If Billy Napier is going to survive as Florida football coach, the key moment is upon us

It’s Tennessee Week, so it goes without saying that this Saturday is a big game for Florida. That said, people are still saying it.

“This is a big game,” Billy Napier said, echoing what Florida football coaches have been saying since C.J. McCoy in 1916.

The Gators lost 24-0 that year and finished 0-5. UF fired McCoy after boosters reportedly scraped up $27 to fund his buyout.

That was never actually reported, but it makes a good segue to 2024.

Boosters have reportedly scraped up $27 million for Napier’s golden parachute. All that’s left is for UF to pull the ripcord.

That seemed imminent after Texas A&M drubbed the Gators three weeks ago. But Florida has won two in a row, which makes this year’s Tennessee talk far more than an echo.

For Napier, Saturday’s game is big. Notoriously B.I.G.

Saving his Billy Napier’s job as Florida football coach: Unlikely or impossible?

Win, and he could dream the impossible dream. That phrase might strike a musical memory.

To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

Those are the opening lyrics to “The Quest.” It was written for a Broadway musical in 1965 and quickly wormed its way into America’s consciousness.

Everybody from Frank Sinatra to The Temptations to Elvis to Luther Vandross covered it. I doubt Napier has ever cued it up at a Karaoke Night, but it should now be his theme song.

After the 33-20 loss to the Aggies, it was preposterous to picture Napier saving his job. That still seems only slightly more likely than Elvis being found alive and teaching aerobics in Brazil, but it’s not impossible.

The quest starts in earnest in Knoxville. The Gators could have won their past two games over Mississippi State and UCF by a combined 94-0, and most observers would have yawned.

Saturday is Napier’s first chance to prove his program is getting its act together….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/billy-napier-going-survive-florida-080324072.html

Author : The Gainesville Sun

Publish date : 2024-10-09 08:03:24

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