There is something to be said for culture.
I know we have all debated it from time to time - and rightfully so. Not once in Napier's tenure at UF have players jumped in their coach's face. Not once has Napier embarrassed a player or called-out his team as the primary landing ground for blame. He has been incredibly consistent in his messaging to the players. He has tried to build this thing from the ground-up and focused on a strong foundation with everyone rowing in the same direction and no one letting go of their paddle. Gator Nation has not been plagued by footballs scandals. No arrests; No NCAA investigations; No death threats; No mug-shots; No suspensions; No coaching fines.
I have close friends very high-up in LSU. They tell me that they see it now. They do not have a positive culture there. Their coach cares more about his own whistle than the betterment of the young men he coaches. They know it will not end well.
Some may think Billy's approach is an outdated, ineffective way to lead in today's social-media heavy, must-win-now, NIL and portal transfer world. I get it because we see examples on occasion of where that more frenzied approach has been successful at other places. I guess we will all find out together as this thing progresses. I know that when the Gators were looking for a head coach 3 years ago, we wanted something different than a quick start with early wins only to fizzle out in short order (been there done that with Swamp Donkey and Mullen). We wanted something sustainable. We wanted a coach who would be here a decade or more because hiring, firing, and paying buyouts for bad work is a really crappy recipe for success. Gator Nation deserved better. The AD had to do better.
I am not blind. I see the silly mistakes, the penalties, the losses, the painful lack of progress at times. I am not concluding by any means that Billy is "safe." But I also see ZERO QUIT in this team and coaching staff. These players have each others' backs. They will go to war for their coach - even when they are losing far too many battles. They are all in this together. This is a really, really tight group. There is no - and never has been -- team dissension. Trust me, we had a lot of that with our prior coaches.
And Gator Nation is something special (even with the few people here parked on my ignore list). When you sell out the 90k+ stadium game after game during losing season after losing season; when you are regularly in the bottom half of the SEC standings and yet you cannot hear yourself think on a Saturday in the Swamp; when 5 star recruits say they have never seen an atmosphere like Ben Hill Griffin Stadium; when Tom Petty is trending on Apple Music because of ..... us.; you understand why we deserve - no, why we demand! -- something consistently exceptional.
That is why, for me, it is so easy to root for Billy to turn this thing around. I know we are not there. We have a long way to go. I know one BIG win is not a trend. But holy crap, wasn't that fun last night!!!! Can't we ignore all the noise for just a little bit and storm the field in our own minds? Can't we jump in the boat, pick up a paddle and just row for a bit?
Because if Napier can get us back to where we belong, he will be here a very long time. And we will all be glad he is.
KC
I know we have all debated it from time to time - and rightfully so. Not once in Napier's tenure at UF have players jumped in their coach's face. Not once has Napier embarrassed a player or called-out his team as the primary landing ground for blame. He has been incredibly consistent in his messaging to the players. He has tried to build this thing from the ground-up and focused on a strong foundation with everyone rowing in the same direction and no one letting go of their paddle. Gator Nation has not been plagued by footballs scandals. No arrests; No NCAA investigations; No death threats; No mug-shots; No suspensions; No coaching fines.
I have close friends very high-up in LSU. They tell me that they see it now. They do not have a positive culture there. Their coach cares more about his own whistle than the betterment of the young men he coaches. They know it will not end well.
Some may think Billy's approach is an outdated, ineffective way to lead in today's social-media heavy, must-win-now, NIL and portal transfer world. I get it because we see examples on occasion of where that more frenzied approach has been successful at other places. I guess we will all find out together as this thing progresses. I know that when the Gators were looking for a head coach 3 years ago, we wanted something different than a quick start with early wins only to fizzle out in short order (been there done that with Swamp Donkey and Mullen). We wanted something sustainable. We wanted a coach who would be here a decade or more because hiring, firing, and paying buyouts for bad work is a really crappy recipe for success. Gator Nation deserved better. The AD had to do better.
I am not blind. I see the silly mistakes, the penalties, the losses, the painful lack of progress at times. I am not concluding by any means that Billy is "safe." But I also see ZERO QUIT in this team and coaching staff. These players have each others' backs. They will go to war for their coach - even when they are losing far too many battles. They are all in this together. This is a really, really tight group. There is no - and never has been -- team dissension. Trust me, we had a lot of that with our prior coaches.
And Gator Nation is something special (even with the few people here parked on my ignore list). When you sell out the 90k+ stadium game after game during losing season after losing season; when you are regularly in the bottom half of the SEC standings and yet you cannot hear yourself think on a Saturday in the Swamp; when 5 star recruits say they have never seen an atmosphere like Ben Hill Griffin Stadium; when Tom Petty is trending on Apple Music because of ..... us.; you understand why we deserve - no, why we demand! -- something consistently exceptional.
That is why, for me, it is so easy to root for Billy to turn this thing around. I know we are not there. We have a long way to go. I know one BIG win is not a trend. But holy crap, wasn't that fun last night!!!! Can't we ignore all the noise for just a little bit and storm the field in our own minds? Can't we jump in the boat, pick up a paddle and just row for a bit?
Because if Napier can get us back to where we belong, he will be here a very long time. And we will all be glad he is.
KC
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