Yes, winning cures all things and would make Gator fans forgive these 3 issues. However, if it wasn’t for these 3 issues I would actually be okay with retaining Napier, which by the way I still don’t fully believe because he could lose to the worse FSU team I have ever seen.
Side rant: If we lose to FSU he is gone. If they keep him their WILL BE a boycott. I will start it my damn self if I have to…
Let’s get to the 3 issues
1. The expectation of blind faith/lack of transparency - This is the most heinous one IMO because it feels like they don't believe they owe us a plan. I know people say football in the south is like a religion all the time, but it is just a saying. Our administration acts like they are a god and that people should follow them blindly. NO!!!!! If I am going to dedicate money and time then you need to give me a plan. Napier, would be going into his 4th season next year with a losing record. You don’t get to retain him without giving out a detailed plan. Why is year 4 going to be different? What specifically will make it different? Do you plan on dedicating more funds to NIL and/or make staffing changes??? What is the damn plan??? I am no longer okay with the plan being kept private. Mostly, because we have been so bad for so long now I am beginning to think we never had one in the first place.
2. Lack of humility - The letter Scott Stricklin wrote to Gator nation demonstrates this so perfectly. He believes in Billy Napier, but Napier keeps losing games, which is you basically saying it is either your fault or the administrations fault for not providing him enough support. However, nowhere in that letter does Stricklin take any accountability for the product on the field. I think back to every time he has addressed the media in the past and I realize he never has….his words indicate he doesn’t believe he has done anything wrong. Even, if he does believe he has made mistakes he has not admitted them to the fans, which as a fan makes me believe he has not and will not learn from them.
3. Taking advantage of the loyalty of the fanbase - Actually, I changed my mind this one is the most heinous by far. Scott Stricklin’s letter basically states that the fact our fanbase is so loyal and loves their Gators so much he doesn’t believe that the income lost by retaining Napier will come close to 25 million. He points this out by the fact we are selling out or nearly selling out every home game still. The loyalty of our fanbase is actually being used against us. If we decided to not support the team then there would be no choice but to fire Napier and dedicate a bunch of money to actually making a good football program. However, since people are going to show up anyway then F IT!?!?! I mean how does it get more messed up than that???