I agree but they get some new hires in the building to get people excited like last year…, not falling for it again.., Billy has done absolutely nothing to deserve another year
Whispers Whispers in the Hall (11/12)
- Thread starter JasonHigdon
- Start date
Agreed. I hope we don’t give these new coaches multi year deals and then have to keep Napier again because we won’t be able to fire him after next year. The problem is if he does not go 9-3 or 10-2 next year then you are just stuck. He won’t get fired for 8-4 and he will still be on the hot seat again and you set the program even further back with recruiting. If you aren’t sure this guy can get you nine wins he has to go. I just can never see Napier out coaching the big dogs and we aren’t going to out talent them. He may spring into the playoffs once a blue moon with a great qb and then he will Norvel it up afterwards. He is just not close to elite in coaching skills and won’t bring in enough to out talent the SEC. Maybe the ACC or some crappy conference but I just don’t see it in the SEC. We should be pulling the plug. It was 7-5 or bust at the beginning of the year and now 5-7 in year 4 is acceptable.
2 and 3 loss teams are going to be the norm in the SEC. It’s basically NFL lite
And with NIL it’s very hard to keep depth so if your team gets stung with injuries it’s hard to compete week in and week out
And with NIL it’s very hard to keep depth so if your team gets stung with injuries it’s hard to compete week in and week out
Any coach worth a damn is going to want a multi year contract
I never thought I’d reach this point, but I have literally lost all hope in this football program. We’re gonna be stuck with another year of this losing. Five straight losing seasons. That is unthinkable. We’re gonna sacrifice two recruiting classes and still have to burn it down and start over. The two hot coaching candidates available will be gone so we will have to settle for some other up and comer again. The failure of leadership in the UAA is incomprehensible. They have run this multi million dollar program into the bottom of the SEC and the country. I’m done with this until change comes.
Here’s a story for the negative Nellie’s that hopefully bring some perspective. A friend of mine stayed at the team hotel Fl/Ga weekend. Was riding in elevator with Cam Jackson. He introduced himself and said it’s very noticeable how the defense has stepped up the previous few weeks. Cam was gracious and asked my friend where he was from and he said Orlando. My buddy went on to say how crazy it was with what’s going on at UCF with players quitting or holding out to redshirt or transfer.
Cam said “We don’t have that. This team is tight and we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what we know we can become. He said this team is laying the foundation for future success”
So while we are bound to have some attrition the majority of this team is sticking together. They know what they have. Listen to what kids say when they commit and they talk about how they feel the family aspect of the team. Watch how they don’t quit when they easily could. Part of the journey is enjoying the ride to get there and I think too many of our fans are focused on the wrong thing currently which is beating top 5 teams with ease. We aren’t there yet!!! Watch the process unfold and enjoy the climb because we are almost to the summit and you’re going to look back and not remember where you started. Try and enjoy the pain because it won’t last much longer
Cam said “We don’t have that. This team is tight and we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what we know we can become. He said this team is laying the foundation for future success”
So while we are bound to have some attrition the majority of this team is sticking together. They know what they have. Listen to what kids say when they commit and they talk about how they feel the family aspect of the team. Watch how they don’t quit when they easily could. Part of the journey is enjoying the ride to get there and I think too many of our fans are focused on the wrong thing currently which is beating top 5 teams with ease. We aren’t there yet!!! Watch the process unfold and enjoy the climb because we are almost to the summit and you’re going to look back and not remember where you started. Try and enjoy the pain because it won’t last much longer
ENOUGH BILLY….JUST STOP
I read a lot of the web sites and blogs. I find many comments from, whayt I call, blog trolls (commenters from no school listed, rival school or some other school) who just want to stir things up and couch coachews (so called Gators who know everything but never coached). My bottom line, if you comment these days it BETTER come along with your financial support to Florida Victorious (our collective). If you demand Gator football success... then put you money into lorida Victorious... If not then sit back and enjoy whatever happens... and quit complaining. Put up or shut up. I do not provide financial support and I do not moan and groan about the team. I support them and after 40 years as a season ticket holder, mostly in the Champions Club, I have finally gotten to the age where I am unable to attend in person. I attend local Gator Club game viewings. Napier is building a great program. Cleaned up Mullens misfits. Playing with a young team with little quality depth. He is getting us back to an elite team. Go Gators
I wouldn't spend a penny on this admin. If they hired Kiffin I'd sign up for FV that day.
