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Florida’s Billy Napier was a bit testy in his most recent press conference after being asked about his play calling in a 33-14 loss to Kentucky. The head coach does not want to hear about his team’s offensive struggles.
Napier is in his second season with the Gators, and to this point, his tenure has been inconsistent.
Despite having first round pick Anthony Richardson at quarterback last season, the Gators finished the year at 6-7. This year’s start hasn’t been much better as Florida sits at 3-2 through five games.
Napier has seen highs and lows throughout his short time in Gainesville.
He’s produced wins over a Top 10 Utah team, a South Carolina squad that finished last year in the Top 20, and rival Tennessee to start this season.
He’s also gone 0-3 against Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
The Gators will look to avenge last year’s loss to the Commodores this weekend, and he isn’t having any talk about the last head-to-head meeting.
He got sassy earlier this week with a reporter referencing last season’s result.
— David Soderquist (@HightopDave) October 2, 2023
“This is 2023,” he responded, clearly ticked about being asked the question.
The Gators fell behind by 16 points against the Commodores last season before making the score a bit more respectable late in the 31-24 defeat. In that loss, offensive struggles haunted Florida.
UF turned the ball over twice and only mustered 45 rushing yards against a unit that finished last in the SEC in total defense and points allowed.
The offensive struggles have continued into 2023 as the Gators rank 10th in the conference in yardage and last in scoring.
That’s led to questions about production and his play calling abilities.
He’s not ready to hand the keys over to an offensive coordinator quite yet.
“Everything we do is always being evaluated,” Napier said. “I think one of the things that is challenging as a leader when you have a core responsibility [is] if things can be done better in that area, then you’ve got to be able to tell yourself the truth, if that makes sense. I would tell you that I am a lot more critical of myself than anybody on the outside.”
Napier, who was fired as an OC at Clemson under Dabo Swinney, has been calling the plays for Florida since making the transition from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
He’s clearly frustrated with the on-field output, but he doesn’t intend to make a change midseason.
“We’re inconsistent. Ultimately, offense is a precise game… We have no excuse. We can coach better, and we can play better. Hopefully, we will do that.”
We saw a similar scenario play out in the SEC this past offseason, with Jimbo Fisher reluctantly handing the keys to his offense over to Bobby Petrino. The move has paid dividends thus far as the Aggies are undefeated in conference play with a chance to take a lead in the SEC West standings this weekend versus Alabama.
For Napier and Florida, the task only gets more difficult as the season continues.
After matchups with Vanderbilt and South Carolina, the Gators will face four currently ranked foes in their final five games. That includes matchups with Georgia, LSU, and Florida State.
Some are already beginning to lose faith in his ability to lead the team, with this fan saying, “He’s done at Florida, it’s only a matter of time.”
Others, though, are cautiously optimistic of a turnaround.
“As of yet, he has not made any changes when his offense hasn’t worked. The ability to recognize something doesn’t work and change will define the rest of his career,” one Gator supporter said.
In his only other head coaching role, he led the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns to a 40-12 record with three-straight double-digit win seasons. It’s been a bit tougher to find wins in the SEC, where he’s just 9-9 thus far.
It will be interesting to follow the rest of the year for Napier and the Gators to see if he ultimately makes a change to the offense.