The Florida Gators football program is reeling right now. At 1-3, the Gators are off to their worst start since 1986. That puts Billy Napier firmly on the hot seat, a place he was very familiar with a year ago.
Back in 2024, Florida started in similar fashion, going 1-2 in their first three games but then won seven of their last 10 to finish 8-4. If not for that turnaround, Napier would have been fired. In fact, according to ESPN’s Ryan McGee, while a guest on the “Saturday Down South Podcast” there was already a plan in place to bring in Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.
McGee said he and his co-host, Marty Smith of “Marty & McGee,” traveled to Gainesville for the Gators’ Week 3 game against Texas A&M. When they arrived in Gainesville, they were told they had to attend a mandatory meeting at Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin’s house, with a number of boosters in attendance.
“All those boosters were saying, ‘We’ll have him [Lane Kiffin] here by the end of October,’” McGee said. “Obviously, Billy Napier saved his job, but now it’s happening again and his name is coming up for a lot of jobs.”
Lane Kiffin Most Popular Choice For Florida Gators Job
Lane Kiffin has been one of the most prominent names for open head coaching vacancies across college football. Since reviving his career under Nick Saban at Alabama as offensive coordinator, he became the coach at Ole Miss in 2020 and has been highly successful.
The Rebels are 48-18 under Kiffin, 3-2 in bowl games and have three top-15 finishes in the AP Poll. But many believe he can only take Ole Miss so far, given the program may not have the resources that a school like Florida can offer.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said he believes Kiffin would have left for the Florida job last season if it had opened. He added recently that if the position becomes available this season, he is not sure Kiffin would accept it.
“Not right now. Lane’s always — a year ago, as I told you, he would have taken it. But it’s a year later. You don’t know,” Finebaum said.
Billy Napier is Hanging to Florida Job By a Thread
It’s remarkable that Napier survived last season at all, even with the Gators’ 8-4 finish. By Florida’s standards, he has held onto his job longer than some of his predecessors. Stricklin said entering the 2024 season that he believed in his head coach.
“I see the steps he’s taken, the kind of caliber of young people he’s brought in, he’s improved the roster, he’s improved the overall structure of the team and I think our patience — we have been patient as a university and that patience is going to be rewarded,” Stricklin said. “I really believe Billy Napier is going to be the coach at Florida for a long, long time.”
Does anyone believe Stricklin still feels that way? Probably not.
After the 26-7 loss to in-state rival Miami in Week 4, Napier has now fallen to 20-22 overall, with the 2024 season his only one above .500. With a brutal schedule ahead featuring six top-15 opponents, including No. 13 Ole Miss, Napier’s days could be numbered.
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