It is no secret that Florida’s [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is in one of the most perilous positions among college football head coaches, facing an insane amount of pressure to win in his third season against one of the toughest schedules in recent memory.
Suffice it to say, the Gators skipper has been on the HC hot seat since before the season began and the temperature has only risen over the past few months. The future looks pretty grim as well.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman recently published an exhaustive look at which coaches sit on the hottest seats at the midseason mark and no list would be complete without Napier.
Evaluating Billy Napier’s hot seat status
“Florida doesn’t have a lot of patience with football coaches,” Feldman begins. “The Gators fired Dan Mullen, who’d won 29 games in his first three seasons but got the axe after going 5-6. Jim McElwain won 19 games in his first two seasons and then went 3-4 and got fired. Will Muschamp got four years. Ron Zook didn’t even get three. Napier went 11-14 his first two years after an impressive run at Louisiana.
“This season has been a mixed bag,” he continues. “The Gators got pounded by Miami in the opener in The Swamp but the team is still battling for Napier. That’s been a big plus, in addition to the tricky timeline now with CFP candidates potentially in play.”
But there is more than what has happened on the field. The school itself has been dealing with some significant issues as well, as “there’s been a ton of dysfunction around the university, all the way up to the university president fleeing.”
However, it is not all doom and gloom in Gainesville… yet.
“The good news: the Gators thumped Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., beat UCF by double-digits and almost upset Tennessee in Knoxville before losing in overtime. They have four top-20 opponents left, including two in the top five, vs. Georgia and at Texas.
“The only team with a losing record remaining is their road trip to 1-5 FSU. They just lost starting QB Graham Mertz for the rest of the season. Can true freshman DJ Lagway spark a strong second half to get Florida to 6-6? If they win this weekend against Kentucky, don’t rule it out.
“Temperature check: Toasty,” Feldman concludes.
Coming up for the Gators
The Gators host the Kentucky Wildcats inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, for this year’s homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
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