It’s not often you hear a head coach openly admit that his team was not very good, but that’s exactly what Flordia Gators coach Bill Napier did last week.
When asked about the team’s struggles during his first season as Florida’s head coach, Billy Napier had a pretty blunt reaction.
“Man, we just weren’t very good, you know,” Napier said according to On3. “We’re going to improve. Year one is a blender man. I mean there’s a lot that comes with it you know and certainly and the two new variables that were thrown into the mix and a transition year, I think contribute as well right? You gotta hire a group, you got to get to know a new group of players, new recruiting footprint, new investors, new leadership, you know, just a lot and certainly new competition.”
As for the team’s improvement heading into his second season as the head coach, Napier had a clear message: “it’s personal.”
“I just really have got a lot of confidence in our approach. I think we’ve hired well, and I think we’re all going to get better and that starts with me, right? So you know, it’s personal, if that makes sense. It’s what we do, right? We teach, we coach. We evaluate, we recruit. You know, all those things are part of the job. But the most important part is the leadership component. And, you know, all these things start with me, and anybody that knows me will tell you that we’re gonna get it right.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how Napier performs in his second season with the Gators.
[On3]
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