Mississippi State Not Worried About Billy Napier's Hot Seat

Coach Jeff Lebby says his team's focus on itself and not Florida's coaching drama

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier runs onto the field before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, September 7, 2024 against the Samford Bulldogs. The Gators won 45-7. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Being an SEC coach has its perks. They’re 16 of the most coveted jobs in the sport for a reason. But the catch is you have to win. Like, start winning yesterday-type of pace.

OK, maybe not immediately, but if you’re not winning games there should be signs of progress towards building a better team. And then you’ll be expected to win games.

If you’re not doing either of those things that coaching seat will heat up hotter and faster than black pavement on a summer day. That’s exactly where Florida coach Billy Napier finds himself this week.

Florida had hoped it was back on the path to competing with the top tier of the SEC and reclaim their dominance of the Sunshine state with a season-opening game against Miami.

Instead, the Gators got a visit from Hurricane Cam (Ward) in the opener, soundly beat Samford and then gave Texas A&M the win it needed to get back into the Top 25. There’s questions about who should start at quarterback. There’s questions about…pretty much everything with the Gators and there hasn’t been many signs of progress on the horizon.

Nobody needs a win in the SEC more than Napier and the Gators, so don’t be surprised if the Gators play with some extra motivation in Starkville on Saturday.

But coach Jeff Lebby and his team aren’t worried about any of that.

“Our focus is 100 percent on us and on the things we can clean up and what we can control,” Lebby said at his Monday press conference. “Every single snap, our energy, our focus is on the details and understanding this game will punish you if you do not execute… It’s about Mississippi State more than them.”

That’s probably for the best, too. Mississippi State is 1-2 with a loss to Toledo, a MAC school. The Bulldogs have enough of their own issues to fix.

Plus, the best way to get rid of the taste of losing to a MAC team is beating an SEC team.

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