This is the question I keep coming back to, since it’s clearly a “when” and not “if” situation with the current staff getting fired.

Who is going to be the one that gets to choose the next guy? I’m praying it’s not the guy who has a resume with two failed hires in a row and that reportedly didn’t bother even picking up the phone for elite options that reached out interested in the UF job this last cycle. And that doesn’t even get into all of the other issues that have happened under the current AD’s watch.

He’s gotta go and he can’t be allowed near the program while we are talking to our next options for football coach.

In tight offense that invites multiple defenders to be at the line of scrimmage and in the box versus spreading teams out.

OL is not Bama or the 49ers which is what is required for this offense to be successful.

Graham while a great competitor, is the somewhat enhanced version Del Rio and Appleby. Not an elite playmaker at the position but a game manager. You’re going to more free rushers in this type of offense, so you need an athlete at the qb position who can improvise.

We had Boardingham matched up on DEs multiple times which resulted in a sack, TFL, and blown up plays.

While I think Napier is cooked, he has a chance with Lagway to realize the errors in his ways and go to a more spread based offense. That is what Florida football has won in the past. We apparently don’t have the money for 5 star OL, so neutralize that somewhat with spreading guys out, making it easier for OL to identify assignments and qb able to identify where rushers are coming from.

I don’t see Napier changing, I think he believes this style of offense is best which is baffling.

Didn’t see that one coming. It was complete, unadulterated disaster.

We looked poorly coached. We looked timid. We looked unconditioned. We looked weak. We looked unprepared. We looked boring.

The best part of our squad today was our special teams. Read that again.

Best part of my day was the tailgate. Got to meet some of you which was a complete pleasure.

I don’t know where we go from here. I’m not gonna give up on the team, but my head has scars from all the scratching.

I hate Miami more than just about anything. Their fans are pieces of crap. To see those bowed up fans walking around our campus made me want to puke.

I don’t know where we go from here. But I know the status quo isn’t going to work.

KC

I don't think I am a bad fan because I wanted to root for the guy...I don't think you're a bad fan for your opinion either...I just wanted to wait ...

We got to that game yesterday and there was so much optimism, perfect weather, people being nice to each other... and actually excited...I'm a sucker.
There were at least 85 thousand other suckers there too it seemed...BCN finally had the chance to win us all over...just play well...it's been three years ...coaches develop talent...it's time...

I personally did not think this Miami team was as good as the Utah team we played two years ago in BCN's first game and we beat them...he had a year to get us ready...the game was understood to be too important ...I was ready to fall in love with the Gators again...so were 90 thousand other Gator fans...I wanted to drink the koolaid...I wanted to pump sunshine...anyway...it was the first time he would have the same QB for a second year...how could we not be ready? BCN gave us NOTHING!...

For the first time in my memory the team came out from halftime and the crowd literally did not acknowledge them at all...I don't mean silence ...I mean disinterest...nothing...

It got worse...and worse...I can't believe they had the balls to play Tom Petty...the Miami players were mocking our team during that song...I would have skipped it because it was B/S...at that point...

Well, ....how COULD we not be ready? I'm a sucker...

Disappointment is way worse than anger...If you haven't been mad ..some of you at least "write mad".... but I'm sadly disappointed...he had us all ready to go all in...and a year to prepare...I couldn't believe what I was watching...

I think Johnson's long run ...in the end ...was the worst play of the game because I believe it gives BCN a false confidence and he thinks he can still run this horrible whatever you call it offense...

I am a sucker...a disappointed sucker...

Is to demand Callaway call plays and turn DJ loose.
We can’t afford a buyout.
We have all said “we NEED Napier to work” because of don’t have the $$
Recruits have said they love Napier just need to see a better product on the field.
As another poster said perfectly “the most important game in the most important season” and that was the product?
Let them see Callaway & DJ

Small note on Jake Kreul - still no offer from UF

LSU lost a heisman winner and still look good. They push the ball down the field and have a great offense. Only things we could

Watching the LSU/USC game, USC RB just scored a TD and did a quick little dance. The Field Judge runs over and as the player is running toward his sideline starts grabbing him aggressively…. Is this normal? WTH should the ref be touching the player in that scenario?

Watching the LSU v USC game....Riley seems to have figured out how to hire a DC...It pains me to say this bc I have been tooting the "Lincoln runs from competition" horn for 3 years now....BUT if he's solved having a passable defense to go with his O's....he'd be my 1B to Lanning being 1A....

