Billy Napier hot seat: Pete Thamel details why Florida can't fire head coach right now
ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed why Florida can’t exactly fire head coach Billy Napier right now: there’s not a clear direction in Gainesville.
Without a clear direction and having to do more than just remove Napier, he’s more likely to ride out the season. The troubles could continue for Florida.
Florida takes on Mississippi State Saturday where things could take a turn for the worse or finally turn around.
“With that seven game FBS losing streak and two home blowout losses to start the season, the overwhelming expectation remains, Billy Napier won’t return next year,” Thamel said on College GameDay. “The question remains, the timing of that potential exit. If you’re going to fire a coach this early in the season, Rece, you have to have a clear path to get better. And Florida does not appear to have that.
“There’s no obvious interim on the staff that could spark this program. There’s also (this): Napier’s the primary play caller, so you really have to change out two coaches, which is difficult on the fly.”
Billy Napier not going anywhere anytime soon?
Napier is a large issue but former Florida star Tim Tebow thinks it’s still on the field. Hence the 1-2 start and struggles.
“I think for me, and probably not just me, it’s not that they lost, it’s probably more of how they lost,” Tebow told On3. “Especially Week 2. (It) is losing both lines of scrimmage, losing in the tenacity, losing in the competitiveness, losing in the fight, losing in the resiliency. I think how you lose also matters and you definitely saw more this weekend. Everybody kind of wants to point to the big highlights. Well, it’s just, you know, a head coach or quarterback, because (people give) them probably way too much praise, but also sometimes way too much scrutiny or criticism and it’s so many other pieces to that.
“And I think this isn’t about the quarterbacks. The quarterback position hasn’t been the issue. It’s been most of the other positions around it, especially the offensive and defensive line. The SEC is still a line of scrimmage league. I know it’s changing. It’s not as much as it once was, but it’s still, you want to win, you better go learn how to be physical up front, offense and defense.”