My 48 hour period of mourning has lapsed so here I am – although some of the posts on here make me want to extend the timeout.
10 things.
1. Was it bad? Yep. It sure was. To me, the most disappointing parts were the mental mistakes and special teams (queue the “again” GIF on special teams). 8 men on the field; dueling #3’s; penalties on 3rd and 1; clock management; delay of game; fielding punts inside the 5 yd line; shanked punt, missed FG, etc. etc.
2. Do I have doubts that BN is the right guy? Honestly, more than I did before the game. But not in a huge way like I did with Swamp Donkey and Mullen. I never had that feeling EVER in the early tenure of Spurrier and Meyer. But, to be honest, I did not have doubts about Muschamp either until way too late -- so take my opinion with a boulder of salt. I think if Napier can turn this around, he will be with us for a very long time. Sadly, I think the Tennessee game just became way more important. And that is exactly what I want: Billy to succeed here. I am not giving up on my coach.
3. Look, there has never been a time in the history of UF where boosters were asked to make such tremendous contributions to UF. A member on this site (SAC) sets the standard. But with that request comes responsibility and accountability. The Boosters who have been asked to give to the program made their money by making smart investments and are used to getting a return on their investment – in this case, the joy and pride of having a successful sports program at UF. Personally, all I want this season is to show that the downward ugly arrow of the crappy trajectory has been re-routed and is headed upward. To me, that is the standard for this season given this nasty schedule. I am 100% sticking Napier until it becomes clear to me that he is not the right guy. We are not anywhere close to that yet
4. Are the recruits still hanging in there? Yes. This is about personal relationships, and those are still strong. We need to play smarter and better, but we don’t have a recruit flight problem right now.
5. Was Napier mad after the game and did he express that to his team and staff? YES. I am not going into any more details there.
6. Will Billy hire an Offensive coordinator? Yes, but it will not be this year.
7. Was I surprised we lost? Not really. I did not think we would win this game even without Utah’s Rising. They are a veteran team in an established program with an excellent coach in a hostile environment. We are a young team and, for many, our first real road test came in Week 1. That sucked for us. I would have liked to have played McNeese St first to get some of these bugs out. So, I was not surprised with the outcome, but I was surprised and disappointed by the way we looked unprepared and poorly coached. When you are given an army, there are ZERO excuses for some of these gametime mistakes.
8. Is Billy getting fired this year? That is a big fat Hell No. He will be given more time. SS still believes in him. When SS and BN negotiated the coach’s contract, it was completely predicated upon UF giving Napier plenty of time to address the dumpster fire that was UF football. The financial penalty to UF for cutting Napier loose early is extreme. SS made a commitment, and he will let it play out. I agree with this approach 100%. We were completely broken. Am I disappointed in how we looked on Thursday night? Of course. But that does not mean we shorten the pier on which BN has been asked to walk? No – especially when we are on the brink of a large fundraising campaign for the stadium renovation.
9. I was asked this question yesterday in a DM: Do I expect fans to boo the team this Saturday? C’mon. We are better than that. Zero upside to that. Recruits are watching.
10. I think our Defense is much better. Yes, we gave up a big play to start the game, and, yes, Utah missed a few other wide-open opportunities. But we tackled well, played a ton of people, held Utah to less than 30% in 3rd down conversions (no, 3rd and Grantham issues) and did not give up a ton of yards. I think AA is going to be special. This Defense will improve throughout the year.
So, we have a choice to make. We can issue judgment now, turn our backs on this staff and team, and raise hell demanding another change. What great coach is coming here if our leash is so short? Does losing and playing like crap hurt? You damn well know it. What is best for Gator Nation is for THIS coaching staff to turn the corner and show improvement THIS year. Fans asking for heads after a week 1 loss on the road against a good Utah team is not the answer in my opinion. Hold your gavel in your hand until the end of the season, judges.
In the meantime: Don’t Back Down.
10 things.
1. Was it bad? Yep. It sure was. To me, the most disappointing parts were the mental mistakes and special teams (queue the “again” GIF on special teams). 8 men on the field; dueling #3’s; penalties on 3rd and 1; clock management; delay of game; fielding punts inside the 5 yd line; shanked punt, missed FG, etc. etc.
2. Do I have doubts that BN is the right guy? Honestly, more than I did before the game. But not in a huge way like I did with Swamp Donkey and Mullen. I never had that feeling EVER in the early tenure of Spurrier and Meyer. But, to be honest, I did not have doubts about Muschamp either until way too late -- so take my opinion with a boulder of salt. I think if Napier can turn this around, he will be with us for a very long time. Sadly, I think the Tennessee game just became way more important. And that is exactly what I want: Billy to succeed here. I am not giving up on my coach.
3. Look, there has never been a time in the history of UF where boosters were asked to make such tremendous contributions to UF. A member on this site (SAC) sets the standard. But with that request comes responsibility and accountability. The Boosters who have been asked to give to the program made their money by making smart investments and are used to getting a return on their investment – in this case, the joy and pride of having a successful sports program at UF. Personally, all I want this season is to show that the downward ugly arrow of the crappy trajectory has been re-routed and is headed upward. To me, that is the standard for this season given this nasty schedule. I am 100% sticking Napier until it becomes clear to me that he is not the right guy. We are not anywhere close to that yet
4. Are the recruits still hanging in there? Yes. This is about personal relationships, and those are still strong. We need to play smarter and better, but we don’t have a recruit flight problem right now.
5. Was Napier mad after the game and did he express that to his team and staff? YES. I am not going into any more details there.
6. Will Billy hire an Offensive coordinator? Yes, but it will not be this year.
7. Was I surprised we lost? Not really. I did not think we would win this game even without Utah’s Rising. They are a veteran team in an established program with an excellent coach in a hostile environment. We are a young team and, for many, our first real road test came in Week 1. That sucked for us. I would have liked to have played McNeese St first to get some of these bugs out. So, I was not surprised with the outcome, but I was surprised and disappointed by the way we looked unprepared and poorly coached. When you are given an army, there are ZERO excuses for some of these gametime mistakes.
8. Is Billy getting fired this year? That is a big fat Hell No. He will be given more time. SS still believes in him. When SS and BN negotiated the coach’s contract, it was completely predicated upon UF giving Napier plenty of time to address the dumpster fire that was UF football. The financial penalty to UF for cutting Napier loose early is extreme. SS made a commitment, and he will let it play out. I agree with this approach 100%. We were completely broken. Am I disappointed in how we looked on Thursday night? Of course. But that does not mean we shorten the pier on which BN has been asked to walk? No – especially when we are on the brink of a large fundraising campaign for the stadium renovation.
9. I was asked this question yesterday in a DM: Do I expect fans to boo the team this Saturday? C’mon. We are better than that. Zero upside to that. Recruits are watching.
10. I think our Defense is much better. Yes, we gave up a big play to start the game, and, yes, Utah missed a few other wide-open opportunities. But we tackled well, played a ton of people, held Utah to less than 30% in 3rd down conversions (no, 3rd and Grantham issues) and did not give up a ton of yards. I think AA is going to be special. This Defense will improve throughout the year.
So, we have a choice to make. We can issue judgment now, turn our backs on this staff and team, and raise hell demanding another change. What great coach is coming here if our leash is so short? Does losing and playing like crap hurt? You damn well know it. What is best for Gator Nation is for THIS coaching staff to turn the corner and show improvement THIS year. Fans asking for heads after a week 1 loss on the road against a good Utah team is not the answer in my opinion. Hold your gavel in your hand until the end of the season, judges.
In the meantime: Don’t Back Down.
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