After blowout loss to Texas A&M, Billy Napier’s time at Florida is running out
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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” played in the background Saturday night at a long since emptied and rain-soaked Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
But as embattled Florida coach Billy Napier walked toward the locker room following yet another listless double-digit loss at home, this one a 33-20 beating by a Texas A&M team playing a backup freshman quarterback, even Petty couldn’t drown out the boos. Napier briefly shook hands with interim university president Kent Fuchs, who was waiting under the goalpost, and then Napier disappeared underneath the stands as frustrated fans yelled down what an increasing number of Florida fans, some with high financial stakes in the program, are now saying out loud.
“Fire him!” one woman screamed amid the boos.
In his news conference after the game, Napier took responsibility for how poorly his team (1-2) has played this season and said there are no excuses.
“I don’t blame them …” Napier said of the fans booing. “I mean, ultimately when you play a certain way in this arena, you’re going to be criticized. This is one of those places where there’s history and tradition and expectations. There’s been a lot of really good football teams that played in that stadium in the past. When you play ugly ball and maybe it doesn’t look quite like we all want it to, then, hey, it comes with the territory.
“So I probably would’ve done the same thing, truth be known.”
The other sad truth for Napier is that his already tenuous Florida coaching career is now hanging by a thread. You could see it on his face and the faces of his players and even the face of athletic director Scott Stricklin as he sat quietly in the back of the room during Napier’s news conference.
Napier has worked tirelessly to return Florida to national relevance. He’s created a healthy culture within the locker room, treated people the right way and gone about his business in such a way that it’s impossible not to like the guy.
What he hasn’t done is win enough games or show tangible proof that the program is headed in a championship direction, which is the standard at Florida. Napier is now 6-11 against SEC opponents. The Gators have lost seven straight games to Power 4 opponents, with four of those losses coming at home. A losing season would be his third in a row and the program’s fourth straight. (Napier’s buyout would be roughly $26 million and sources told ESPN that high-ranking boosters have gathered the money to fund it.)
The home woes are particularly frustrating for Florida fans, many of whom didn’t come back following a 47-minute lightning delay at the end of the first quarter. Texas A&M jumped to a 20-0 lead at the half, and by the start of the fourth quarter, the Swamp was less than half full. Napier has now lost six home games in a little more than two seasons. Steve Spurrier, who coined the “Swamp” nickname, was 68-5 at home in his career. Urban Meyer was 35-5.
“I think there’s been a ton of progress made,” Napier said. “I think my frustrations are with how we played two out of the last three weeks. That’s what my frustration is. I think we’ve done a lot of good in terms of behind the walls and just the organization as a whole. I truly believe that, and I think most people that have familiarity withour program would say that.
“So we’re not getting the result on the field right now that we want, but ultimately that’s how you’re judged to some degree in this arena. So it comes with the territory.”
Whether or not the decision-makers at Florida agree is up for serious debate. Stricklin said on the Paul Finebaum Show prior to the opener against Miami, a 41-17 beatdown, that he believes Napier will be Florida’s coach for a “long, long time.”
Stricklin added that Florida had been patient as a university.
“I think that patience will be rewarded,” he said.
Patience in college football can be fickle, especially when a team looks so ill-equipped to compete against the best teams. Keep in mind that Texas A&M had a quarterback making his first career start for a first-year coach in Mike Elko. The Aggies also entered the game having lost nine straight true road games to SEC foes, their last win coming nearly three years ago.
And yet, Texas A&M rushed for 310 yards — something Napier called “disgusting and ultimately my responsibility” — and held Florida to 52 yards on the ground. At one point in the first half, the Aggies had 203 yards in total offense to the Gators’ minus-7. Florida missed tackles on defense and repeatedly struggled to stop Texas A&M on key third downs.
Napier was roundly booed as he exited the field at halftime, and boos also rang out when a video of him doing a public service announcement was shown on the big screen a few minutes earlier.
He’s not naïve and neither are his players. They know how restless the fans are now and most of the attention on the outside will be devoted to how much longer can Napier make it. None of his three predecessors (Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp) lasted four full seasons before being fired.
Quarterback Graham Mertz said Napier broke the team down in the locker room and told the players these last two losses were all on him.
