For the past weeks since the season began, HC Billy Napier had been in the hot seat. Rumors of his dismissal swirled about but on November 9, Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin put the rumors to bed with a release that stated, “I wanted to let you know that Billy Napier will continue as head football coach of the Florida Gators.” We can almost hear the protests of fans and analysts with this decision.

In a YouTube episode on ESPN College Football on November 11, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum appeared on The Matt Barrie Show to deliver his take on the “strange release.” But he added, “But what was even stranger than the release was the coalescing around it by pundits and commentators on our network and others. It was like ‘what a great decision, how brilliant, give Scott Stricklin credit.’”

Stricklin’s announcement came during a time when Billy Napier would face more criticism than ever. The Gators were trailing 42-0 against Texas at the time of the release and they confirmed that the HC will continue to lead them despite a 4-5 record. Paul Finebaum also touched on the topic of certain misconduct that broke out hours after the Napier decision. His summary of the case pointed out that Stricklin tends to make poor decisions. 

Finebaum said, “It’s pretty nasty allegations against the basketball coach who was also hired by Scott Stricklin.” Florida men’s basketball HC Todd Golden, who was hired by Stricklin in March 2022, is hit with inappropriate allegations posted by multiple women and is currently under trial while also still retaining his position as HC. Still, as far as the bizarre Billy Napier decision goes, UF’s lack of a permanent president could be the root of it all.

University of Florida is without a permanent president 

Things look messy for the University of Florida as Paul Finebaum said, “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in leadership at UF because they have an interim president.” A side role doesn’t always bring out the best efforts and decisions as Scott Stricklin took in Billy Napier’s case. He pleaded to fans to “continue standing behind Billy and his dedicated team while we work together to build a championship program.”

This startling revelation prompted another CFB analyst Josh Pate to get to the bottom of the matter who revealed, “They don’t have a president right now at the University of Florida. There is no president, so they’re in a sort of interim capacity right now.” Right now, UF’s interim president is Kent Fuchs, stepping in after Ben Sasse’s resignation. And if the University of Florida had a permanent president in place, we might just be seeing Billy Napier waving goodbye to the Gators. But it is what it is. Gators fans will have to bear through these rough times before a silver lining appears.