my understanding he isn’t as well-regarded as you’d think. He’d have crawled to Baton Rouge if they’d wanted him.
 
Not a homerun, but a solid double. Hopefully he has the intangibles of the job figured out better than Mac and Mullen.

His head coaching resume’ is excellent, but it’s limited. Amazing success, but at only one small school stop.

I like that he’s learned under a couple of the best in Dabo and Saban, I love what I hear about his attention to detail and CEO-type leadership. I also love that he’s apparently an excellent recruiter. I’d prefer a little more coordinator experience, I’d prefer more HC experience at a bigger program.

I’m not calling it a slam dunk or a homerun, but I’m optimistic and hopeful. I do like that he was apparently Stricklin’s first and only candidate, and while LSU was chasing dreams, Florida was locking in on Napier even before Mullen was fired.

Here we go, new era of Florida football, new era of the UF-UT rivalry.
LOL he was an analyst and position coach under saban and Dabo and got fired from Clemson. Stop with the “learned under saban and Dabo talk” it’s laughable
 
We really need to beat Florida next year because if we don't, I'm not sure we ever will.
Trolololol….. good one.. CJH has proved himself in this league in his first year can’t wait to see what he can do in the East but get better than this year.. officially 3rd correct? Just going to get better..
 
LOL he was an analyst and position coach under saban and Dabo and got fired from Clemson. Stop with the “learned under saban and Dabo talk” it’s laughable
He was actually Dabo's OC and set a record for points scored in his first year at Clemson.
 
Then prepare to be surprised. Aranda signed an extension I believe, and Riley said he is staying put.
IncompatibleSnappyCusimanse-size_restricted.gif
 
Did Napier ever beat Chadwell at Coastal?...That was the guy that scared me UF getting...Glad he wasn't considered.
 
Butch Jones won those conference championships in years one, two, and three. Not just year one. And besides that irrelevant to the matter of this resume. He won those championships.

He won them along with about seven other schools. It was obvious a guy that couldn’t maintain his perch atop the Big East couldn’t pull a program out of the cellar in the SEC.
 
He won them along with about seven other schools. It was obvious a guy that couldn’t maintain his perch atop the Big East couldn’t pull a program out of the cellar in the SEC.
Huh? He won a conference title in his last two seasons there.
 
Then prepare to be surprised. Aranda signed an extension I believe, and Riley said he is staying put.

Aranda hasn't signed anything. How many times have coaches said that very thing only to bolt a few weeks later? It literally happens every year.
 
LSU can name their price on a coach. If they didn't hire Napier, it's likely because he wasn't high on their list. I will be surprised if it isn't Aranda or Riley for LSU.

Footballscoop:

“Let me stop you right there," he said. "I’m not going to be the next coach at LSU. Next question.”


On Sunday afternoon, Pete Thamel reported Riley has emerged as the top target for the USC vacancy, with a deal possibly in place within the next 24 hours.
 
Nothing about this hire will have anyone in the SEC quaking in their boots. He may turn out to be a great hire but he doesn’t bring the resume of a real game changer. Napier isn’t bringing an innovative scheme into Gainesville and I don’t see him outrecruiting Saban, Smart or Jimbo any time soon. This was as good a hire for my Vols as we could have wished for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tnslim1
LOL he was an analyst and position coach under saban and Dabo and got fired from Clemson. Stop with the “learned under saban and Dabo talk” it’s laughable

You’re looking for a reason to knock him and he hasn’t even had the opening presser yet. He was at Clemson 3 years under Dabo, 5 years at Bama under Saban. I don’t care if it’s bringing them coffee, he was within the organization long enough to see them function. And he’s parlayed that into a helluva job at Louisiana.

But hate on… I’m sure you hated the previous UF coaches as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cheese Vol
Napier has a few troubling aspects to his tenure. His biggest upset is over Iowa State, but the composite talent gap from Iowa State to them is actually smaller than the gap from Florida to at least 3 teams they lost to this season.

Biggest red flags, he had to have a late touchdown to beat Butch this year and his 2-10 squad. They also had to have a 4th quarter FG to beat Nichols State, an FCS team that wasn't very good this year and lost to Incarnate Word. They had to have a late defensive stand to stop a 3 win Georgia Southern team from potetially sending it to overtime. The South Alabama team we just rolled missed a 37yd FG that would have won the game for them over Napier. They had to come from behind to squeak one out over Georgia State. They got smashed by what turned out to be a bad Texas team in their loss.

His quarterback started every game for the last three years and only has about 3 or 4 300 yard games in his career. They appear to be an old school, run first offense. They don't score a ton of points vs some really bad defenses at times. Not sure how well that will go over in Florida.

Biggest positive is that he finds ways to win against teams he's evenly matched with, even if it's ugly at times. I doubt his 4 year record is better than Mullen's but you never know.
Mullen had 4 years to recruit in the SEC. Doubt Napier had that kind of talent at his disposal at LA.
 
swoop in coach hype and get them florida kids before napier can establish anything at all in florida. It's going to take him a few years to get established and make contacts, all the while working with an ad he doesn't know, in a building he doesn't know, with fans he doesn't know, in a area he doesn't know.
 
I’m more concerned with our team figuring out how to NOT let a first year coach (or back-up QB) set new records against us. The Florida game was a huge disappointment this year, especially considering how they ended up. As much as I like Coach Heupel, until he proves he can beat Florida, I’ll still have some nagging doubts. Seems like they could hire a homeless meth-head off the street as HC and still beat us by 21+.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tntar heel

VN Store



Back
Top