Florida

Florida played its best game of the season against Georgia, and it’s still over for Billy Napier

Published

2 years ago

November 2, 2024

Press Room

Florida played its best game of the season against Georgia, and it’s still over for Billy Napier

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Don’t put this on an injured quarterback. Don’t give Billy Napier that excuse.

What played out here at the World’s Largest Cocktail Party could’ve been just about any other week, in any of the three dysfunctional and discombobulated seasons under Napier.

This one just included a possible season-ending injury to Florida freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, the last hope to turn the mistake-filled train of misery.

But it’s over now. There’s no coming back from this.

Not from the 34-20 loss to Georgia, a game the No. 2-ranked team in the nation — the king of college football since 2021 — was begging to give away. Not from another loss full of coaching mistakes, including, yep, another special teams disaster.

Not from a bizarre and incomprehensible play call with the game on the line, not from a season now careening toward another ugly end.

Not because of Lagway’s untimely injury, and not because backup Aidan Warner was put in an untenable situation against the Boogeyman of college football.

“We had our team in position to win the game,” Napier said.

Until the Gators weren’t. Until the same confounding issues that have plagued Napier’s teams showed up again.

Look, this thing isn’t easy. With a healthy Lagway, Florida may have gotten its biggest win under Napier and the momentum could’ve taken the Gators to a big second half of the season — and Napier to 2025 and another season to figure it out.

But coaching college football is a brutal undertaking, one that ends in unemployment for nearly every coach. No matter how close you are to turning it around.

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At some point, a coach is evaluated on the totality of his tenure, not a game of what-if, or what could’ve been if this player or that player (or a handful of defensive backs) didn’t get hurt. There’s nothing fair about coaching football when you’re making $8 million annually to do so.

It’s over for Napier at Florida because by the time this season wraps later this month, Florida will have played a brutal stretch of games against Texas, LSU and Ole Miss with a third-string, walk-on quarterback. Even if the Gators beat a pitiful Florida State team, that would make Napier 16-21 in three seasons in Gainesville.

It’s over now because in big time college football, you’re either doing everything you can to get better, or you’re accepting your losing fate.

The Gators have lost 18 of 33 games under Napier, and a majority of the previous 17 losses were with a quarterback who was a top-five pick in the NFL draft (Anthony Richardson), and a quarterback who had a career season (Graham Mertz). Don’t allow that Lagway excuse.

Florida is now 1-10 in rivalry games (Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee), and 2-13 vs. ranked teams under Napier. If this game weren’t a big enough kick in the gut, consider the Tennessee debacle last month.

At the end of the first half, Florida had a field goal negated when it was penalized for too many players on the field. Those three points were the difference in a game the Gators eventually lost in overtime.

Mike Leach used to have a sign hanging in his office everywhere he coached, positioned perfectly so every assistant coach could see it every time they walked into the room.

You’re either coaching it, or you’re allowing it.

This is where we are with the Florida administration. You’re either expecting excellence, or you’re allowing mediocrity.

You’re either expecting your head coach — whose offense had a clear advantage running the ball against Georgia, and was wearing down the Bulldogs’ defense — to run the ball, or you’re allowing him to put the game in the hands of Warner with four minutes to play and trailing by seven.

The play call, on the first play of the drive: a naked bootleg.

The result: an interception.

This is much more than a poor play call. Any coach in that situation, whose team has successfully run the ball against eight- and nine-man boxes all game long, simply can’t put the game in the hands of a walk-on quarterback. It’s coaching malpractice.

It’s not fair to the Warner, who transferred from Yale and just this week started taking meaningful practice snaps, and was staring down the barrel at Georgia rush ends Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams — and told to make a play at the biggest point in the game.

It’s not fair to a defense that got three interceptions from Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, and consistently got off the field on third down. It’s not fair to an offensive line — finally developing some consistency over the last month of the season and dominating the line of scrimmage — to take the game out of their hands.

It’s not fair to running backs Jacobi Jackson and Jaden Baugh, who combined to rush for 138 yards on 29 carries (4.8 yards per carry) while running hard against those eight- and nine-man boxes.

There’s nothing fair about coaching college football. You either win, or you’re eventually fired. No matter how you parse it.

“For the first time since I’ve been the head coach here we showed up and we believed we could beat that team,” Napier said.

You either expecting excellence, or accepting mediocrity.

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Florida

Florida Airport Officially Renamed After Trump. Here’s What to Know

Published

9 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Florida Airport Officially Renamed After Trump. Here’s What to Know

The Palm Beach International Airport was officially renamed to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport on Thursday, becoming the latest place to take on the President’s name since he took office for a second term.

