Daily briefing: On Billy Napier, Brady Hoke and Iron Bowl gut punches

Ivan Maisel’s “Daily Briefing” for On3:

Florida makes a good hire

One measure of how big Lincoln Riley’s move from Oklahoma to USC is how it overshadowed Florida’s hiring of Billy Napier. Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin made a good hire. Napier methodically built Louisiana into the dominant program in the Sun Belt West. The Ragin’ Cajuns have won 32 games over the past three seasons. I respect how Napier had no interest in leaving Louisiana for a bigger job. He waited for the right job. He was in the mix at Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina and Baylor. Another guy who most prominently kept saying no until the right gig came along is Kirby Smart. That worked out pretty well for Smart. That says something about coaching fit.

Brady Hoke epitomizes ‘good fit’

Usually when we talk about coaching fit, it’s about a coach who goes to a major program and doesn’t succeed, as in, “He just wasn’t a good fit.” To see Brady Hoke take San Diego State (11-1) to the Mountain West Conference West Division title, a No. 21 ranking and a berth in the MWC Championship Game against Utah State is the definition of a good fit. Hoke transformed Ball State, his alma mater, into a 12-1 team in 2008 and left for San Diego State. After leading the Aztecs to a 9-4 record in 2010, he returned to Michigan where he had been associate head coach for Lloyd Carr. Definitely not a fit (31-20 overall and 18-14 in the Big Ten in four seasons). Hoke is winning, and next season he will take his team into the new 35,000-seat Aztec Stadium. Sure looks like a fit.

Alabama turns the tables

The typical Iron Bowl win for Alabama in recent years has been a rout. When Auburn has won, the Tigers often have done so with a twist of the knife: The Kick-Six in 2013, the Cam-back in 2010, Alabama’s inexplicable last-minute screen pass in 1997 that resulted in a turnover, allowing Auburn to kick the winning field goal. Not only did the Tigers win, but they won in the most painful way possible for their archrival. This season, the Crimson Tide delivered the emotional gut punch. When Nick Saban, the ultimate pragmatist, blurts out, “Wow, what a game,” in his news conference, you know the impact.