There’s a small group of individuals who understand what Billy Napier is going through in Gainesville as head coach of the Florida Gators.
There have been 29 head coaches in Florida football history, with Napier being the latest. One of his contemporaries, Urban Meyer, coached the Gators from 2005 to 2010 and he’ll go down as a legend in “The Swamp” thanks to the 65-15 record and two national championships he brought to the program.
On Wednesday, Meyer called Gainesville a “tough town to live in” as the head coach of Florida football, and he’s second to only Steve Spurrier as a program icon.
Now imagine how Napier is feeling. He went 11-14 in his first two seasons and started off year three with a stinker of a loss to ranked Miami. If Meyer felt the heat in Gainesville, how hot is Napier’s seat right now?
“Gainesville, it’s a tough, tough job,” Meyer said on “The Triple Option” podcast with Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone (h/t On3). “It’s a great job. It’s one of the top five jobs in the country. You’ve got everything you need. You’ve got a recruiting base that’s second to none and you’ve got a great stadium, you’ve got a great fanbase, you’ve got a great student body. You’ve got it all. But I’ll tell you what, Gainesville is a tough town to live in when you’re the coach at Florida. It really is.”
That’s not Meyer dissing the Florida fan base but rather showing respect for the high standard Gators fans hold the program to. After two mediocre seasons in a row and now facing arguably the nation’s toughest schedule with an 0-1 start, Meyer feels Napier could be in for some rough times ahead if he can’t quickly turn things around.
“I just never really left the house because I just, it feels like it’s caving in on you. It’s a small town and there’s very strong opinions there,” Meyer said. “It’s a great place, but it’s a very tough place to be when you don’t end up on the right side of the win column.”
