Despite the rumors and speculation floating around regarding Florida football head coach Billy Napier and his job security, he is here to stay. At least for the time being.
With reports of the Gators boosters offering to cover the expenses of Napier’s buyout, this situation has become a major story surrounding this team. But Napier’s job is safe this week based on what he said during Monday’s press conference.
When asked about having discussions regarding his future with the team during Monday’s press conference, Napier shut it down immediately, saying, “No, none.”
He was quickly followed up with a question regarding if a fourth season was a possibility with Florida, barring things continuing to trend downhill, to which Napier said, “Yes. 100%.”
Napier is currently in his third year of his seven-year, $51.8 million contract with the Gators and was asked if he was given a certain amount of time to rebuild the program when he initially signed his contract.
“These are all hypothetical scenarios,” Napier explained. “I think, for me, I’m going to try to model what I would expect from our players, okay?”
Napier went on to say, “We can’t live in the shoulda, coulda, woulda, if then, all that. I think ultimately, we’ve got an obligation to the players and our leadership at the university, to do our best and play well this week. It’s all we can control.”
Napier couldn’t care less to what the outside noise is saying about him because he knows that it won’t go away no matter what.
“It’s never going to go away,” Napier said about managing the external noise. “It’s either going to be because they love you if you win and they hate you if you lose.”
Napier went on to say, “This place has got great history and tradition. You want it get it back there, right? It’s one of the reasons you take the job and accept the challenge.”
Players are still bought in with Napier
Napier made it known that the players still have his support and that there haven’t been any issues with players not being invested with the team.
“We haven’t had that problem,” Napier said. “I’m not saying we wouldn’t have that problem going forward, but I will tell you, we haven’t had that issue.”
Napier went on to say, “We’ve got a group that shows up and again, today, we’ve had two lift groups today. And it’s pedal to the metal. They’re ready to go.”
Offensive lineman Austin Barber talked about how he has his full confidence in Napier during Monday’s press conference.
“Oh, I have 100% confidence in coach Napier and this whole entire staff,” Barber said. “I’ve said it before that I still have the confidence in him.”
Napier prepares for Mississippi State
Napier started out by giving praise to Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby.
“We’re getting ready to transition here into the Mississippi State game,” Napier addressed. “I do think Jeff Lebby is a heck of a coach, first-year head coach, but he’s had great success as an offensive coordinator.”
Napier talked about the challenges of playing on the road, especially in the SEC.
“This is a first road game, first SEC road game,” Napier said. “And we would say, regardless of who you are in this league, when you go play on the road, you have to anticipate that it will be very challenging. It’s (Starkville) a tough place to play.”
Mississippi State plays fast and with a high-tempo offense. Napier talked about how they’ll prepare for it in practice this week.
“Offensively, the tempo is something that we’ll have to try to simulate this week,” Napier pointed out. “And there’s a ton of variables on defense, front pressure, coverage, and then good team speed.”
Up next for the Gators
Florida will play their first road game of the season as they travel up to Starkville to play against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.
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