Tag: Pat Dooley

Spurrier: ‘Give Napier a chance’ heading into Week 4

Billy Napier’s seat is as hot as it can possibly get, but former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier is calling for patience among the fan base.

The Florida fan base and boosters are ready to move on from head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag], but there’s still a legendary Gator in his corner.

On the most recent episode of Another Dooley Noted Podcast with Pat Dooley, former Florida head coach [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] said that “we need to show a little patience” with Napier heading into a Week 4 road matchup with Mississippi State.

“It’s a crucial game this week,” Spurrier said to Dooley. “A crucial game maybe for the direction of the season. I still think you give Napier — they gave him what, a seven-year contract? Might as well give him three, if you can. But there’s going to have to be some decisions on how we finish record-wise.”

Spurrier isn’t saying fans should avoid criticism. He hinted at the university moving on from Napier at the end of that quote. But he also knows that firing the man up top doesn’t erase any systemic problem throughout the program. There’s also no sense in buying a coach out this early in the year.

“Everybody is under contract. Let them earn their pay,” he said. “And keep ’em all here and let’s go. See if they can turn it around. … I mean, all the coaches are going to be there even if the head coach isn’t so I don’t see how it’s going to make a huge difference if they remove the head coach. You might as well let the staff stay in place for a while and see what happens.”

Napier is 12-16 at Florida through two full seasons and three weeks of the 2024 season. Experts predicted a five-win ceiling for the Gators coming into the year, and the number is still achievable, albeit unlikely.

Both of Florida’s losses at home this year come against teams ranked inside the top 25 nationally. Miami looks like the ACC favorite and Texas A&M might be a decent team despite a loss to Notre Dame in Week 1. An attitude adjustment appeared to benefit the Aggies last week. Perhaps the Gators need a similar change to find success in the SEC.

“Teams can change,” Spurrier said. “One guy named William James said the greatest discovery of our generation is that a person or a company or a team can alter their life with a change in attitude, and we need a change in attitude. I’ve had teams that started pretty lousy and they got a change in attitude and had winning seasons.”

It’s going to be a big week for both Florida and Napier at Mississippi State. A win against Samford sent a small jolt of positivity throughout the fan base. Imagine what beating an SEC team would do for the team’s confidence.

Alternatively, a loss might send ditch diggers to the local cemetery in preparation for the end of the Billy Napier era.

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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12 historical wrongs that should be righted for Florida Gators athletics

When the news came down that Reggie Bush was getting his Heisman back, I couldn’t help but wonder if the death of O.J. Simpson had something to go with it. I could connect the Southern Call part, but that was as far as it could go. So instead, I …

When the news came down that Reggie Bush was getting his Heisman back, I couldn’t help but wonder if the death of O.J. Simpson had something to go with it.

I could connect the Southern Call part, but that was as far as it could go.

So instead, I bought the Heisman Trust and its lame explanation that the landscape of college football has changed so drastically, we give up.

But then, the wheels started turning.

I began to think of the wrong things that have happened to Florida over the years. Not that the program didn’t make mistakes that deserved to be punished. But if we are handing out pardons and granting immunity like we were in the White House, there are some things I’d like to see rectified.

In fact, there are at least 12 I could come up with and that leads the latest Dooley’s Dozen, 12 wrongs I would like to see righted (even if they were wrong back then).

Florida won it fair and square on the field with a freshman quarterback in Kerwin Bell and got the two monkeys off their backs – Georgia and the SEC crown.

It was quite the celebration when the Gators came home from Lexington and the plane dipped a wing to show the players a stadium full of fans.

Of course, that summer Vanderbilt and Tennessee argued that Florida should be stripped because the Gators had committed 59 NCAA violations.

The vote was 6-4 to strip. Hey, the landscape has changed so much that almost all of those violations would fall under NIL deals today.

Florida remained on probation and knew going into the season it could not compete for the SEC title.  

Still, the Gators went 9-1-1 for the second straight year. They tied Tennessee for the SEC championship at 5-1 and beat the Vols head-to-head.

But rules are rules, right? Unless you give up.

So, let’s give up and say that Neal Anderson and Ricky Nattiel and the guys deserve an SEC trophy to go along with that New York Times one they received the previous year.

Steve Spurrier would give me a tongue-lashing on our podcast if I did not mention the 1990 team, which he still considers the first team to win the SEC.

Somehow, having a grad assistant drive paperwork to Palatka doesn’t sound like something that would today be punishable.

The news broke a few games into that season and the great minds at Florida decided to go ahead and take their fate rather than wait until the following year.

This is why for many years the 1984, ’85 and ’90 teams were recognized on the south end zone wall.