I promise you I'm far from alone.
I want what you're smoking...
You keep insinuating people who believe Napier should be gone are just being emotional. You realize the number of people who’ve said he should go is far greater than the ones like you. You are a tiny minority. I’m not just talking about fans. I’m talking media as well. People assumed it was a foregone conclusion UF would make a change because literally anyone else would be making the change. It’s unprecedented not only how bad Napier has been but also how long a program of UFs stature has stood by and allowed it. This isn’t just bad. It is historically bad. It’s basically the kind of bad most people couldn’t have imagined at UF until Napier came around.
People are coming around to the notion that he’ll be back and discussing next year because there’s no other choice if you want to remain a fan. The admin isn’t going to do the right thing by the fans or the players. It is what it is and discussing next year is cool but I keep seeing you making these comments about being too emotional and that’s just silly. If this abject failure by staff and admin doesn’t stir emotion, more specifically a very negative emotion, I think it’s probably you who isn’t doing fan right.
Oh boy…these posts again
Yep, the virtue signaling with the "I'm a better fan than you" nonsense. No, you're likely just more gullible than the rest of us. As PT Barnum once said, There's a sucker born every minute.
Agreed and it's actually quite the opposite. If you have no evidence or logic to support your belief then chances are that emotion is playing a huge part of it. Well, that and ego since some have dug their heels in and decided that Billy Napier is the hill they choose to die on.
The vast majority of us follow UF for entertainment and we can see and determine when the product is sub par. It ain't hard to figure out. Those who don't see it have likely allowed themselves to get too attached or invested, either financially or emotionally, to see the hard truth. It's honestly just misplaced loyalty as they've placed that on a person rather than the institution that is UF Football.
Since political silly season has just ended, let's use that analogy as an example. If the President is struggling to lead effectively and his policies aren't working, do you think firing the VP or Secretary of State is going to do any good? This is not any different. Replacing everyone but the guy who is completely responsible is pure silliness.
Those posts enrage me but I don’t even have the energy to drag this mf’er. Sad times in the kingdom
My question is why is Scott and the higher ups protecting Billy when the beginning of the season Billy needed to win so many games to keep his job… they knew then how much a buyout would cost
Honestly, I think it was an attempt to assist with recruiting since all of the "hot seat" rhetoric likely isn't helping. Also notice in SS's letter that all he said was that Billy will continue being the coach. He didn't say for how long and didn't even mention the 2025 season. It was purposefully ambiguous.
He left himself an "out" if Billy falls flat going forward. I don't know what the "bar" is but I'm sure SS and the primary boosters do. At least I would certainly hope that they do. That's how I'm viewing all of this but of course, I reserve the right to be completely wrong.
I'm not trying to be a downer but we have all heard this stuff last year (billy will hire an OC, he will make staff changes, and blah blah blah. He makes no offense changes, gets new defenses hires which looks like will be replaced again, gets new strength coach oh by the way the guys he supposedly fires he keeps them on staff some how. The special teams coach n strength coach. Which that is a complete joke.). But hopefully year 4 he can actually hire quality coordinators and assistants. So I will believe it when I see it. Go gators
Neither of your two "hot" candidates will be available until sometime after signing day.
Early signing opens December 4. Conference championship games aren't played until after that. Ole Miss is almost definitely in, Indiana has a shot (though it might lose out because of strength of schedule). Even if their interested, neither Kiffin nor Cignetti are going to take a new job prior to their team being eliminated from the playoff (either from not being tabbed at all or by losing).
Early signing day is really in a bad, bad place for any P5 team looking to hire a new coach.
P.S. - I really really doubt Cignetti's going to entertain offers this year. Bailing after one year at the current job doesn't sound like it fits him.
Which leaves Lane. They'll be favored their last two games, probably at least double digit both games. Lane's team is going to play at least 1 playoff game - earliest he'd be available is just before Christmas, after the bulk of the 2024-2025 class is put to bed.
On present schedule, nuts to open early signing before January.
Well common sense would say that if all things were equal to the beginning of the year then he'd likely be gone. But a team that bought in and improved when healthy is different than a team with a walk on QB shattered by injuries.
