After win against UCF, Gators coach Billy Napier hopes to save his job | comment

The torches were lit, the pitchforks were drawn and everyone was ready to fire Billy Napier if his Florida Gators lost to UCF on Saturday night.

What if we changed the narrative after UF's comfortable 24-13 win over the Knights?

Would it be such a stretch to say that the win against UCF could be the start of Napier actually saving his job?

You heard me.

Could Billy Napier somehow return to coach Florida next season?

Of course, we'll have to wait and see how the rest of this season plays out, but why not at least think about it?

Hey, you never know what could happen. After all, Vanderbilt, which was 0-60 lifetime against top-five opponents, defeated No. 1-ranked Alabama. And Arkansas, whose coach Sam Pittman was in the hot seat before the season, beat No. 4 Tennessee.

“Your season can change in a matter of weeks,” Florida defensive end Tyreak Sapp said. “As we saw tonight, things have happened in college football that you couldn’t even imagine would happen. It gives us confidence and an understanding that we need to work on things but can actually get them done. We’re not inferior in personnel or weapons, and these teams aren’t really a thousand times better than us.”

I'm not saying beating UCF is a major accomplishment, but Napier's team is still playing hard for him, despite all the damaging negativity that has affected his job security even before the season began.

Florida's maligned defense, which entered the game ranked 110th against the run, sacked UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson five times and held UCF's vaunted running game to just 108 yards – the third-lowest total in Malzahn's four seasons at UCF.

It should tell you something about Napier that his players aren't leaving him, opting out and entering the transfer portal. UCF had five players, including starting wide receiver and punt returner Xavier Townsend, opt out before the game to enter the portal and take advantage of the NCAA's redshirt rule. It allows them to play up to four regular season games in a season without counting toward their four years of eligibility.

Meanwhile, the Gators had no opt-outs. Nada. None. With Napier potentially being a lame-duck coach, you'd think his players would be jumping ship by the dozens.

“We will never let each other down because we are all we have right now,” quarterback Graham Mertz said. “It’s all people in this building and no one is giving up.”

Napier said: “I think we have a hungry team. I think we have a good group of players who don't want to be a distraction. You are here to work and improve.”

Would it be so crazy if Florida decided to keep Napier? I do not believe that.

In fact, I'd like to see it.

The way the Gators hire coaches provides no guarantee that the next man up will suddenly turn the program into an instant champion. Frankly, UF has done a poor job of hiring coaches over the last 15 years. It started with legendary former athletic director Jeremy Foley, who hired Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain, and continued with current AD Scott Stricklin, who hired Dan Mullen and Napier.

The Gators have tried every strategy imaginable when it comes to hiring coaches. They hired untested people (Muschamp). They hired proven people (Mullen). They hired coaches who won in lower level programs (McElwain and Napier).

Why not try a different strategy? Why not stick with a trainer for a change and ride out the bad times? If the Gators had stuck with Muschamp a decade ago after he went 7-5, they probably would be in a much better situation now. Instead, they fired Muschamp, McElwain after three seasons, Mullen after four seasons, and are on the verge of firing Napier after three seasons.

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: Instead of flushing that $30 million down the toilet to buy out Napier and his associates, why not put all the money into a big fat zero-dollar fund? And buy Napier the best roster in college football and see if he can win with it next season. If not, release him with a year less on his contract.

Also, who will UF hire if they fire Napier?

Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss? He was beaten by Kentucky last week.

Eli Drinkwitz from Missouri? He was knocked out by Texas A&M on Saturday.

By the way, you can also leave Malzahn off Florida's potential replacement list for Napier. It looks like his Knights gorged themselves on cupcakes, cream puffs and MoonPies at the start of the season and made us think they were better than they actually are. After two overwhelming opening victories against lower-ranked New Hampshire and Sam Houston, the Knights had to make up their 21 points in the third quarter to narrowly beat underperforming TCU in the final seconds.

In the last two games, Malzahn has been passed by Colorado's Deion Sanders and Napier.

In a world where college football spins at a relentless pace, perhaps it's time for the Gators to take a breath, slow down, stay the course and stick with Billy Napier.

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