I have always had a difficult time figuring out what to do with J-Will whenever I do rankings because he only played 20 games in a Gator uni.

Think about this – you can get a medical marijuana card and walk into a dispensary and there is nothing wrong with that. And it’s on the ballot to be completely legal.

Talk about a changing landscape.

Williams was suspended at the start of the season for testing positive at Marshall and after 20 games of Globetrotter plays he tested positive again.

And that was it.

Let’s bring up Teddy Dupay.

His dismissal from the team during his senior year is a press conference I will never forget, Teddy standing there with a wrinkled dress short and a tie reading a short statement.

This is a fine line here because Dupay was accused of giving a fellow student inside info on the Gators.

That can still get you suspended or even banned, but who knows when that will become legal?

Changing landscape, right?

As long as we are going to go back in time and fix the mistakes that were made, let us travel back to 2003 when the Gators were treated to ACC officials in Gainesville.

That’s the way they did it (although it was changed after this debacle) back then with the officials and these guys were clueless.

How many Florida fumbles were not fumbles? How many times did FSU fumble and there was no call?

We have instant replay now. Let’s go back and declare the correct winner.

Vernon Maxwell’s reputation isn’t the greatest in the world. But you saw him score a bunch of points.

Before they disappeared.

Florida was tough on its native son by removing two seasons of scoring from one of the best players in basketball history.

Maxwell was retroactively deemed as ineligible for his final two years at UF. So, instead of being the all-time leading scorer, he is 53rd.

If we are going to right some wrongs, let’s start with the media guide and get his points back.

You have to have been around in the 1980s to understand how bad Florida football was before Pell came to Gainesville.

He fixed the weight room, got the stadium expanded, started Gator Clubs around the state and got the boosters organized like nobody had ever before.

A lot of people see him as a villain because the newspapers (back when there were real newspapers) camped out in Gainesville. Eventually, the NCAA got Pell and forced him out.

Like that would happen today.

Back when I was a student at Florida, we would take our covered wagons to the game (I’m kidding, of course) and have a few too many libations.

Back then, there was a lot going on.

One thing that was going on – the Banana Man.

We would chant (Go bananas! Go, go bananas!) and he would dance on the dugout roof of the opposing team.

As long as we are rectifying, I want him (or her) back.

It is ridiculous that he did not win it in 2001. It stays with me.

Eric Crouch was a really good player. But Rex should have won the Heisman. Crouch threw for seven TDs and 10 interceptions. He was drafted as a wide receiver.

But Grossman and Miami’s Ken Dorsey split the Southern vote and Crouch won.

Let’s give a second one to Tim Tebow. The year after he won it the first time, Tebow led Florida to the national title game but the guy going against him – Sam Bradford of Oklahoma – was handed the stiff-armed one.

Tebow finished third and maybe you think I shouldn’t fuss. But who had the most first-place votes? Tebow did with 309. Not only was it more than Bradford, it was 43 more than runner-up Colt McCoy.

C’mon man.

OK, so Antonio Langham forced Alabama to forfeit eight wins in 1993 because he had signed with an agent and applied for the draft.

Let’s do some digging and maybe we can find that he really signed with an agent before the 1993 SEC Championship Game.

That also would have made him ineligible and Florida can add another SEC title to its trophy room.

OK, I’m begging now.

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Five takeaways from Florida’s missed chance at beating South Carolina

For the fourth time this season, Florida gave up at least 50 points in the second half of an SEC game.

It’s a familiar story that Florida sometimes can overcome.

And then there are days like Saturday.

The Gators lost to South Carolina, 82-76, to fall to 20-9 and 10-6 in the SEC.

It’s a loss that could affect Florida’s seeding for the SEC Tournament and the Big Dance.

But if they can’t solve this problem, it’s not going to matter.

For the fourth time this season, Florida gave up at least 50 points in the second half of an SEC game.

“We played really well in the first half,” said Florida coach Todd Golden. “But it was a different story in the second half. The free throw game hurt us.”

And, again, the zone defense was an issue, the turnovers reappeared, and the breaks never came.

And Florida lost another double-digit lead in the second half thanks, in part, to Meechie Johnson’s 25 points.

My five takeaways have seen this before.

Five takeaways from Florida’s too-close-for-comfort win vs. Missouri

Here are the five takeaways Pat Dooley has from Florida’s Wednesday night win.

It wasn’t pretty. Unless you looked at what the final score meant. But it still gave the Gator Nation a good scare for a few minutes.

The Gators won their 20th game of the season and avoided the embarrassment of being the first conference team to lose to Missouri this year, instead winning, 83-74.

And Florida — after decades of floundering in the wilderness — finally pulled its all-time SEC record to .500.

