A handful of Florida supporters seem ready to run Billy Napier out of town for another poor start to the college football season. Nick Saban thinks Napier may not be the biggest culprit behind the Gators’ struggles.
On Saturday, Saban appeared on ESPN’s “College GameDay” and was asked what he thought was wrong with Florida.
“I think, maybe, the problem isn’t the coaches,” said Saban. “They’ve been through four coaches since [Steve] Spurrier and Urban Meyer, who both created a tremendous culture of winning there. And sometimes the fan base can just think we can show up and expect to win and not make the commitment to the program that you need to make to be able to continue to make the changes and investments that you need to make to keep up with changing times. Things change!”
Nick Saban just absolutely went OFF on the @FloridaGators administration 😬😬😬
This is for you @ScottStricklin. Pay attention, dummy. You might learn a little something about why you’re going down in history as the worst AD Florida has ever had. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/jEIbImfkaE
— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) September 21, 2024
Saban stated that Florida didn’t take advantage of their program’s past successes the way they should have. The program simply rested on its laurels.
In his eyes, the administration could have perhaps gotten the green light to build a better facility and make other lasting changes while fan support was at its height.
Florida has had a decent but unspectacular 98-66 record since Meyer left in 2010. It’s been particularly worse over the past three seasons as they’ve had a losing record in each one — a first for the program since all the way back to the 1940s.
After starting the 2024 season 1-2, the Gators may very well end up making it four years in a row.
Napier may once again become the scapegoat for Florida’s continued struggles. But Saban believes the program should look inward rather than blame yet another coach.
