Despite having one of the biggest victories of the season this weekend, defeating Pac-12 champion Utah Utes, the Florida Gators season turned out to be a disappointment to many, including ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.
“I thought it was a disaster,” Finebaum said. “I say that because there has been an expectation that Florida got the best hire. The Brian Kelly–Billy Napier debate that we talked about…it just fell apart. And it fell apart in the most difficult way at the end.”
Many thought that when Napier was hired as Florida’s head coach, it was a home run for the program and that LSU let a good one get away.
Paul @Finebaum joined the guys on @MacandCube and discussed why he views Billy Napier's first season with @GatorsFB as a disaster.
Whole interview: https://t.co/bWv6WLyvOu pic.twitter.com/OWioDSSRdH
— WJOX 94.5 FM (@WJOX945) December 19, 2022
At least so far, LSU got the better of the off-season hires when they landed Brian Kelly. Kelly and his Tigers won the SEC West in his first year as head coach, beating Alabama along the way.
Kelly’s first few months at LSU were a bit shaky as he lost recruits and big-name players to the transfer portal, but in the end, it seems to have worked out.
Let’s not forget this was also Napier’s first year as the Gator’s head coach but he was left with less to work with than Kelly, so his rebuilding process may take longer than most may have expected.
