Billy Napier has sat on the college football head coach hot seat all season, starting with an embarrassing loss in the Swamp to the Miami Hurricanes in the opening game. Now 3-2 overall, the Florida Gators have bounced back but face the toughest remaining schedule among FBS schools.
The limited success seen on the field so far is hardly sufficient for the third-year skipper to maintain his position on the sidelines and it just is not going to get much easier from here.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde included the Orange and Blue among his 10 college football coaches on increasingly hotter seats column ahead of Week 7’s action, and things are not looking good for Napier.
“Napier was all but fired Sept. 14 after dropping to 1–2 with a second uncompetitive home loss,” Forde begins. “Since then, he’s navigated through two straight must-win games to at least calm things down, but the next six games are brutal and could spell the end. You certainly won’t find anyone declaring that a turnaround is at hand after beating Central Florida and Mississippi State.”
However, the question remains: Is it too soon for Florida to file for divorce?
“No,” he responds. “Barring some major upsets in the coming weeks, a third-year coach with a losing record gets what he gets in Gainesville.”
Next up for Florida
The Gators head to Knoxville on Saturday to resume Southeastern Conference play against the Tennessee Volunteers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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