Is the expanded Playoff leading to more job security?
Florida says it is keeping Billy Napier. Would there have even been an alternative candidate for the Gators to hire?
Start with the first line from Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin, direct and to the point:
“Billy Napier will continue as head football coach of the Florida Gators.”
There’s no room for ambiguity there, unlike so many flimsy statements of support we’ve seen in the past.
Remember when Texas issued a public backing of Tom Herman after the 2020 regular season? Chris Del Conte’s statement went like this:
"There's been a lot of speculation about the future of our football coach. My policy is to wait until the end of the season before evaluating and commenting on our program and coaches. With the close of the regular season, I want to reiterate that Tom Herman is our coach."
The Longhorns AD printed those words on Dec. 12. Exactly three weeks later, he fired Herman.
So you can already see that Florida’s Thursday announcement that it is keeping Napier is as solid as they come. That doesn’t make it any less surprising. But it does offer us a glimpse into how the coaching carousel may unfold in the 12-team College Football Playoff era.