From my column at Gator Bait
By Franz Beard
“Vision without an action is a dream so it’s important here that we translate this vision we have here for University of Florida football into simple every-day actions.” – Billy Napier
Of all the things Billy Napier said at the 15-minute press conference he held Friday morning on the third level press deck at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, what resonates most is that Florida’s new football coach is busy turning a vision into something tangible. There wasn’t enough time to go into every minute detail about the flurry of activity that he set in motion the moment he was hired more than a month ago. This is not a Houdini act that he’s performing. The problems he inherited are not going to disappear instantly but listening to him describe what’s going on, you get the impression that this chip away approach is going to work just fine.
There were only a few smiles and no giggles as Napier took a few moments to outline what’s next as he applies his “People Plan” to Florida football. What stood out as much or more than anything else was the way Napier came across like the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, which, in reality, is what he is. Jim McElwain, yellow teeth and no socks, always came across as the middle-aged guy who wants to remind everyone that he was once the cool kid who drove a convertible. He tried folksy, but nobody bought then or has bought since the my dog Clarabelle approach. Dan Mullen always came across as someone too busy trying to convince us that he’s the smartest guy in the room rather than the coach who has his finger on every pulse involved in the program. In the end, Mullen’s smarts couldn’t compensate for all the flaws in his organization.
Napier was almost robotic but in a good way Friday morning. Good, because after the chaos of a 2020 season that could have been and a 2021 that never was, it’s not a bad thing to have a coach who has a daily spreadsheet of tasks that have to be performed and the day isn’t complete until every box has been checked. So, style points were in short supply as Napier gave an overview before answering a few questions from the media. You wouldn’t call his answers perfect tens, but that might have something to do with the fact that as many blanks as Napier has already filled in there are still plenty more to go. There are things he just can’t talk about yet because he hasn’t completely assembled his staff.
It is fairly obvious that in the short time he’s been on the job at UF, Napier has taken a wrecking ball to the worn-out structure that was in place prior to his arrival. Now he’s busy laying a brand new foundation, one strong enough to withstand future storms, and that begins and ends with people. Every time Napier speaks you come away with a better understanding of how football, relationships and people are necessary parts to create a championship engine.
As the CEO, he understands that if he doesn’t surround himself with the best people possible, this will be a house of cards just as it was for Will Muschamp, McElwain and Mullen before him. Muschamp was saddled with Charlie Weis as his first offensive coordinator and then he compounded things by bringing in Brent Pease after year one. McElwain promised offense, never delivered after Will Grier was suspended for testing positive for performance enhancement drugs, and his luck ran out when the NFL defense Muschamp left behind all went pro. If the Mullen years were a movie, then he was the star surrounded by a bunch of assistants that he found on the set of Hee Haw. Never has it been so obvious that championships are never won with average or below average assistants.
There were expectations that Napier would announce a filled-out coaching staff Friday but that didn’t happen. The final two spots of the coaching staff – defensive line and inside linebackers/co-defensive coordinator – probably won’t be announced until certain NFL teams involved in the playoffs pack up the pads for the winter. Napier also didn’t announce any further gems snagged out of the transfer portal. Three have been announced – quarterback Jack Miller III (Ohio State), offensive tackle Kamryn Waites (Louisiana) and running back Montrell Johnson (also Louisiana) – and more will be announced in the days ahead but the decision of who and how many will transfer has its roots in an almost complete process of evaluating each player on the current roster. Napier said Friday that he is just now completing a 13-day assessment period in which he will have personal conversations with every player on the current roster.
“Certainly, you're not just evaluating a guy from a physical component, right,” Napier said. “You’re evaluating what is his history on the field from a production standpoint, right. What is his history as a teammate? What is the consensus amongst the people in the building about him? Certainly, they've got a track record academically, and some of these players we have history with where we know them from the past, but I think the big thing here is that we've got to establish working relationships. We've got to establish trust and communication with all the areas of the organization that work with the player.”
During practices leading up to the Gasparilla Bowl and in the game itself, Napier got a first hand look at the players on the roster who have remaining eligibility. Seeing players with their work and practice habits up close and personal will go a long way toward determining how to build and shape the roster. Which players, for example, fit immediately into the plans for 2022 and beyond? What needs can be addressed with high school and junior college recruits? There is, after all, a February signing period looming and this is a very big recruiting weekend with two more to come.
