OT: Norvell vs Napier

18IsTheMan

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Jan 19, 2022
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It's just funny to me because there were a lot of people, here and elsewhere who were convinced Napier should have been the hire here. I don't blame Florida for hiring him. It made sense. Sometimes good hires don't work out. That's happened here as well.
The hot list a few years ago was: Tom Herman, Justin Fuente, Billy Napier.

I was not particularly enthusiastic about the Beamer hire at the time, but the above list just goes to show that you never know. Those were 3 absolute can't miss guys and they are fired, fired and about to be fired.
 
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Harvard Gamecock

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Jan 20, 2022
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It's just funny to me because there were a lot of people, here and elsewhere who were convinced Napier should have been the hire here. I don't blame Florida for hiring him. It made sense. Sometimes good hires don't work out. That's happened here as well.
A frequently overlooked point is that at Louisiana he had the advantage of better facilities, finances, and a better infrastructure concerning football over most of other schools in the Sun Belt.
At UF they do not necessarily have such an overwhelming advantage over other SEC programs. I'm not suggesting that is the main reason for his less than stellar results, but it is a point worth considering.
 

18IsTheMan

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Jan 19, 2022
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Boy, give Napier credit, he kept his players fighting after every pundit and analyst was shoveling dirt on Florida 3 games into the season. Without exception, the talk nationally was "when will Napier be canned" not "if". Now they sit at 5-5 and likely going bowling if they beat hapless FSU.

Of course, this IS Florida football we're talking about, so celebrating getting your 6th win in the last game of the season signals how far they've fallen, but give him credit for salvaging what was looking to be an utterly disastrous season.

Still not sure he makes it there long term, but he pulled his butt out of the fire this season.
 
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