Image Credit: UAA

If the manner in which the Florida Gators performed Saturday in a listless 33-20 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies was not indication enough, the way head coach Billy Napier held court after the game was all the proof one needed to confirm his tenure in Gainesville, Florida, was coming to an end. Napier, who has steadfastly pushed his process and the Gators being close to turning a corner, appeared dejected and resigned to his fate in a 15-minute media availability after his program lost a seventh straight game to an FBS opponent.

“Everything that happens within our organization, top to bottom, is under my direction and control. And I take full responsibility for that,” he said. “… Ultimately, at some point, it becomes about production. Two out of three weeks here, we have not played good enough football in many parts of our team at all.”

Napier now holds a 12-16 overall record at Florida, though that takes into account a decent start in Year 1. The Gators are 3-12 in their last 15 games against Power Four opponents with seven straight losses, including four in a row inside the supposed-to-be-friendly confines of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. With a 10-6 record in The Swamp, he has more home losses through 2.25 seasons than Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer (five each) had in their entire careers.

Florida fans knew the game was over at halftime. That’s why they booed a scoreboard advertisement of Napier despite the positive message he was promoting: preventing drunk driving.

“I have no excuse. I have no negative comment about that,” Napier said when asked about jeers from the stands. “Ultimately, when you play a certain way in this arena, you’re going to be criticized. This is one of those places where there’s history and tradition and expectations. There’s been a lot of really good football teams that played in that stadium in the past. When you play ugly ball, and it doesn’t look quite like we all want it to, then it comes with the territory.

“I probably would have done the same thing, truth be known.”

The University of Florida Board of Trustees has called a previously unscheduled meeting for Sunday morning, according to multiple reports. The obvious agenda item will be Napier’s immediate and long-term future.

Contrary to a report stating the Gators rounded up approximately $26 million in buyout money on Saturday night, those funds have long been raised, multiple sources told Only Gators earlier this week.

Even if Napier’s immediate firing is on the table, there are multiple significant problems at hand, including who would lead the team in an interim capacity given there are nine games left in the regular season. Ron Roberts, whose pitiful defense has been Florida’s biggest issue, is the only assistant with a semblance of head coaching experience; that came a decade ago at Delta State and Southeastern Louisiana. Neither of the other coordinators would make reasonable options.

The truth is that Napier, despite being a dead man walking, is probably the best option to lead the Gators — as deep as through their second bye week — despite whatever results may come. That is particularly true given there is no one at the helm of the University Athletic Association who should be allowed by UF to initiate another head coaching search.

Athletic director Scott Stricklin needs to be jettisoned alongside Napier. (He should have been fired years ago amid accusations made within the women’s basketball program.) There is no scenario in which Stricklin should be allowed to make a third hire of a head football coach given how dreadful his decision making has been across the entire UAA throughout his tenure.

But who will be tasked with firing Stricklin? The political appointee who briefly served as UF president — while running through millions of dollars and funneling money to his friends — is out. Kent Fuchs is back serving in an interim capacity. Does he have the power to eject Stricklin, whom he actually hired in 2016, from his post? Is he capable of hiring a replacement? Will he be empowered to do so by the board?

Perhaps 71-year-old AD/Emeritus Jeremy Foley wants to team up with 79-year-old Steve Spurrier to steward a transition of the athletic department and football program.

Napier appeared to be the right man for the job when Stricklin hired him. He had the pedigree (Nick Saban coaching tree, strong performances at Louisiana), the patience (turned down multiple jobs before accepting Florida) and the sales pitch (“The Process.”) In many ways, he did improve the badly lacking infrastructure around Gators football, one of few accomplishments he proudly hung his hat on Saturday night.

“We’ve worked extremely hard. There’s been a ton of progress made,” he said. “My frustrations have been with how we played two out of the last three weeks. We’ve done a lot of good behind the walls, just the organization as a whole. I truly believe that, and I think most people that have familiarity with our program would see that. We’re not getting the result on the field that we want.

“Ultimately, that’s how you’re judged to some degree in this arena. It comes with the territory. We all understand that as coaches. We have to play more competitive football. We have to play better quality football. And that’s my responsibility. … This is a production business, and ultimately, we gotta play better.”

All three of Napier’s defensive coordinators have been failures. His unwillingness to give up offensive play calling duties — when so many of his peers have done the same over recent years — was a sign of stubbornness that does not jive with Napier’s constant preaching of self-evaluation. His insistence of having two offensive line coaches has been a pox on the program given the unit plays poorly and the coaches neither recruit nor develop well.

“If you watch the Miami game and the Texas A&M game, you would say, ‘No,’” Napier said of whether the offensive line has performed up to standard. “Ultimately, you got to do something to fix it. That’s about as simple as I can put it. We have struggled to rush the ball, and we have struggled to protect the quarterback. … We haven’t played well enough up front on offense in the opener or today.”

Florida on Saturday had a rare opportunity to evaluate itself twice in game. The first chance came during a lightning delay between the first and second quarter. Napier said the Gators watched every play with immense frustration given how many mistakes were made in regard to decision making and technique. Florida then came out and played just as poorly in the second quarter before showing at least some signs of life in the second half.

“Not good enough,” Napier said. “… We’ve done a lot of good behind the scenes in terms of building infrastructure. We’ve got a great organization of people. But the quality of football in the opener and today [is] not up to standard.

“We’ve played some good football at times and gotten beat. Maybe I’ve been able to stand up here and say, ‘Hey, we did a lot of good things and were close,’ but that’s not been the case [this year]. That’s the facts. We have to do much better.”

Whether Napier even gets another 60 minutes to do better is a legitimate question as of Saturday night.