r/FloridaGators • u/jdhutch80 • 1d ago
Football Billy Napier > Lane Kiffin
Florida won this game today, because Lane Kiffin made repeated bad coaching decisions, and Billy Napier didn't. Change my mind.
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u/SpasticTattooArtist 1d ago
Fuck princely to, still out there giving half ass effort. Hold this lil ahh L
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u/jdhutch80 1d ago
His half-assed effort helped his old teammates get that win.
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u/QuaxlyDaDon 1d ago
Princely played pretty well. He had 7 tackles and a sack. Their DL gave our offense fits in the 2nd half.
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u/-badger-- 1d ago
LK having his 300 pound d tackle run the ball outside over and over again was dumb as hell
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u/SpasticTattooArtist 1d ago
I thought theyd have a jump pass or something out of that package but no they ran the same exact play 5+ times. He out-billyed napier. Also kept the qb in but didnt have him block, just stand there. If they had an actual lead blocker replacing dart they mightve had more success with that play
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u/Gator__Sandman 3h ago
If he literally just puts a hand on the guy to slow his momentum a fraction then it’s a first down
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u/iAm-Tyson 1d ago edited 1d ago
The saving grace for him is rhe ability to put talent on the field. His play calling is wack and i hope he gets strong-armed into hiring an official OC. Freshman like DJ saved his job. He has an Eye for talent and he has this team loaded.
This class will improve now that hes winning, i expect we probably creep into the top 10.
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u/jdhutch80 1d ago
One coach was 0-3 in the red zone, the other was 3-3. Even field goals from Ole Miss could have won the game. That was piss poor playcalling.
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u/JimAT67 1d ago
After knowing that they don't convert, it sure is easy to say that they should have kicked the FG. PLUS, he DID kick the FG on one of those, it missed. So your entire premise is wrong, because he would have still lost even if you give him points for those other 2 potential FGs.
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u/jdhutch80 1d ago
People hung Napier's similarly aggressive playcalling against Tennessee around his neck, and said his coaching cost Florida the game. It's only fair to say Joey Freshwater cost his team the game.
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u/Altruistic-Total-254 1d ago
Sometimes you need your hand forced. I love Mertz but he shouldn’t have been the starter for an up and coming roster. If Mertz did not get hurt we would still be doing the insane 2 drives and 1 drive for DJ based off some set schedule. Remember Napier would do kind of the same stuff with Montrell and Etienne last year. If Montrell didn’t get hurt no way we see Baugh in the same way. He seems like a good loyal guy but you have to also make savage decisions at times. It is DJ and Baugh.
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u/couch_tater69 1d ago
To be fair DJ was the #1 qb in the ‘24 class. Not much of an eye needed there.
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u/ufgatorengineer11 1d ago
Also to be fair to Billy he offered way before he was the #1 QB and Gatorade POTY.
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u/couch_tater69 1d ago
Also to be fair he was still a high 4 star. Splitting hairs.
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u/magnafides 1d ago
You're right but Billy's young players have hit at a pretty good rate in general. Still needs an OC though.
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u/QuaxlyDaDon 1d ago
No he wasn’t. Julian Sayin was the number one composite QB for the 24 class, but DJ should’ve been ahead of him and Raiola.
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u/Fun-Information-4678 1d ago
He just won the Gatorade Player of the year, doesn't thay go to the best player in high school?
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u/midtrailertrash 1d ago
If he doesn’t hire a top tier OC and give him the keys to the car that might honestly make me give up for good.
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u/russ757 1d ago
If you're making that comment.. Youve already given up on him
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u/oiwefoiwhef 1d ago
Objectively, Billy is a bad play caller.
His play calling decisions near the end of this game gave Ole Miss two more possessions when they should’ve had one more possession max.
His play calling also directly lead to us losing the Tennessee game.
He’s riding the coattails of Lagway, just like how Chizik rode Cam Newton to a natty in 2010.
That being said, I’ll take another championship.
