It's Not The Time For Billy Napier To Be Joking About Florida Fans, While The Gators Are Stuck In Quick-Sand

Times are tough for the Florida football program right now, and Billy Napier is obviously feeling the pressure of what's transpiring in Gainesville.  You have to choose your words carefully in this day and age of college sports, and he learned that lesson the hard way on Monday. 

I'm sure you've all seen the video clip by now, but the Gators head coach had some very generic words for the fans that are riled up on social media following the loss to Miami this past weekend. We'll get back to that part in a bit. 

Heading into the 2024 season, and we're only one game in right now, there was optimism around the Florida football building that this would be the year when Billy Napier could get things turned around in Gainesville. Behind quarterback Graham Mertz, folks were sounding the alarm that the Gators offense would lead them through a very tough schedule, which seems to be discussed on a weekly basis. 

Billy Napier May Be The Only One Optimistic

Optimism is an interesting word when describing a football team, and it's used way too often around athletic departments across the country. But, there was that feeling this could be a season where the Gators made the most of their schedule, which meant getting to maybe seven wins, though that's not the standard that Florida fans are ready to expect. And guess what? It shouldn't be the standard for a football program known for their prominence in college football at one point. 

GAINESVILLE, FL - AUGUST 31: Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) is brought down by Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr. (10) during a college football game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators on August 17, 2024 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL. (Photo by Chris Leduc/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

But as Georgia and Alabama continued building dominant programs in the SEC, the likes of Tennessee, Missouri, and Ole Miss have started to turn the corner and raise the bar to win when it comes to expectations.  Florida is still sitting in a spot in the conference that isn't acceptable. 

Many fans wonder how the Gators got to this point, and you can trace that back to the Dan Mullen era in Gainesville. The word that any athletic director in college sports wants to hear is ‘apathy’, and that's where it seems we are with the University of Florida. After the humiliating loss to Miami over the weekend, we are entering a very dangerous area for folks inside the Florida administration. 

You cannot have fans checking out on a team in the first month of the season, and that's where we're headed at the moment.  This even with the Gators having a chance to win a few games over the next four weeks. I've seen this way too many times in my career, along with schools across the country, but apathy will have you begging for change.  A difficult situation in a time when athletic departments are begging fans and donors for money to help pay for the new era in NIL that's coming. 

But here we are, with a home game against Samford this weekend that will see the Gators play in-front of a lot of empty seats in ‘The Swamp’. Unfortunately, there comes a time when the paying customer is sick of watching a product they have no faith in. There are certain schools that can weather the storm, as we've seen recently with the likes of Texas A&M and Tennessee. The problem is that I don't know if Florida is one of those schools, and we might be about to find out how loyal some of these fans are. 

So, speaking of fans, let's take a look back at Monday, where Billy Napier did something that you just don’t do, even if you're winning football games. 

Don't Call Out The Fans, No Matter The Situation, As Billy Napier Did

Coaches have learned the hard way that when you take some of your frustration out on the fans, not all of them, but this method will not sit well. This was the case on Monday afternoon as Billy Napier spoke with reporters. 

While discussing the intersection of taking criticism and trying to move on from a loss, Napier made the mistake of pointing towards comments that are coming from a certain group of fans.  Namely, the ones living in their basements in Central Florida. First off, I haven't seen many basements during my countless trips to Florida, but second off, you can't start bringing up the fan support in a negative way. 

I understand what he was saying, and so do many of the folks that watched the clip more than one-million times. But you still don't call out the fans when your team is under-performing, and has been for the past few seasons. 

And it should be noted that the clip flying around the internet makes no mention of his last statement, where Napier says that he deserves criticism. 

 "Sometimes you deserve criticism. I think that’s one of those things I would say I have no excuses, right? We got to go get it fixed."

But, as many coaches have learned, and paid the price for, it's not the fans' fault, and calling them out will get you nowhere, besides sitting at home with a massive buyout. 

And unfortunately for Napier, it feels as though that's where we are headed, with the school paying upwards of $26 million for him not to coach. The only saving grace would be the Gators defying the odds and beating Mississippi State, Texas A&M and UCF over the next four weeks. But even that doesn't seem plausible now based on what we witnessed against Miami. 

Sometimes you just have to call it like you see it, and it looks as though Napier is currently stuck in quick-sand, with a massive turnaround needed to save his job at Florida. Maybe he pulls it off, but as history has proven, when the situation gets this bad, there's usually only one outcome. 

Time will tell, but if Florida drops a few more games this month before a trip to Knoxville, Jimmy Sexton could once again be helping the Gators administration find a new head football coach.