The Florida Gators have elected not to part ways with head coach Billy Napier.
While the team and the program have endured a tough run since the Gators hired Napier, they won’t move on quite yet. News emerged Thursday morning that the Gators will keep Napier as the football team’s head coach.
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin announced the program’s decision on Thursday in a lengthy message to Gator fans and alums.
A message from Scott Stricklin pic.twitter.com/NpLD6ktrHj
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) November 7, 2024
“I wanted to let you know that Billy Napier will continue as head football coach of the Florida Gators,” Stricklin wrote in the letter.
Napier has gone 15-18 as head coach of the Gators. It’s been one of the more dispiriting periods of Florida football in the 2000s. There hasn’t been much to be optimistic about. The team has struggled, recruiting has struggled, they haven’t competed annually, and have had very discouraging moments on and off the field.
Florida fans have expressed incredible frustration throughout his tenure. But since the Gators won’t part ways with him yet, those frustrations persist.
They were evident in how everyone reacted to the news.
Yeah, I’m done. Don’t renew your season tickets and stop going to games. This program, with this leadership, doesn’t deserve our support. https://t.co/LfKvgbJx83
— Busch Light Tyce Forever (@BrostaDelMar) November 7, 2024
I might legit be done with sports man. The game has passed me by. https://t.co/PXGxlOz6Uh
— 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐒𝐙𝐍 🌴✨ (@PremierNasir904) November 7, 2024
One more point, Billy has also lost the one thing he could lean on, recruiting. A recruiting class in the 50s in the sec is a fireable offense at UF https://t.co/lBT5MYVW57
— tweets from travis’s basement (@b8ssdagator) November 7, 2024
Florida athletic administration right now: https://t.co/FQDlbMOsZX pic.twitter.com/SHu9MXsrFH
— Griffin Healy (@TheGriffinHealy) November 7, 2024
Don’t expect that frustration to disappear unless the losses also disappear. And right now, that hardly appears likely.
