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A seat that was already hot for Florida coach Billy Napier entering the 2024 college football season has become scorching in recent weeks as his Gators have gotten off to a 1-2 start that includes a pair of home losses to FBS opponents.
Those shortcomings have advanced the conversation around Napier and his job status, shifting from asking if he’ll be fired to when he’ll be dismissed, with each loss adding to the mounting pressure for the school to make a move.
The most important figure in the history of Florida football believes he deserves a little time and patience.
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Steve Spurrier, who coached the Gators to a national championship and is one of three Heisman Trophy winners in program history, said this week on “Another Dooley Noted Podcast” — hosted by longtime Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley — that Florida shouldn’t be in a rush to fire Napier during the season due to the circumstances surrounding such a move.
“I think we just need to show a little patience and see what can happen from this year,” Spurrier said. “All of the coaches are going to be there, even if the head coach isn’t. I don’t see how it’s going to make a huge difference if they remove the head coach. You might as well let the staff stay in place for a while and let’s see what happens. We’ve only had three games. The two losses are against two good teams.”
Indeed, the Gators’ two losses this season were to quality opponents, as both Miami and Texas A&M began the season ranked in the top 20 of the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Hurricanes are 3-0 and have since moved up to No. 11 in the poll while quarterback Cam Ward has emerged as one of a handful of early frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy.
Still, Florida’s larger troubles are impossible to ignore. Among 134 FBS teams, the Gators are 82nd in scoring offense (27.3 points per game) and 94th in scoring defense (27 points allowed per game) through three games.
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One quarter of the way through his third season, Napier is 12-16 at Florida, including a 6-11 mark in SEC play. His win percentage is the worst by a Gators coach since Raymond Wolf, who coached at the school from 1946-49. If Florida finishes this season with a sub-.500 record, it will be the Gators’ fourth-consecutive losing season, something that hasn’t happened to them since 1935-38.
Under the terms of Napier’s contract, he would be owed 85% of his remaining salary if he’s fired without cause. Earlier this week, that figure was just shy of $28 million, though it will decrease with each game.
“Give them a chance,” Spurrier said. “Everybody’s under contract. Let them earn their pay. Keep them all here and let’s go. See if they can turn it around and see how important it is to win a game. I think we’ll find out a lot this week and then go from there.”
While he’s sympathetic to Napier’s plight, Spurrier can’t completely relate to it. The Head Ball Coach was an immediate success in Gainesville, going 9-2 his first season in 1990 and leading the Gators to an SEC championship in his second season in 1991. He went 122-27-1 in 12 seasons at Florida, a wildly successful run highlighted by six SEC championships and the program’s first-ever national title, in 1996.
If Napier is going to orchestrate a turnaround, it will have to begin soon. Florida plays at Mississippi State Saturday, a game in which it’s favored by six, before a bye the following week.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Steve Spurrier: Florida football should show patience with Billy Napier