“We’re all like, ‘Nah, coach, it’s up to us. We’re not doing our jobs,'” Mertz recounted. “I think it just speaks to the amount of accountability that has grown with us over the year. Everybody knows that we can all do our jobs better. … We’re all in this thing together.”
Mertz, who started and rotated at quarterback with freshman DJ Lagway, added: “There’s no coach I’d rather play for.”
Napier understands the negativity that has engulfed the program outside the locker room and that his precarious future will dominate the airwaves and message boards.
“The No. 1 thing that’s critical for this group is that they stick together, right?” Napier said. “Because ultimately that’s what they’ll have 25 years from now. They’re going to have those relationships with their teammates. It’s critical regardless of how negative it may be and will be outside. … We may not be able to control what people say about us on the outside, but we can control what we do on the inside, the words we speak, the actions that we take, our attitude, our effort, our approach. And that will be the challenge, right? Can we do that and can we improve?”
It’s no secret that Florida’s schedule only gets more daunting. It travels to Mississippi State next week, then gets a bye and faces UCF at home on Oct. 5. Five of the Gators last seven games are against nationally ranked teams, including Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss, all of whom entered Week 3 in the AP top 10.
Will Napier make it to that final stretch? Again, patience in college football is about as abundant as icy cold water in a swamp. And patience in this particular Swamp is all but gone.
Regardless of how it shakes out, Napier said his focus won’t change.
“The biggest challenge in leadership, I think, is trying to put your ego on the shelf a little bit and try to make decisions that reflect that,” Napier said. “Look, for me, all my decisions are about stewarding the people that have been entrusted to — the players, your staff members. That’s probably what I struggle with the most. When we don’t play well, what can I do to help those young people in that locker room? Because I’ve seen them work their tails off since January, and you want the reward for the player.
“That’s what motivates you.”
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Ryan S. Clark
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Kristen Shilton
There’s an ancient South Florida proverb about numbers: Not one. Not two. Not three. Not four.
Opening the Eastern Conference finals with five goals in Game 1 on Tuesday showed that at least for one game the Florida Panthers could find a breakthrough against the Carolina Hurricanes. Only for Thursday to arrive and the Panthers to once again post five more goals in a 5-0 win to take a 2-0 series lead before heading back to Sunrise for Game 3.
How did both teams perform? Who are the players to watch next game, and what are the big questions facing the Hurricanes and Panthers ahead of Game 3 on Saturday?
Say what you will about the offside goal being akin to Charlie Brown getting the football pulled out from under him by Lucy. While it’s possible that the disallowed goal could have provided momentum, there were other things that suggested the Hurricanes were going to struggle.
Under Rod Brind’Amour, they’ve become one of the teams that consistently generates the highest number of shots per game. They entered Game 2 averaging 33.2 shots per game, yet they hadn’t even cracked double digits until there was 14 minutes remaining in the third period. Natural Stat Trick’s metrics showed they had two high-danger scoring chances midway through the third period, and after giving up seven goals throughout the entirety of the second round, they’ve allowed 10 goals in the first two games.
Or view it this way: The Panthers had more goals than the Hurricanes had high-danger scoring chances. — Clark
What more is there to say about Florida, really? The term “clinic” doesn’t seem to cover it. The Panthers have done it all against Carolina in these first two games.
Thursday was another dominant performance by the reigning Stanley Cup champions in an offensive and defensive effort that requires no notes. The Panthers set a tone early with Gustav Forsling‘s goal just 1:17 into the game and never relented. The Hurricanes were averaging over 33 shots per night in the postseason (second most among playoff teams), and Florida limited their chances to seven shots through the first two periods alone — while the Panthers pummeled Carolina with 16 shots and four goals in the same span. It was enough to chase Frederik Andersen from the net, when he was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov with a four-goal deficit.
The Hurricanes’ top scorers were simply no match for Florida’s attack or a locked-in Sergei Bobrovsky, who, while not heavily challenged, was a match for all comers in a 16-save shutout. The way Florida is playing right now, one has to wonder how the Hurricanes can get back in this series as the teams shift down to Florida. — Shilton
Three Stars of Game 2
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Panthers go up 3-0 on Sam Bennett’s power-play goal
The Panthers threaten to run away with it after Sam Bennett’s power-play goal makes it 3-0 in the first period.
