Florida football turned the page on the [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] era at the end of the 2021 season, handing the reins over to former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] with the task of restoring glory to the Orange and Blue. After a rollercoaster decade that saw three different skippers riding the coaching carousel following [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag]’s departure, the Gator Nation is ready for some stability in Gainesville.
But success will not come overnight as Napier and Co. have quite a mess to clean up, especially on the recruiting front. Florida fans are champing at the bit for a return to the days of dominance but patience will be a virtue as the new regime rebuilds the program brick-by-brick.
CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson recently undertook the task of breaking down the outlooks for the newest Power Five head coaches. While Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables are expected to yield immediate results at USC and Oklahoma, respectively, Patterson believes that Napier and Miami’s Mario Cristobal have a longer timeline to success. Here is how he broke down the situation for two new Sunshine State coaches.
There’s an argument that Cristobal carries ACC Coastal championship expectations in Year 1. However, that’s not “win big” status when you consider the perceived gap between the Hurricanes and Clemson, even as the Tigers look to rebound in 2022 after failing to win the ACC for the first time since 2014. Florida, similarly, will require a process to chase down Alabama and Georgia in the SEC and get back to contending for championships and College Football Playoff spots. The process will include building out depth and player development, stacking strong recruiting classes and getting on-field results this fall that build confidence in the program’s future.
But the good news for Miami and Florida fans is that there is plenty to suggest that Cristobal and Napier are the right coaches to lead those programs back to big-time success. Both have made impressive investments in their coaches and support staff, quickly making their impact felt long before the first snap of competitive football. If those investments pay off, then we should see both of these proud programs back in the mix for championships in the coming years.
The long view for Florida is certainly encouraging, and frankly, there is no reason to believe that Napier will work some kind of wizardry with a roster that is already running a bit thin on talent, not to mention also filled with players he did not recruit. But given time to implement his master plan, there is every reason to believe that better days are just over the horizon for Florida football.
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