Billy Napier on the hot seat in 2024? Florida Gators AD responds

It's that time of year when speculation about college football coaches gets more intense, but Florida has already made its decision on Billy Napier

With the start of the college football offseason, it's time again for the rumor mill to churn out the usual speculation about what coaches may or may not be on the so-called hot seat, but whatever seat there is under Billy Napier at Florida doesn't appear to have ramped up in temperature if you ask the man who hired him.

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin takes issue with the very phrase, and says that Napier's position with the Gators football program is secure heading into 2024.

"I don't care," Stricklin told the Orlando Sentinel about the terminology or the rumors. "It doesn't matter. It's a made-up term. People can put them on whatever list they want. It has nothing to do with reality."

Given expectations in the SEC, you could understand why the term has been applied. In two seasons, Napier is yet to finish at or above .500 while going 11-14 overall and 6-10 in SEC games, placing no higher than 4th in the East Division standings, and with one bowl appearance, a loss.

Napier is also the first Florida football coach since the end of World War II to start his career in the Swamp with back-to-back losing seasons. And looking ahead to 2024, it's possible the Gators will have the toughest schedule in the SEC if not nationally.

In response, Napier has made some notable changes, adding veteran Ron Roberts to assist with linebackers and overall defense, strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald, and scored a top-10 ranked recruiting class led by five-star quarterback DJ Lagway, the No. 2 signal caller on the 247Sports Composite. He'll back up Graham Mertz, the veteran transfer who improved over the course of last season.

"I believe in Billy," Stricklin said. "I believe in him as a leader; I believe in him as a coach."

(Sentinel)

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