And they expect Napier to finally get it right hiring coaches sounds even more insane to me anyways
Common sense?!?! On a message board?! You know better than that.
So many people talk about Cade Bell as OC. That may be great someday he sounds like a promising young coach.
But why wouldn't we want Kerwin instead? Way more experience. Not just a close relative of a legendary Gator -- he is one. He has played professionally in the NFL and for a long time in the CFL. He has substantial head coach experience. Kerwin Bell is a guy you can look at and say yes, he 100% has the resume to serve as OC in the SEC.
Why would he leave a head coaching spot at WNC for an offensive coordinator position? I'm betting there is an extremely high chance he would bolt in a heartbeat.
1. His initial contract at WNC called for a base salary of $262,000 a year -- we could easily quadruple that amount. I'm not sure if his salary has gone up, but if so it likely went up an inconsequential amount compared to what we can pay him.
2. It would be a promotion from head coach at WNC. Kerwin would likely love to get a big time head coaching job. With his past head coaching experience, all he is missing is coaching in big time college football. An SEC OC position would give him that and be a springboard for him.
3. If it didn't work out for Napier long term, Kerwin knows he would highly likely be the pick for interim given his status as a Gator great and his head coaching experience. Bottom line is from the day he gets here he would be auditioning as a replacement. If he came here and excelled as OC, he would absolutely be a candidate to take over the head job.
I think a bigger roadblock is not whether Kerwin would come here, but whether Napier would feel comfortable with it. Napier would know he may be hiring his replacement and if Kerwin excelled then fans would be clamoring to make him the head coach.
But why wouldn't we want Kerwin instead? Way more experience. Not just a close relative of a legendary Gator -- he is one. He has played professionally in the NFL and for a long time in the CFL. He has substantial head coach experience. Kerwin Bell is a guy you can look at and say yes, he 100% has the resume to serve as OC in the SEC.
Why would he leave a head coaching spot at WNC for an offensive coordinator position? I'm betting there is an extremely high chance he would bolt in a heartbeat.
1. His initial contract at WNC called for a base salary of $262,000 a year -- we could easily quadruple that amount. I'm not sure if his salary has gone up, but if so it likely went up an inconsequential amount compared to what we can pay him.
2. It would be a promotion from head coach at WNC. Kerwin would likely love to get a big time head coaching job. With his past head coaching experience, all he is missing is coaching in big time college football. An SEC OC position would give him that and be a springboard for him.
3. If it didn't work out for Napier long term, Kerwin knows he would highly likely be the pick for interim given his status as a Gator great and his head coaching experience. Bottom line is from the day he gets here he would be auditioning as a replacement. If he came here and excelled as OC, he would absolutely be a candidate to take over the head job.
I think a bigger roadblock is not whether Kerwin would come here, but whether Napier would feel comfortable with it. Napier would know he may be hiring his replacement and if Kerwin excelled then fans would be clamoring to make him the head coach.
Sorry, but this seems like CNN on election night. Don’t’ worry it will be better than it looks.
6 and 7 loss teams are already the norm for Billy. He’s basically Ron Zook lite.
Shane Matthews is very close with Kerwin and said Kerwin will never take another coordinator job. Even if it was UF. He tried it for a year under Strong and hated it. If you want a Bell, it will have to be Kade.
I believe Cam when he says this team is tight and I believe that they're fighting for each other. I just wonder how much better they'd be with good coaching.
The team didn't quit on Will Muschamp or Jim McElwain either, that didn't make either of them coaches we should've kept.
Last edited:
Agreed. I have become a recent advocate for moving Signing Day back to early February. We won't be the only ones going forward who will find the current ESD, Transfer Portal and NIL impossible to navigate if a coaching change is warranted. The coaches may actually like it because it gives them some cover but the Schools and fans get screwed.
You're missing the part about having to win 7 or 8 games though. What if we have a similar rash of injuries next year. Do you give him another pass then too? I had a teacher back in high school and I can't remember her name but I do remember her quote that "excuses satisfy those who make them."
You've eventually got to stop them and judge based on the evidence.
I'm fully aware of that (re-read my post) but Rivals has the young man listed as a commitment .... safe to say that has probably confused more than one.
😉