Just a sad Gator.. nearly came to tears watching the replay..

I was here in the stands in 1979

When we were 0-10-1 ..

What I saw yesterday was the same thing I saw in79

I thought those days were long over..

Obviously things can turnaround with the right guy at the helm but the discrepancy in tallent is what I find most alarming..

Addressing the big elephant in the room :it takes lots of money to do what Miami did

If I was Elon Musk I’d buy us out of this mess.. but I’m not.. I hope some of the big money people who don’t want to pay players will come to their senses because that’s the only way I see out of this hole

I sent thanks to our insiders for being so reasonable like they always are with their posts and for what you and what SR do for the program.. this has to feel like having a gut punch over and over

I’m praying for our program and our players

**** Jason I finally learned to put a header with this post

😎

just had this sad thought, that piles onto the misery we’ve all been dealing with.

Has a coach ever been hired, and then had less wins every year he coached a team that you can remember?

2022- 6-7. 6 wins and lost the bowl game

2023 - 5-7. 5 wins and missed out on a bowl

2024- with how we look and how the schedule looks, very real possibility of less than 5 wins this year. That would shake out that we won less games every passing year in the Napier tenure.

I can’t think of an example off the top of my head where that’s happened before

I needed a break from this program and took one literally until attending the game yesterday. This is my 40th straight year of having season tickets and if not for wanting my kids to have the same memories I did growing up, last year would have been my last. Watching this team play makes me feel and act in a way I just simply don’t want to any more.

That being said, I have a few rambling thoughts.

I have had this irrational thought the last couple years that teams “know our signs”. Miami and defenses in the past seem to know our play calls. It’s as if they are in the huddle. Run plays on passing downs and passing plays on running downs are all perfectly defended. Even one of Mertz better completions yesterday was to a WR that had 3 defenders on him that just happened to get open.

There’s two options here. Teams really do know our signs. Or Billy is running an offense and scheme that is better fit for 5a HS football. I’ll let you decide

I don’t understand what we are doing from a lineup and talent evaluating side. This is no disrespect but how have we not found a better deep threat to start at WR than Jackson? What are we doing in the offseason? Same goes for the DL. We have 3rd tier portal guys that no other legit programs wanted enough to sign.

Either Billy and everyone are just really bad talent evaluators or just flat out liars. There’s no way you could have watched this team we fielded yesterday all spring and summer and thought we were ready to compete with average SEC teams. I’m not sure which is worse.

Let’s go back in time. Imagine Billy Gonzalez taking a HC job like Georgia Southern and having huge success. Would you have been nervous about him taking the UGA job? That’s about how our rivals have thought this entire time about this hire. No one feared it.

I have been very pessimistic about our football program as a whole and whether these last several years are just who we are going to be. The only thing keeping me from completely losing hope (ironically) is the admins inability to hire a big time coach and continue with the unproven guys. None of their hires have gone on to do anything worth noting as a HC. The ultimate test imo would be Lane Kiffin. He has Ole Miss as a legit playoff contender. If he came to UF and we continued to be a .500 team then it just is what it is. At this point, it’s the only hire that makes sense. No one else who is doing what he is doing is going to come. Everyone has money but only one coach has the ego to take over this dumpster fire and turn it around. Hes also likely the only one who could keep the players we want around.

We have reached a very very bad time with the fanbase and boosters that make change inevitable. It’s turning from anger to no longer caring. I’m very anxious to see the attendance from here out. There’s still slight hope from the Orange and Blue glass that I still own that it’s only game 1 but I didn’t see a single thing yesterday to make me think anything will change.

If we are being honest with ourselves we aren’t much of a powerhouse without a hall of fame coach and a Heisman type QB at the same time. We have the potential to have one of those things now. We better move fast to add the other.

Back at the hotel after the game…here are the thoughts from my sons and I after what we saw.


Great college football environment.
Utah fans were polite and friendly. It’s nice going to a non-SEC away game.
Great road trip and had a blast with my 3 sons (15,13,10). They will remember this forever, despite the loss.