The Florida airport announced the change on social media early Thursday morning, changing its handle on X to bear the new name and saying that staffers were “working behind the scenes to update our physical signage, terminal spaces, and digital channels to our new name.”

The President’s son, Eric Trump, said that his father’s plane, which he was on, was the first flight to land at the newly-branded airport.

“There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump said in a post on X. “As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass.”

Here’s what to know about the change.

Why was the airport renamed?

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill to rename the Palm Beach airport after Trump, after state lawmakers passed the legislation. The Trump Organization had previously submitted trademark applications for possible airport names.

The President frequently travels through the Palm Beach hub, as it’s close to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

There are a number of airports across the country named after U.S. Presidents, such as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. But the Palm Beach rebranding makes Trump the first President to have an airport named after him while in the White House.

When does the name change go into effect?

The airport was officially renamed on Thursday, but it said on its website that “transition activities, including updates to signage, branding and public-facing materials, will occur in phases.”

Will the name change affect airport operations?

The airport said on its website that “airport operations and services will continue without interruption” and that flight routes and schedules will not be impacted by the change. It added that “this is a branding change only,” and that the airport’s ownership and governance will not undergo any changes.

The three-letter identifier that airlines and travelers reference for services related to their flights, such as ticketing and baggage handling, will change from “PBI” to “DJT,” but the airport said on its website that that change will go into effect on Aug. 18. Until that date, travelers should stick to using the original code, “PBI.”

As of Thursday afternoon, some airline booking sites, such as Delta’s portal, recognized both codes, while others, such as American Airlines, only recognized the original PBI identifier.

How much is the rebranding going to cost?

According to the airport’s website, the Palm Beach County Department of Airports predicted that the total cost of rolling out the new name for the travel hub would be roughly $5.5 million. That amount will cover the price of changing airport signage, branding, and printed materials, among other items.

The state has allocated $2.75 million in funding for the rebranding, according to the airport’s website. The rest of the funding for the project will come from the Department of Airports’ operating budget and capital improvement program. The airport said that the rebranding “does not result in a separate fee charged to passengers.”

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Summer Scheming ‘26: Florida State Seminoles

Published

19 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Summer Scheming ‘26: Florida State Seminoles

After a stellar run at Memphis Mike Norvell has had a rollercoaster run in Tallahassee as the Florida State Seminoles head football coach. Norvell finished his four year stint at Memphis with a 38-15 record.

At FSU Norvell started off slow winning only eight games in two years. Then the ‘Noles had an awakening and won 23 games from 2022-2023. And now that reality has come crashing back down with seven wins the past two seasons.

FSU will have 17 transfers in the 2-deep once again in 2026. It’s become a double-edged sword where he only way Norvell can keep his job (buyout be damned) after this year is to inject talent into the roster but he’s got a bad culture in the field house up at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Now let’s put the ‘Noles through The Goal, our 2026 Summer Scheming analysis system.

Acquisition: The ’Noles high school recruiting hasn’t been as ‘bad’ s advertised. FSU is 16th over the past three years in prep signings and 14th when it comes to the transfer portal for an average of 15th overall.

Development: Now this is the crazy part. Over the past couple of years the ‘Noles have only produced eight NFL players. Only eight have stuck it out from the 2025 and 2026 NFL Draft classes. Remember all of those drafts loaded with FSU talent like Jameis Winston and Jared Verse? Right now it’s Deuce Robinson and who else?

Deployment: This preseason Bill Connelly’s SP+ has FSU 35th in overall SP+. The Seminole offense is 45th, the defense 30th and the kicking game is 94th. So where as Mike Norvell has the 15th best players he’s producing the 35th best team. He’s revamped his coordinators once again sending Gus Malzahn off to the glue factory and promoting Tim Harris Jr to OC.

The bottleneck to success at FSU is the culture within the program. The Seminoles went hellbent on the transfer portal to improve from 5-7 to 10-3 and dipped their toe in again to move to 13-1. They were Jordan Travis’ leg away from competing for a national championship. But injuries do happen and losing your starting QB is a devastating one.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 05: A fan cosplays as Scorpion from Mortal Kombat during the 2018 New York Comic Con at Javits Center on October 5, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

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Mike Norvell has taken the Manny Diaz approach to the transfer portal and it’s killed any semblance of a culture that could possibly have been built in the FSU locker room AND he’s losing games.

The FSU strength of schedule is 45th of 138 in FBS per CFB News. Florida State faces SMU before an off week. Then they head to Tuscaloosa to play the Alabama Crimson Tide. After a cupcake, FSU hosts UVA before consecutive road trips to Louisville and Miami. The ‘Noles also face Clemson, Pitt and Florida over the back half of the schedule.