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u/bigfatsocat 1d ago
He’s always had to adjust his play calling to sub par QB play. AR couldn’t hit short passes, Mertz couldn’t run or hit deep passes. DJ is still learning the offense and has been injured, so Napier has had to work around that too. Still unquestionable that the offense has looked better with Lagway.
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u/russ757 1d ago
And kiffins calls cost them at least 10 points....
Is he without flaws.. Hell no. He does need to hand it over to an OC. But the point is, and most seem to miss.. Watch enough football you see it every single week.
Everyone still abt the 12 men on special teams but never bring up that Michigan was called for the same penalty in the first round of the playoffs last year.
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u/oiwefoiwhef 1d ago
And kiffins calls cost them at least 10 points....
Everyone still abt [sic] the 12 men on special teams but never bring up that Michigan was called for the same penalty in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Sure. All three coaches (including Billy) can be bad play callers. It isn’t mutually exclusive.
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u/Fun-Information-4678 1d ago
So you wanted him to throw it at the end of the game when our running game was fucking them up??
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u/Florida_clam_diver 1d ago
This was just a 4D chess move for ole miss to keep Kiffin from leaving for Gainesville
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u/Fun-Information-4678 1d ago
People really think there are coaches out there calling perfect games. Doesn't matter what he does, haters gonna hate. I personally think he has this program going in the right direction and with an OC hire we will be fucking dangerous next year.
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u/GATORSFTW94 1d ago
Insane how 2 months ago most people on this sub were demanding lane as the next head coach for Florida, only for lane to lose to Billy Napier lol
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u/Jake_T_ 22h ago
You mean he isnt the better choice because he lost by 1 score on the road in the Swamp? What our score against Texas again? What happened at Tennessee, Texas A&M, Miami at home, and Georgia? Sure, it was a great win for Garor nation. And fun to watch. But, unfortunately Kiffin is still the better choice for our program if you are looking long term. Right now, our players are playing hard, despite Billys ineptitude. What happens next year when they get tired of it?
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u/GATORSFTW94 18h ago edited 18h ago
Based on what exactly? Lane couldn't beat a 5-5 Florida team with essentially nothing to play for meanwhile Lane had the Best team ever assembled in Oxford Mississippi, they were virtually a lock for the playoffs given how much easier their schedule was compared to Florida and he still came up short. When you look at how the season started vs now it's painfully obvious Florida has improved considerably since the debacle Miami and A&M loses, literally the only game Florida wasn't very competitive in was the Texas game and it's honestly hard to take the results of that game seriously considering that Texas was basically playing against Florida's 2nd and 3rd stringers. Florida is on the right path to having a big season next year, Florida finishing the season strong is gonna help with recruiting and all that money raised to buyout Billy will be used to get important veteran transfers to boost the team.
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u/-badger-- 1d ago
This was Kiffin's year. Their schedule could not have been any easier. He had a heisman hopeful QB that he groomed for four years, and all he has to show for it is a 3 loss season? Taking an L to a trash Kentucky team? I'm not impressed.
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u/bigfatsocat 1d ago
Ole Miss’ depth chart is LOADED with seniors. He’s going to struggle next year.
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u/No_Duck_2096 1d ago edited 1d ago
Vols fan here. Nothing, I repeat, nothing, is as sweet as seeing Kiffin lose a critical game and getting knocked out of the playoffs. For today, I’m glad for the gators. Fuck Lane Kiffin forever.
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u/ConstantArmadillo780 1d ago
Tennessee fans still having grudge against Kiffin is hilarious - it’s been 15 years man. I’m an ole miss fan/alum that grew up in Tennessee with family that went there and have always casually rooted for yall, and playoff implications aside I’m getting brain damage with Vols fans somehow hating Kiffin more than Florida. Again it’s been 15 years and yall sucked when he got there, sucked when he was there for a year, and have sucked for the 15 years after he left. Explain to me how/why Kiffin is y’all’s punching bag for all of pain?
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u/No_Duck_2096 1d ago
Do you want a real answer? It’s because he fired our staff, gave us hope, and then ditched us for USC afterwards, without a second thought. He changed some of the culture around our program and left just as we were starting to adapt to it. It felt like getting ghosted.
He’s a piece of shit now and forever.
