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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” played in the background Saturday night at a long since emptied and rain-soaked Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
But as embattled Florida coach Billy Napier walked toward the locker room following yet another listless double-digit loss at home, this one a 33-20 beating by a Texas A&M team playing a backup freshman quarterback, even Petty couldn’t drown out the boos. Napier briefly shook hands with interim university president Kent Fuchs, who was waiting under the goalpost, and then Napier disappeared underneath the stands as frustrated fans yelled down what an increasing number of Florida fans, some with high financial stakes in the program, are now saying out loud.
“Fire him!” one woman screamed amid the boos.
In his news conference after the game, Napier took responsibility for how poorly his team (1-2) has played this season and said there are no excuses.
“I don’t blame them …” Napier said of the fans booing. “I mean, ultimately when you play a certain way in this arena, you’re going to be criticized. This is one of those places where there’s history and tradition and expectations. There’s been a lot of really good football teams that played in that stadium in the past. When you play ugly ball and maybe it doesn’t look quite like we all want it to, then, hey, it comes with the territory.
“So I probably would’ve done the same thing, truth be known.”
The other sad truth for Napier is that his already tenuous Florida coaching career is now hanging by a thread. You could see it on his face and the faces of his players and even the face of athletic director Scott Stricklin as he sat quietly in the back of the room during Napier’s news conference.
Napier has worked tirelessly to return Florida to national relevance. He’s created a healthy culture within the locker room, treated people the right way and gone about his business in such a way that it’s impossible not to like the guy.
What he hasn’t done is win enough games or show tangible proof that the program is headed in a championship direction, which is the standard at Florida. Napier is now 6-11 against SEC opponents. The Gators have lost seven straight games to Power 4 opponents, with four of those losses coming at home. A losing season would be his third in a row and the program’s fourth straight. (Napier’s buyout would be roughly $26 million and sources told ESPN that high-ranking boosters have gathered the money to fund it.)
The home woes are particularly frustrating for Florida fans, many of whom didn’t come back following a 47-minute lightning delay at the end of the first quarter. Texas A&M jumped to a 20-0 lead at the half, and by the start of the fourth quarter, the Swamp was less than half full. Napier has now lost six home games in a little more than two seasons. Steve Spurrier, who coined the “Swamp” nickname, was 68-5 at home in his career. Urban Meyer was 35-5.
“I think there’s been a ton of progress made,” Napier said. “I think my frustrations are with how we played two out of the last three weeks. That’s what my frustration is. I think we’ve done a lot of good in terms of behind the walls and just the organization as a whole. I truly believe that, and I think most people that have familiarity withour program would say that.
“So we’re not getting the result on the field right now that we want, but ultimately that’s how you’re judged to some degree in this arena. So it comes with the territory.”
Whether or not the decision-makers at Florida agree is up for serious debate. Stricklin said on the Paul Finebaum Show prior to the opener against Miami, a 41-17 beatdown, that he believes Napier will be Florida’s coach for a “long, long time.”
Stricklin added that Florida had been patient as a university.
“I think that patience will be rewarded,” he said.
Patience in college football can be fickle, especially when a team looks so ill-equipped to compete against the best teams. Keep in mind that Texas A&M had a quarterback making his first career start for a first-year coach in Mike Elko. The Aggies also entered the game having lost nine straight true road games to SEC foes, their last win coming nearly three years ago.
And yet, Texas A&M rushed for 310 yards — something Napier called “disgusting and ultimately my responsibility” — and held Florida to 52 yards on the ground. At one point in the first half, the Aggies had 203 yards in total offense to the Gators’ minus-7. Florida missed tackles on defense and repeatedly struggled to stop Texas A&M on key third downs.
Napier was roundly booed as he exited the field at halftime, and boos also rang out when a video of him doing a public service announcement was shown on the big screen a few minutes earlier.
He’s not naïve and neither are his players. They know how restless the fans are now and most of the attention on the outside will be devoted to how much longer can Napier make it. None of his three predecessors (Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp) lasted four full seasons before being fired.
Quarterback Graham Mertz said Napier broke the team down in the locker room and told the players these last two losses were all on him.
“We’re all like, ‘Nah, coach, it’s up to us. We’re not doing our jobs,'” Mertz recounted. “I think it just speaks to the amount of accountability that has grown with us over the year. Everybody knows that we can all do our jobs better. … We’re all in this thing together.”
Mertz, who started and rotated at quarterback with freshman DJ Lagway, added: “There’s no coach I’d rather play for.”
Napier understands the negativity that has engulfed the program outside the locker room and that his precarious future will dominate the airwaves and message boards.
“The No. 1 thing that’s critical for this group is that they stick together, right?” Napier said. “Because ultimately that’s what they’ll have 25 years from now. They’re going to have those relationships with their teammates. It’s critical regardless of how negative it may be and will be outside. … We may not be able to control what people say about us on the outside, but we can control what we do on the inside, the words we speak, the actions that we take, our attitude, our effort, our approach. And that will be the challenge, right? Can we do that and can we improve?”
It’s no secret that Florida’s schedule only gets more daunting. It travels to Mississippi State next week, then gets a bye and faces UCF at home on Oct. 5. Five of the Gators last seven games are against nationally ranked teams, including Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss, all of whom entered Week 3 in the AP top 10.
Will Napier make it to that final stretch? Again, patience in college football is about as abundant as icy cold water in a swamp. And patience in this particular Swamp is all but gone.
Regardless of how it shakes out, Napier said his focus won’t change.
“The biggest challenge in leadership, I think, is trying to put your ego on the shelf a little bit and try to make decisions that reflect that,” Napier said. “Look, for me, all my decisions are about stewarding the people that have been entrusted to — the players, your staff members. That’s probably what I struggle with the most. When we don’t play well, what can I do to help those young people in that locker room? Because I’ve seen them work their tails off since January, and you want the reward for the player.
“That’s what motivates you.”