GAINESVILLE — Even Billy Napier’s son knows the team needs to win.
Charlie Napier, the Florida coach’s 8-year-old son, told his dad he needed to beat Texas repeatedly before the Longhorns game. This time, though, winning may not be enough to save Napier.
“As they get older, they get used to it,” Napier said of his family on Wednesday. “They remember the days when we won a bunch of games. They’ve seen the good side and the bad side, and that’s not going away.”
The pressure has bubbled under the surface in Gainesville since the start of the season. This year was supposed to be Napier’s prove-it season. Instead, the team has struggled and quarterback DJ Lagway’s preseason injuries have held him back.
Florida did pull off an Oct. 4 upset of quarterback Arch Manning and then-No. 9 Texas. For a moment, it might have seemed like this was another Napier season. The team would figure out a way to put together another 8-5 season, and the criticism, though simmering, wouldn’t be enough to justify a removal. Then came last weekend’s loss to then-No. 5 Texas A&M.
The spotlight on Napier has never been brighter. Penn State fired its head coach, James Franklin, a day after the Nittany Lions lost to Northwestern on Saturday.
The decision forced Florida to reconsider keeping its play caller. After all, it’s harder to justify keeping Napier when Penn State removed a coach who helped that team to a Big Ten championship and college football playoff semifinal appearance. Napier’s Gators have not won an SEC championship nor made the playoffs.
Then, USA Today reporters Matt Hayes and Dan Rorabaugh wrote that UF athletic director Scott Stricklin was told financial support depended on a new direction for the football team in a meeting with boosters. In other words, win or find a new coach who will.
So when Napier stood at the podium to take questions during Wednesday’s news conference, it was quiet. Tiptoeing past the obvious, Napier answered questions about Saturday’s opponent, Mississippi State, and its up-tempo offense and the importance of homecoming games in The Swamp.
It’s far from the first time Napier addressed criticism of his job status, but it was one of the few times he’s talked about his family’s reaction to this season.
“My mom used to sit in the bleachers with the fans, growing up. She called me one day and said, ‘If you play like that. You can just get used to them talking bad about you,’ ” he said. “It was part of the game. I think we all understand it.”
Meanwhile, Florida’s players insisted the noise wasn’t getting to them. The Gators had to focus on Saturday’s game. Not the unrestful fanbase on social media. Not the media criticism.
Each acknowledged the team’s situation, but the frustration seemed more directed at the on-field performances than any blame ton Napier. Rather, players such as Damieon George Jr., look up to Napier.
“Coach’s really been a role model for me,” he said. “I left Alabama, and I was lost. I was standing in a dark hole. The conversations I had with coach [Napier] and him being there, having my back, that’s one of the guys I consider one of my role models.”
This season, under Napier, has tested the Gators’ resilience and focus. The 2-4 season record is the worst for a Florida team since 1986. While Florida’s coaching staff say they can block out the noise, Napier expressed his concerns for the players doing the same.
“You get calloused as an adult. The challenge is when you’re watching the young people,” he said. “You’re watching them go through struggle emotionally, and then sometimes it’s humbling them a little bit if you have some success. These couple of weeks have been tough watching them.”
