It was a tough year for Florida football in 2022 after transitioning from the [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] to the [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] era. Unfortunately, the changing of the guard resulted in the same outcome as the Gators finished 6-7 for the second straight year after another late-season collapse doomed the program to another losing season.
It is a bit unfair to grade Napier and Co. solely on last fall’s results — especially given that a great deal of the player personnel were holdovers from Mullen. However, wins and losses are the easiest metric to judge a team by and those numbers simply were not friendly for Florida.
CBS Sports writer Shehan Jeyarajah undertook the task of grading all 29 of the first-year head coaches, including Napier who received a final grade of C-minus. Here is what Jeyarajah had to offer on the Orange and Blue.
Napier’s Gators shocked Utah in Week 1… and things went downhill from there. Florida showed flashes — like a four-score win against South Carolina and competitive matchups with Florida State and LSU — but ultimately finished with a losing record.
While C-minus is just below a passing grade, it is better than the D-plus assigned by some publications such as USA TODAY Sports. Still, there is a ton of headroom for improvement, and both the fans and media will be looking for a great deal of progress when the Gators kick off next season against the Utah Utes.
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