That leads to the question how many transfers beyond the three already announced will be brought in to strengthen positions of need?
“I think we were fortunate to be able be around and observe bowl practice,” Napier said. “We put players through evaluation workouts. We made profile tapes of every player returning on the team. I think we were able to wrap our heads around about the current team, where we’re at, positions of concern from depth perspective. Where is there a gap in depth? And then went out and acquired some players in some of those positions. Now there’s more to come. I think you could see us add a number of players over the next 10 days or so, maybe little less than that, eight to 10 days. We’re still in process of working on that part of our team.”
Attrition is always part of every spring at all 130 Division I football programs and Florida will be no different. Some on the current roster may choose to call it a college football career even before spring football. Others will go through the 15 spring practices and find themselves buried so deeply on the depth chart or at odds with the new offensive and defensive systems that they feel compelled to find a new place to play.
Spring football also could sound alarm bells at certain positions, which is why the transfer portal will be in play for Napier at least until the end of the spring semester.
“You’ve got the recruiting perspective,” Napier said. “You’ve got a window to get them in now, and then kind of a sprint until February signing day, and then you have another opportunity to add some players prior to summer school starting. Three windows of time to add players, and certainly we’re working hard in all three of those areas.”
When Napier was hired at Clemson by Tommy Bowden (Dabo Swinney’s predecessor) there was no “army” of support people – “I think we had nine assistants, two GAs, an ops guy, a high school relations guy” – but once Nick Saban began taking more of an NFL approach to college football, the notion of support staff at every level has taken off. Mullen’s support staff was fairly small. Napier’s will involve everything from many more analysts, graduate assistants, recruiting staff, player personnel, high school relations and NIL specialists. There is no area that can be neglected for a program that will involve 85 on scholarship and 50 walk-ons.
Napier takes the approach that 135 football players requires a good staff-to-player ratio to deal with every phase of the player’s life and football career.
“I think that’s a big part of what we believe in, more people that have a sincere care for the player and want to impact the player,” Napier said.
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin caught Napier’s vision for the program and made him the top priority when Mullen was dismissed. Stricklin believes in his coach so much that while he may not have given him a blank check, he will devote more than adequate resources to ensure the Gators can compete with Alabama, Georgia and others who are finding success through their own more is better approach.
Napier has worked for Dabo Swinney at Clemson and for Nick Saban at Alabama. During his time at Alabama he was friends with defensive coordinator now Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. The idea isn’t to mimic what those three are doing, but to create a football culture that uniquely fits the footprint of the University of Florida. It involves an organizational plan that incorporates eight phases for football and six for recruiting. Perhaps you don’t try to clone what others have done, but you certainly understand what they’re doing and what it takes to equal or better their success.
“I think it’s important for us to focus on the things that we can control but also understanding the question I think you’ve got to be aware of the competition,” Napier said. “Know your competition. Certainly we'll get into those things as we get closer to competing, but right now I'm more concerned and working hard on what's going on inside our house, you know, instead of worry about what the neighbor's house is doing.
“I think that's just where we're at. That's where we're at in this process: really evaluating all the things that are going on relative to the development of our players. What can we do better to help them in all areas, and that's the approach we've taken, but each year one team gets to stand on that stage and hold the trophy up, right? The good thing is that this place has done it before, right? So, we're very capable, but I also think we understand the amount of hard work that goes into that. We’ve got a lot of work to do before we start worrying about that.”
Vision without action is only a dream. The difference between a dream and a vision capable of becoming reality is what happens every single day. Michelangelo didn’t sculpt the statue of David overnight, but his vision transformed from a rock into a masterpiece because he came to work every day for two years and patiently added magnificent shape by chipping away, sanding, polishing and then repeating the process. After two years of hard work, Michelangelo had a finished product that has withstood the test of time.
Think of the Florida football program as a chunk of marble and Billy Napier as the sculptor, hammer and chisel in hand, armed with an “army” of supporters who are helping him create what he expects to be a masterpiece.
