Billy Napier doesn't blame Florida fans for booing as his season gets worse

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The skies were dark over Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as both teams returned to the field. The start of the second quarter had been delayed by a 47-minute lightning stoppage, with Florida already trailing 10-0. Head coach Billy Napier stood on the sideline with his hands on his hips and dressed all in black, a fitting precursor to the grim circumstances.

Later, when the skies cleared, he donned an alligator blue jacket, but it did little to protect him from the boos that rained down during Florida's 33-20 loss to Texas A&M.

“I just don't think we've executed it. … There are mental errors, there are fundamental errors,” Napier said afterward. “If we don't have success and don't play good football on Saturdays, that's on me.”

A game that lasted more than 4 1/2 hours with the delay felt like it was over much quicker. The Aggies, playing without injured starting quarterback Conner Weigman, outgained the Gators 302 to 73 in the first half, capped by a 99-yard touchdown drive late in the second quarter. Napier was showered with boos from the home fans as he ran off the field at halftime with the score 20-0.

“If you play a certain way in this arena, you're going to get criticized for it,” Napier said. “To tell you the truth, I probably would have done the same thing.”

Florida ended up leading 488 yards to 301, including 310 rushing yards for the Aggies. Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed threw for 178 yards and ran for another 83 yards for three touchdowns in his first career start. The Gators fell to 1-2, and with Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss still on the schedule, a season that has barely begun feels all but over.

Saturday's loss could be the last straw for Napier after a 41-17 home loss to rival Miami earlier this season. Just three games into his third year since being hired from Louisiana, Napier has a 12-16 record at Florida and 6-11 against SEC opponents. The Gators have lost seven straight games against FBS teams, four of them at home. The Swamp – where three national championship posters are prominently displayed and statues of Heisman Trophy winners Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow loom – has become a bit of a speed bump for away teams. The announced attendance for Texas A&M was 89,993, but many Gators fans left the stadium long before Tom Petty's “I Won't Back Down” blared from the speakers at the end of the third quarter.

“This is one of those places where there's history, tradition and expectations,” Napier said. “If you play ugly, that's part of it.”

Napier's job status was already hanging by a thread entering the weekend. The last glimmer of hope was quarterback DJ Lagway, a five-star talent in the class of 2024. After filling in for the injured Graham Mertz in the loss to Miami, Lagway threw for 456 passing yards in last week's win over Samford, the most yards by a true freshman in school history. The emergence of Napier's top first-year recruit felt like a final chance to salvage things.

Instead, Lagway struggled against A&M's much stronger defense, completing just six of 13 passes for 54 yards. He had one touchdown and two interceptions, the second after a bad throw that sealed the loss late in the fourth quarter after the Aggies missed a field goal. Lagway split time with the healthy Mertz, who started and was the more confident of the two, completing 12 of 15 passes for 195 yards, one touchdown and one the other way after a pick six.

Lagway's talent is obvious, and he will have many more opportunities to develop and figure things out. Napier, however, doesn't have that luxury. Lagway's potential isn't enough to save his coach much longer, even if it means losing the quarterback to the transfer portal this offseason.

“Even if DJ Lagway is as good as Florida thinks he is, can he overcome the coaching issues, the bad defense and the whole list of problems that we've seen?” said David Waters, host of the “Gators Breakdown” podcast. “I think I've seen enough to know that Billy Napier is not a coach that can win championships in Florida.”

It was clear Saturday that Napier has lost diehard fans, many of whom are clamoring for Florida leadership to replace Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin – perhaps unrealistic. But leaving Napier has its own complications. The 45-year-old signed a $51.8 million contract through the 2028 season when he was hired in November 2021. His severance package, should he be fired this year, would be over $26 million, half of which would be due within 30 days, plus additional severance pay for staff.

Such a costly decision will not reflect well on athletic director Scott Stricklin, who hired both Napier and Florida's previous coach Dan Mullen, whom Stricklin fired toward the end of Mullen's fourth season. The university also has no permanent president after former Nebraska senator and Florida alum Ben Sasse controversially left the field in July. Kent Fuchs, Sasse's predecessor, is serving as interim president.

The Gators have failed to match the title-winning heights of Spurrier's “Fun n' Gun” era in the 1990s and Urban Meyer's six-year tenure from 2005-11. If Napier leaves, he would be the fourth coach Florida has fired since 2014, with none lasting four full seasons. Turnover has become part of the problem, especially during a stretch in which rival Georgia rose to become a college football power. But in an era where name, image and likeness, and multiple transfers make rebuilding much more feasible, not letting Napier go may eventually be the more costly option for the program.

“A lot of people argue that you can't fire coaches every three or four years. But it's not a firing problem – it's a hiring problem,” Waters said. “It's been a constant problem since Urban Meyer left.”

After the game, Napier walked slowly across the field. Fuchs waited under the goalposts, just as he had done at the previous two games this season, and gave Napier a quick, solemn handshake. Behind them, a few fans stopped above the tunnel to express their displeasure.

“We work extremely hard. We have good people. But this is a production business and ultimately we have to play better,” Napier said. “That's my responsibility.”

After Florida's performance on Saturday, that might not be the case for much longer.

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)