trusting the plan and “this program is a rebuild” and this program is a dumpster fire and it’s going to take time etc. I disagree to an extent and believe that Florida, especially with the upgrades as of late with its facilities and the overall rich history in the Swamp, can and will recruit itself, it just needs someone truly passionate and a relentless competitor/leader to right the ship. As Bear Bryant once put it, “Florida is a sleeping giant”.
Is Napier the guy? Time will tell more likely sooner than later and is the reason for my post. Losing guys like Evers isn’t a good start, at all, when looking down the line at depth and talent, something we’re lacking on both fronts across the board especially at key positions like QB.
If I were Napier, regardless of his supposed longterm plan, I’d look at past coaches here and the fan base of the University of Florida and realize the expectations here and understand the fact that time isn’t exactly on your side, no matter who you may be and that rang true for Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.
Mullen was fired not even through his 4th season here after going 10-3 his first year and routing Michigan by 30 points in a bowl. He followed that year in 2019 with an 11-2 record and a Capital One bowl win over UVA.
2020 was an odd year with Covid and with postponed games and an underwhelming 8-4 record but Mullen still managed to manhandle Georgia and make it to the SECCG and put 46 points on the board only to lose to Alabama by just a TD. Otherwise, Florida is in the CFB playoffs with a different mindset and chance at a true Nat’l Championship last year. The following year, this year, he’s gone before the regular season even finishes.
I said this before Napier was chosen as HC and what worried me most about him is his lack of experience at a major program like Florida, this isn’t a learn-on-the-job type of undertaking where fans and those higher up will give you time. He needs to hold on to every big recruit he can moving forward regardless of whether he’s gotten around to “evaluating” them or not because the roster is thin and is seemingly thinning by the day/week. Napier also needs to assemble his staff as quickly as possible to ease the minds of recruits and their families, it’s hard to recruit a player when you haven’t a clue who your position coach will be.
Napier could be the greatest evaluator in the world but losing out on a decent recruiting class this year will be felt for years and when he’s struggling in two to three years down the road because of lack of depth and/or overall talent, fans won’t care much less take into account the distant 2022 class and its impact, people will simply focus on the losses as they did with Mullen and every other coach here who hasn’t produced and maintained success. This isn’t unique to just Florida btw, this is the theme with all big football schools out there who demand perfection.
To his advantage, Napier does have the portal at his disposal this year, something many past coaches didn’t have and it’d behoove him to study his predecessors and realize the limited time allotted one given the title of HC at the University of Florida. All of this talk about a 5-7 year plan in my honest opinion is a joke, he’s going to be expected to produce at a high level and do so rather quickly. He needs recruits to accomplish this, blue-chip recruits across the board and those in the trenches especially on both sides of the ball and I hope he realizes the expectations are extremely high at UF.
Time will obviously tell.
Is Napier the guy? Time will tell more likely sooner than later and is the reason for my post. Losing guys like Evers isn’t a good start, at all, when looking down the line at depth and talent, something we’re lacking on both fronts across the board especially at key positions like QB.
If I were Napier, regardless of his supposed longterm plan, I’d look at past coaches here and the fan base of the University of Florida and realize the expectations here and understand the fact that time isn’t exactly on your side, no matter who you may be and that rang true for Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.
Mullen was fired not even through his 4th season here after going 10-3 his first year and routing Michigan by 30 points in a bowl. He followed that year in 2019 with an 11-2 record and a Capital One bowl win over UVA.
2020 was an odd year with Covid and with postponed games and an underwhelming 8-4 record but Mullen still managed to manhandle Georgia and make it to the SECCG and put 46 points on the board only to lose to Alabama by just a TD. Otherwise, Florida is in the CFB playoffs with a different mindset and chance at a true Nat’l Championship last year. The following year, this year, he’s gone before the regular season even finishes.
I said this before Napier was chosen as HC and what worried me most about him is his lack of experience at a major program like Florida, this isn’t a learn-on-the-job type of undertaking where fans and those higher up will give you time. He needs to hold on to every big recruit he can moving forward regardless of whether he’s gotten around to “evaluating” them or not because the roster is thin and is seemingly thinning by the day/week. Napier also needs to assemble his staff as quickly as possible to ease the minds of recruits and their families, it’s hard to recruit a player when you haven’t a clue who your position coach will be.
Napier could be the greatest evaluator in the world but losing out on a decent recruiting class this year will be felt for years and when he’s struggling in two to three years down the road because of lack of depth and/or overall talent, fans won’t care much less take into account the distant 2022 class and its impact, people will simply focus on the losses as they did with Mullen and every other coach here who hasn’t produced and maintained success. This isn’t unique to just Florida btw, this is the theme with all big football schools out there who demand perfection.
To his advantage, Napier does have the portal at his disposal this year, something many past coaches didn’t have and it’d behoove him to study his predecessors and realize the limited time allotted one given the title of HC at the University of Florida. All of this talk about a 5-7 year plan in my honest opinion is a joke, he’s going to be expected to produce at a high level and do so rather quickly. He needs recruits to accomplish this, blue-chip recruits across the board and those in the trenches especially on both sides of the ball and I hope he realizes the expectations are extremely high at UF.
Time will obviously tell.