He had two goals and a helper, as the Panthers dominated the Hurricanes in Game 2. This is Bennett’s second career 3-plus point playoff game and second career multigoal playoff game.
2. Team defense
The Hurricanes were averaging 33.2 shots per game this postseason, second in the playoffs to the Colorado Avalanche. But the Panthers, with their efficient and suffocating defense, held Carolina to five shots in the first 30 minutes of the game. Near the end of the second period, the fans at Lenovo Center were growing tired of it and started chanting “shoot the puck” at their team. Carolina did have more shot volume in the third period, ending with 17, but nothing got past Sergei Bobrovsky.
3. Offside reviews and coaching tactics
Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of lengthy offside reviews. I wish there was a timer — if you can’t make the call in 90 seconds, then the call on the ice stands. But the Florida Panthers executed one to perfection in Game 2. Up 3-0 in the second period, the Hurricanes scored, but thinking the play was offside, the Panthers called a timeout to buy more time to see every angle available, eventually calling for the challenge. It was indeed determined to be offside and the goal was taken away. — Arda Öcal
Players to watch in Game 3
Let’s start here with the Hurricanes. There’s no shortage of options. Part of the reason Svechnikov is in this space is because he leads the Hurricanes in goals this postseason. The rest of it has more to do with whether the Canes can rely on a certain postseason pattern for Svechnikov holding true. After going goalless in Games 2 and 3 against the New Jersey Devils in the first round, he responded with a hat trick. He didn’t score in the first two games against the Washington Capitals only to then score a goal in three straight games. Could Svechnikov respond by grabbing at least one goal in Game 3? Or are the Canes in store for more offensive struggles once they arrive in Sunrise? — Clark
The Panthers’ instigator had been quiet since Florida’s first-round series win over Tampa Bay, recording just five assists in eight games heading into Game 2 against Carolina. But Tkachuk looked more like himself Thursday, agitating the Hurricanes and making his physical presence felt. He also emerged early on the score sheet, registering an assist on Gustav Forsling’s game-opening salvo and adding a goal — Tkachuk’s first in 10 games — in the opening period to extend Florida’s lead to 2-0. It was a testament to how commanding Tkachuk’s line was with Sam Bennett (two goals and an assist) and Carter Verhaeghe (three assists) that he was able to finally appear as the Tkachuk of old. If this was indeed Tkachuk’s reawakening after a slow stretch, then the Hurricanes better be well aware of Tkachuk going forward because he was as dangerous as ever at both ends of the ice in Game 2. — Shilton
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Matthew Tkachuk taps it in to pad the Panthers’ lead
Matthew Tkachuk sneaks the puck past the goalie to pad the Panthers’ lead against the Hurricanes.
Big questions for Game 3
What’s the response to their worst playoff loss this year?
Several questions will be asked when it comes to what adjustments can be made before Game 3. Could one of them be about what the Hurricanes must do to get off to a stronger start? Allowing two first-period goals in Game 1 already presented the reality that the Panthers were going to remain aggressive. But to then give up the first goal less than two minutes into the first before giving up three in total in an opening frame that saw the Panthers record just five shots on net? That only adds to the degree of difficulty for a team that has now lost two straight playoff games after losing two postseason games in total over the first two rounds, especially when the last time the Hurricanes were down 0-2 to the Panthers in a playoff series was during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals in which they were swept. — Clark
Will Sam Reinhart be back at full strength for the Panthers?
Florida saw one of its top skaters exit in the first period after Sebastian Aho delivered a hit that forced Reinhart out for the remainder of the game with a lower-body injury. While Florida had Game 2 well in hand even before Reinhart became unavailable, it’s safe to say the Panthers are a better team when he’s in the lineup. Reinhart’s status going forward is significant for Florida overall. Reinhart paced the Panthers with 39 goals and 81 points in the regular season and notched 11 points in 13 postseason tilts going into Game 2. Florida must hope that Reinhart isn’t just available for Game 3 (and beyond), but that he’s not too banged up to continue operating at a high level. — Shilton
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