With Florida fans clamoring for him to be fired amid a blowout loss, coach Billy Napier was unlikely to get any sympathy from his predecessor, Dan Mullen.
Mullen, a college football analyst, Recirculated X's post As my ESPN colleague Matt Barry wrote, “The fired Florida coach played six New Year's games in three straight years after he was hired, then got fired in his fourth year.”
Let's examine the facts: Mullen went to the Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl (2-1 bowl record) in his first three seasons, compiled a 29-9 record and reached a peak of No. 4 in the polls, but was fired in 2021 after going 5-6.
A big factor was their reluctance to fire defensive coordinator Todd Grantham until it was too late in the eyes of the powers that be.
Mullen responded with one retweet on Saturday, suggesting he's not over it yet.
The clock appears to be ticking for Napier, whose tenure has been disastrous so far.
He went 11-14 in his first two seasons, including a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl, but opened his third year with a 41-17 loss at home to rival Miami on Saturday.
During the second half, chants of “Fire Billy” and “Billy, you're the worst” were reportedly heard from the stands.
Napier went 40-12 over four seasons at Louisiana and was looked at as a Power Five coaching candidate, but that success hasn't carried over to the SEC.
To add insult to injury, Miami quarterback Cam Ward, who transferred from Washington State, criticized the Gators fans and the Swamp's famous atmosphere.
“I played at USC, and USC wasn't packed, but it was louder than this,” Ward said. “I played at Oregon, and it was louder than this. The Pac-12 is a misconception. I believe that's where real football is played. I'm from Washington state, and Washington is one of the loudest environments I've ever played in.”
“Some advice for the fans: If you're going to be loud, be loud when you're in the huddle. Don't only be loud when you break the huddle. At that point it's no use. We're already listening to the play and communicating. But it was a good atmosphere to play in and we're excited to get the win.”
What is likely to get louder in the future is the sound of pressure on Napier.