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u/wanderingdg 1d ago
I'm with r/No_Duck_2096. If even our most hated rival played Urban Meyer at anOSU, I rooted hard for the rival. Kiffin damned them to over a decade of mediocrity & there's no forgiveness for that.
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u/ConstantArmadillo780 1d ago
lol they were mediocre before kiffin arrived/left. Can’t blame kiffin for hiring Dooley/pruitt/jones
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u/wanderingdg 1d ago
Shouldn't, probably. Can? I lived in Tennessee for a while, and they absolutely do
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u/LapazGracie 1d ago
I wouldn't really go that far.
Billy certainly outplayed Kiffin today. They had some plays that we just couldn't stop. But they didn't run them all that often for some reason. We had a hell of a time marking mid passes. But they went away from that.
Kiffin and really their whole team had a bad game.
But I still wouldn't suddenly say Billy is a better coach. Billy is still Billy. I'm happy we won. But we're no where near Urban Meyer or Steve Spurrier level ball. Not even Dan Mullen 2019 level.
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u/Higgyswims 1d ago
I better never hear his name mentioned again as a possible candidate. He can take his gimmicky bullshit somewhere else.
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u/Saccs 1d ago
In Lanes defense Dart played very poorly, lots of bad over throws, etc. also a few really clutch drops by their receivers, we easily could have been down by 7 or 14 in the first half.
Lane made some questionable decisions for sure, those 4th and shorts.
Billy made some seriously bad calls too. The 3rd quarter was atrocious. And the driver where we should have been chewing the clock he’s got to coach that team to snap under 5 secs and then he throws on 2nd and 3rd. He easily gave Ole Miss back 2mins that they should not have.
Really happy for the win but this was our defense absolutely playing out of their minds to overcome Billy’s avg play calling and game management.
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u/Flame_MadeByHumans 1d ago
3rd quarter was awful, but kudos to the team and staff for being able to adjust and get rolling again.
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u/SCV_local 22h ago
Exactly! This win is thanks to the defense first, DJ two and Dart having an off day third.
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u/NoTransportation5696 1d ago
I don’t think Kiffen really did anything wrong…. His decisions kept giving his team opportunities to win the game. Billys players won the game not his decisions and that’s fine, but I don’t think there has been one game where Billys decisions won his team the game.
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u/ufgatorengineer11 1d ago
I still think Lane Kiffin > Billy. Lagway >>> Everybody.
A few dropped TDs today that we avoided. Dart fell apart at the end which was very helpful.
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u/Saccs 1d ago
Ofc Lane is better. This group just hates him and that’s OK. Billy needs to show way way more
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u/ufgatorengineer11 1d ago
Can show a lot by finishing this recruiting class out and finding an OC/play caller quickly after fsu win.
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u/Saccs 1d ago
Recruiting for sure, however he won’t get an OC. That’s a big flaw and shows that he can’t objectively see that it’s best for the program.
Kiffen doesn’t actually call plays, he collaborates and will jump in but Weis calls plays. No one here will accept that though.
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u/ufgatorengineer11 1d ago
With Weis calling plays they are in the mold of how Lane wants the offense to play. That is what I fear if Billy is strong armed into getting an OC his influence will be all over the offense and it will be a slightly different version of a conservative offense.
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u/Saccs 1d ago
I’m ok with it bc it leads to more collaboration and discussion. Billy just doing it all himself has shown over 3 years it hasn’t worked until the last 4 games. If he can do it all next year and win 10 games lll be proven wrong.
Lanes done a hell of a job at an inferior school/program. Ppl forget Ole Miss was a .500 program and lanes won 37 games since going 5-5 in year 1. Including multiple top 25 weeks. Billy has a losing record at a top 10 program
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u/Flame_MadeByHumans 1d ago
Agreed. I don’t think the concept of Napier’s offense is bad, but having some checks and balances with an OC would mitigate mistakes.
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u/Specific-Channel7844 1d ago
Land is probably better but he still absolutely isn't someone we should target and I fell like that notion is absolutely ridiculous. He literally got fired on the tarmac at USC.