Most importantly, a Florida team barreling toward an NCAA Tournament bid did the work necessary, but it was not without some shaky moments.

The five takeaways on what was another important win for this team.

Florida Baseball Four-Bagger: Weird Week 1 to start 2024 season

Pat Dooley breaks down the opening week of Florida baseball’s 2024 campaign.

It wasn’t exactly the way Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida baseball program wanted the 2024 season to start.

So much anticipation and celebration and you go out and lose to St. John’s 9-5 and your opening-day starter implodes.

Then the next two games are rained out.

Yay, where do I sign up?

Fortunately, the Gators settled down and bounced back with a pair of midweek wins over the North Florida Ospreys. Don’t forget – it’s early and a baseball season is a grind, but these games all count too.

Let’s take a look at where the Gators are right now with a Four Bagger.

Five takeaways from Florida’s heart-breaking OT loss at Alabama

Pat Dooley breaks down Florida’s overtime loss at Alabama in what was an exciting SEC affair on Wednesday night.

Florida’s basketball team almost turned the Southeastern Conference race upside down on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa against the top offense in the country.

Instead, the Gators could not hold on against the league-heading Alabama Crimson Tide and fell 98-93 in overtime despite a valiant effort over 45 minutes of play.

Florida drops to 18-8 and 8-5 in the SEC. A win would have been gigantic for the Gators, but an Aaron Estrada putback was the biggest play in overtime with seven seconds left to play.

It was an exciting game but the outcome was nonetheless disappointing. Here are the five major takeaways from the game.

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 toughest schedules in history for Florida football

If you think Florida’s schedule is bad now, the latest Dooley’s Dozen looks at the 12 toughest schedules that UF has faced over the years.

You can’t walk into a bar or a meeting or a convenience store in Gainesville these days without someone saying something about Florida’s football schedule in 2024.

Usually, it comes right after something nice the person has said about the Florida program, followed by a “but the schedule …”

Hey, it’s supposed to be hard. The hard is what makes it great.
And it is hard, but not impossible. According to ESPN’s latest rankings, Florida has games scheduled against nine ranked teams.

But it’s not like this is the first difficult schedule and how many of those teams will be ranked at the end of the season? Huh?

The Dooley’s Dozen today looks at the 12 toughest schedules that Florida has faced over the years.

Five takeaways from Florida’s close rematch win at Georgia Bulldogs

Here’s what Pat Dooley has to say following a too-close-for-comfort game against the Bulldogs in Athens.

Remember when Florida couldn’t win basketball games on the road?

Well, the Gators won again away from the friendly confines with a strong second-half performance and a big game from an unlikely source.

Freshman Thomas Haugh scored 17 points as Florida won for the seventh time in its last eight games and 10th straight time over Georgia.

This one was a battle with a final of 88-82 and the Gators are 18-7 and 8-4 in the SEC with the next game (at Alabama) suddenly becoming a huge one in the conference race.

The five takeaways today look at another win for the suddenly mighty Gators.

Five takeaways from Florida’s near collapse at home against LSU

Once again the Gators made things way too close for comfort but they did pull off the win. Here are Pat Dooley’s thoughts on the victory.

To say Florida survived a game that looked like a blowout Tuesday night would be like saying a few people watched the Super Bowl.

Against a team that has now lost six of seven games, Florida made it six wins in seven tries.

But not without a ton of drama.

The Gators pulled out an 82-80 win over LSU to run its record to 17-7 and 7-4 in the SEC.

The Tigers rallied all the way back from a 20-point deficit (sound familiar?) to tie the game. But a huge steal by Zyon Pullin – or as I call him “The Glue” — and layup by Walter Clayton Jr. gave Florida what turned out to be the winning points with 20.4 seconds to play.

“Unfortunately, it has become an issue for us,” said Florida coach Todd Golden. “But at the end of the day, we’ll take the win and move on.”

The Five Takeaways isn’t sure how to feel about this one. But a win is a win.

Dooley’s Dozen: Ranking 12 top sports announcers who are Florida alumni

Today on the Dooley’s Dozen, we give you the 12 best current UF graduates who are killing it on TV. These, I am ranking in order.

When you are as addicted to TV sports as much as I am, you never know when you are going to flip the channel and see a familiar face talking into a microphone.

It’s not just the present. Florida’s journalism school has been producing legends since Red Barber started inventing baseball jargon.

For a while, golf was the dominant sport for UF-educated announcers with Bob Murphy, Steve Melnyk and Gary Koch. There is still Andy North, but he roots for Wisconsin and was rude to me in an airport once so he doesn’t make the list.

Today on the Dooley’s Dozen, we give you the 12 best current UF graduates who are killing it on TV. These, I am ranking in order.