As for the Gators…
I like Napier, but he isn’t endearing himself to the fan base with these losses, the way we’re losing them.
Gator fans around me are quite frustrated, and when you lose the people who travel across country to watch the team, you’re in trouble. These are not the ignorant fans.
This team looked very poorly coached.
Zero excuse for that penalty on the punt. Zero excuse whatsoever.
Clock management in 4th Q was abysmal
Play-calling on 3rd and 4th down was alarming
Defense played well, minus a few plays, but looked slow to get signals in (not set at snap)
Offense was slow getting ball snapped - too much cutesy motions
Offensive play calling was rough to watch (inside shovel to a TE? For real?). Time for an OC?
OL is a disaster. 3 massive penalties by 76. Slaughter looked lost at times.
Run game was shockingly bad - again, the OL sucked.
We killed ourselves with drive killing penalties.
We self-destructed repeatedly.

Edit to add after seeing stats not available to me during the game:
1 for 13 on 3rd down. What?!?! Holy crap, that is bad.
I wanted to add in RZ offense was abysmal, but this is even worse.


Now, all that said…
We really did beat ourselves.
The offense flashed at times.
Mertz looked good, when Slaughter wasn’t getting him murdered.
Defense held Utah to 274 yards.
Aside from 1 big play, Utah only had 1 true TD drive.
Our WRs looked good. Very good.
Defense gives me some hope because we actually saw some adjustments.
Offense will rise and fall with OL play - hopefully they figure it out

I like Napier. I want him to succeed. We truly can’t afford for him to fail. But some people around here need to pump the brakes on him and this team. Too many people knocked fans for not being sold on all the supposed improvement. Tonight proved the skeptics right. Off the field planning means jack squat if the team looks like crap on game day. We see him repeatedly praised for culture and recruiting and organization, and all that is seemingly true - but the on the field results are lacking. I don’t mean just wins and losses, I get that it takes some time - but this team looks no different at all from last year - same dumb mistakes, same lack of discipline. We need him to figure this deal out, and quick.

I’m not mad tonight, I’m really just disappointed. I didnt even expect a win, but I expected to see some progress. I didn’t see it. I really hope we some huge improvement by the time the SEC schedule starts.

Go Gators!

Rumor of course. Glad we don’t have a ton of high quality recruits to lose this time around.

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Nm

Meat of it starts at 4:30.

Paraphrasing the beginning but "we have a sign in the team room that is embrace your role, put the team first. And it was hard for me to look at the sign and not realize I was hypocrite if I wasn't willing to embrace my role as Head Coach and put the team first. Knowing that we were so ineffective offensively and it was my fault. So I felt like I needed to do what was best for the team and do what I needed to do to for us to improve. With the ever-changing landscape of football regarding NIL, lobbying, recruiting, more responsibilities and all of that was on your plate and going nowhere." Then he talks about the new OC and that he still wants to have some input but the keys are his to the offense.

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LT:
Barber - 39 snaps
Manuel - 19 snaps

LG:
Harris - 41 snaps
Bryce Lovett - 15 snaps

C:
Slaughter - 56 snaps
Kearney - 3 snaps

RG:
George - 47

RT:
BCD - 31 snaps

Then you had Waites with a combo of 31 snaps at RG/RT

Among the starting OL, Barber received the 2nd fewest snaps. Barber of all guys, the highest-graded OL. And he was even rotated out for Manuel in the 1st Q. Like what is the thought process here, truly? In addition, and someone can verify this if they really want to re-watch it, but I saw it mention that we subbed in our backup tackles following James' pick. I can't be bothered to do it, but wowza if that is actually true.

It's also clear the pecking order in the WR group no matter who was listed as the starter: EW with 43 snaps while Badger and Dike were in the 30's. Then there's a dropoff to Jackson at 19, Mizell at 13, and Burke (for all the pre-season camp hype he got) at 11.

Absolutely embarrassing that everyone else can see what’s going on

Nice guy, just a bad bad HC and CEO. We do nothing well, he personally chose Miller and Mertz (which many of us said both were not good enough), have no ST, 2 OL coaches and awful OL play, no OC and run a boring and predictable and antiquated O on and on and on

If I am Lagway SR, zero chance I let my son throw his career away by coming here

I was there today, and I’m going to say this. Cam Ward was that dude today. He extended plays when we got some pressure and ran away from it. He was posed and dropped some dimes today. Without him today, the game would have been more equally matched. Mertz probably had his worst ham as a Gator. I like what I saw from Lagaway; he is definitely the future. Give him all the snaps next week and see what happens moving forward because it’s no longer house money you’re playing with Billy. Folks want you gone like last year. The next three weeks will forecast the future for CBN and staff.

The better team won today, and I believe UM will be this year’s version of FSU—one great season and then back to reality.

Rumors are that he got shot in a robbery. I hope it's false.