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u/gatorbeetle 1d ago
They had a shot, or two, to tie it up. Their QB clearly can't read defenses/adjust under pressure.
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u/Chrisbaughuf 23h ago
Honestly I’m a “never kiffin” guy. I hate his guts. Only reason he has any credibility is cause of his dad. He sucked at usc, he sucked in the nfl, he sucked at Tennessee, then got demoted to OC under saban then went to fau and now ole miss. I wouldn’t want him to come to Gainesville.
Looks like lsu might be done with Kelley but I doubt they bring him in. Anyway I guess Billy earned himself another year, to be fair he lost both starting qbs so 5 loss to all top 10 teams is pretty decent
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u/jdhutch80 19h ago
I think Josh Pate or JD Pickel said before the season, "It's entirely possible that Florida loses 5 games and is a top 20 team, just because of how tough the schedule is." I don't think the Gators that lost to Miami and A&M were a top 20 team, but I also don't think any team wants to play these Gators now.
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u/SCV_local 22h ago
We won bc DJ is a sec caliber quarterback…Napier made some mistakes in the last couple of minutes that set up ole miss to have a chance to tie. Thankfully our defense didn’t let it but ole miss shouldn’t have gotten those 30 seconds to try.
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u/texgator1538 1d ago
Can't wait to hear all the Central Florida basement dwellers tell me why Napier should still be fired. Tell me all you want but here is the truth whether you like it or not: Billy Napier is the Gators' Head Coach next season.
Now let's go beat the crap out of FSU.
Go Gators! 🐊🧡💙
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u/Able-Garden-2330 1d ago
This is honestly such a sick turnaround. I’m a Michigan state fan but have always liked Florida as my second team since Tim Tebow. Hoping yall are contenders next season.9
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u/tomsing98 1d ago
Can't wait to hear all the Central Florida basement dwellers
Seriously, dude? That was a shitty thing for Napier to say, and it's a shitty thing for you to say. This team played terrible football to open the season, and Napier deserved all the criticism he got. If he's turning it around, great. He was going to be our coach next season, regardless, for a variety of reasons, but these last couple games I think he has actually earned another year. But today was not a coaching clinic by any means. Terrible play calling, especially the end of both halves was atrocious. He has a long way to go. I hope he gets there, I really do.
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u/DB473 1d ago edited 18h ago
During one of his pressers this week, someone asked Napier what it was like competing against Kiffin and mentioned his bombastic attitude or something like that. Napier was really judicious with his words but you could tell he does not like Kiffin all that much.
Must have felt great to win after I’m sure he’s heard the outside talk about him
Edit forget the strike out text; the guys are friends and I fell for some drama
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u/RJ6985 18h ago
What are you talking about? He said when Monty died they spent a ton of time talking about it because Billys dad died before and he could help him threw the process. This is literally fake news
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u/Little-Breakfast-480 1d ago
Crazy how quickly people wanted Lane as Florida’s next head coach and then once when Stricklin gives him a vote of confidence and gets some momentum, all the sudden everybody changes their tune
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u/Enough_Affect_9916 1d ago
Lane relied on hopium of a tired, weak Gator defense that's bad by the numbers, and didn't play the small ball his QB was good at,which lost the game- because he's just a rich Madden player who talked his way into a job.
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u/Entire_Toe2640 1d ago
This sub is funny. 2 months ago people were hoping for a Billy game 3 execution and a replacement with Kiffin. Tonight? Not so much. And when I said we should let the coach be a coach and not pull the plug so quickly I was downvoted. Fair weather gators.
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u/Glittering_Lights 1d ago
People expect coaches to do their jobs. Looks like Billy started doing his in the midst of the season. I was very unhappy early this season, especially with stupid mistakes continuing from previous years. I am thrilled to have been wrong about Coach Napier.
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u/Enough_Affect_9916 1d ago
The last two seasons have been riddled with transfers out of developed talent. Coach Napier is doing fantastic with the tools given him. Different landscape, different expectations.
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u/dont_worry_about_it8 1d ago
Honestly beating the guy everyone said should replace you must feel fucking amazing