Greg McElroy reacts to Florida firing Billy Napier after win over Mississippi State
By David Wasson
Published:
It isn’t often a college football coach is fired after a home victory, but such was the fate of former Florida coach Billy Napier on Sunday – dismissed less than 24 hours after the Gators escaped with a 23-21 win against Mississippi State.
That drew the attention of former Alabama quarterback and current college football analyst Greg McElroy, who noted that Napier’s firing wasn’t the first instance of a coach being terminated after a victory – but that it is still unique.
“If you look at where things were headed, you already knew where this was going,” McElroy said on his Always College Football show on YouTube. “It was indicated that this would happen in the event they lost to Mississippi State, It was a little less clear if Scott Stricklin was going to do it if they won the game.”
McElroy pointed out that Napier – whose tenure ended with a 22-23 overall record and a 5-17 mark against ranked opponents – didn’t dive as deep into the transfer portal to deliver instant results, but instead relied on building via recruiting at the high school level.
“I think what’s difficult about this one is that Billy Napier tried to do it the right way. He was all about generating a culture. He was all about recruiting the high school player and developing him. They didn’t want to go all-in on the transfer portal because they thought that would alter the identity of what they wanted to become. But that just took too long.
“It was probably a long time coming for Billy Napier. The realities are that, in this league and at that place, you have to win and have to win a very specific way.”
More from McElroy can be heard in the clip below.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