The inventory space includes returning production per Bill Connelly, the On3 top-100 list and the Athlon preseason All-Conference Team honorees. The ’Noles returning production is 48th in FBS at 57% production. FSU has two players on the On3 top-100 list in WR Deuce Robinson (74th) and DL Mandrell Desir (97th). The ‘Noles have one player on the Athlon All-ACC Team and that’s Robinson.

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 08: Mandrell Desir #93 of the Florida State Seminoles sacks Cade Klubnik #2 of the Clemson Tigers during the first half of a football game at Memorial Stadium on November 08, 2025 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)

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FSU hit the transfer portal for four of their five potential starting OL in ‘26. They also brought in QB Ashton Daniels (Auburn) and RB Quintrevion Wisner (Texas). Daniels is another FSU QB with a penchant for throwing interceptions.

Robinson averaged 19.3 yards per catch with six scores in 2025. Wisner adds over four yards per carry and three TD’s from his run at Texas. On defense M. Desir returns with 7.5 TFL’s and 6.5 sacks from a year ago.

Southern Miss transfer LB Chris Jones logged 9.5 TFL’s and 3.5 sacks a year ago. Another transfer, this one DB Nehemiah Chandler, picked up 13 PBU’s last season with two INT’s.

Mike Norvell is committing highway robbery with the past two seasons performances. After the 13-1 season and the Alabama opening with Nick Saban’s retirement, Norvell landed himself a nice raise up to $10.3M a season. The issue is they’ve only won six games per season under Norvell which adds up to $1.7M per win. That’s second to only Bill Belichick in the grand theft coaching category.

There is no chance the goal at FSU is anything short of eight wins. What a sad cry from only three seasons ago when the ‘Noles were potentially a national championship program. That’s the crux of the transfer portal, live by the transfer / die by the transfer.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – MARCH 13: Head Coach Mike Norvell of the Florida State Seminoles during Spring Football Practice at the Albert J. Dunlap Athletic Training Facility on the campus of Florida State University on March 13, 2026 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

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Highly successful clubs have started to be extremely careful with who comes in and out of their program, think: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Indiana and even lately- Miami. The vetting process is pivotal for not bottlenecking your success by bringing in locker room cancers.

Season Prediction: I can see this winding up anywhere from 5-7 to 7-5. They’ve got the 2nd most players on the On3 top-11 than anyone else on Miami’s schedule (ND has five). They also have the 15th best grouping of talent in the country. And yet I just can’t see Daniels, four new OL, a new RB, and another dozen guys on defense gelling together under Mike Norvell and into some phoenix that rises from the ashes of the ACC cellar.

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Iranian drones in Cuba could threaten South Florida, officials warn

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Iranian drones in Cuba could threaten South Florida, officials warn

An Iranian-made drone displayed at the Biltmore Hotel served as a stark warning from national security advocates and South Florida officials who say Cuba’s growing military ties with Iran could pose a threat to the United States.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, chairman of the advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, joined U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida, to highlight concerns about what they say are roughly 300 Iranian drones that have been delivered to Cuba.

Standing alongside one of the drones, Bush described the weapon as among the deadliest battlefield threats faced by American forces in recent years.

“Most loss of life of the U.S. military than any single weapon that exists over the last 15 years,” Bush said.

Gimenez warned that the drones’ capabilities make them particularly concerning because of their ability to carry significant explosive payloads over long distances.

“This particular model, there is about over 100 pounds of explosives,” Gimenez said. “That’s a pretty big bang. That’s why they call them kamikaze drones — they crash into their target and they explode.”

According to Gimenez, the drones can reach speeds of about 115 miles per hour and travel more than 1,000 miles, placing South Florida well within range. He said the aircraft could also reach the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay and other cities throughout the southeastern United States, including Tallahassee and Atlanta.

The congressman said one of the primary concerns is the potential for Iran-style drone warfare tactics, in which large numbers of drones are launched simultaneously to overwhelm air defense systems.

While the United States has sophisticated defense systems capable of intercepting incoming drones, Gimenez noted that a successful strike may require only one, or a handful of aircraft to penetrate those defenses.

The event was organized by United Against Nuclear Iran, which has sought to draw attention to expanding military and strategic cooperation between Iran and countries aligned with its interests, including Cuba.

Supporters of the group’s effort say the growing presence of Iranian military technology in the Western Hemisphere warrants increased attention from policymakers and defense officials.

For South Florida residents, the warning underscores the region’s proximity to Cuba and the continuing role the island nation plays in broader geopolitical tensions involving the United States and its adversaries.

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