Earlier this week, Florida Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin announced that embattled head football coach Billy Napier would remain with the team next season.
The news was seen as a bit of a surprise, as earlier this season, losing two of their first three games to the Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies, a report surfaced that boosters were actively looking to secure the funds to cover head coach Billy Napier’s buyout and fire the coach just three games into his third season at the helm.
While things haven’t gotten much better for the Gators, who fell to 4-5 this year after a 49-17 loss against the Texas Longhorns, Napier is thankful for the opportunity to try and get things back on track in Gainesville.
“Well first of all, I’m thankful for our players. … We would not have made some of the progress that we’ve made over the last four, five, six weeks without a great group of players, the character there at the core of that group, their leadership. I do think that when you look at the roster as a whole, we have a ton of young talent, and I think they’ll continue to develop and they’re learning. They’re going through this experience, and I think that’ll prove beneficial in the future,” Napier said after the loss via ESPN.
Napier’s buyout was reportedly north of $25 million which would have been one of the biggest buyouts paid to a coach in college football history.
There is hope on the horizon for the Gators, though, as freshman quarterback DJ Lagway has looked good in the spots where he has played. Lagway, who missed the Texas game with an injury, has gone 56-for-92 for 1,071 yards and six touchdown passes this season.
Florida will return to action on November 16 when they host the LSU Tigers.
[ESPN]
