Billy Napier will continue to call offensive plays for Florida Gators
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Billy Napier’s offense isn’t getting the job done but there are no plans to change playcalling duties in Gainesville.
The Florida Gators are the lowest-scoring offense in the SEC through five games. The Gators are ninth in total offense, 11th in rushing offense, 8th in passing offense, and have the second-worst touchdown percentage in the red zone in the league.
On Monday, following a 33-14 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, Napier was asked directly if he plans on continuing to call plays for the Gators. To which he replied, “yes sir.”
Napier’s playcalling has come under heavy scrutiny from the fan base. Sometimes the questions that come from outside the building are already being asked, discussed, and worked on internally. Is that the case for him this season?
“I spoke about this briefly in preseason. Everything that we do is always being evaluated. I think one of the things that’s challenging as a leader when you have a core responsibility, if there’s things in that area that can be done better, you’ve got to be able to tell yourself the truth,” Napier said.
“I would tell you I’m a lot more critical of myself than anybody on the outside is. And I said it, I’ve said it publicly, there’s no sugarcoating this thing. We have no excuse. We can coach better, and we can play better. I’m hopeful we will do that.”
Napier’s evaluation process
After every season, Billy Napier asks everyone on his staff to self-evaluate. Take stock of where they were successful and where they fell short. Make a plan as to how you can continue being great at the areas you found success in and answers to the questions for the shortcomings. The head coach is included in practice.
“The level of detail that we put into evaluating a football game every week, that process doesn’t change,” Napier said. “I know we all like to think that it does change according to the result or the outcome that we get. But that’s not necessarily true. I think there’s got to be some consistency and some continuity in how you do that. You’ve got to keep it objective to some degree.”
Ultimately, the Gators offense has had deficiencies more than playcalling. The Gators’ offensive line has not performed to the expectations put on them. That has affected both the rushing and passing game. Graham Mertz has been sacked 12 times in five games and Florida’s rushing attack is 140.6 yards per game.
Napier wears a lot of hats. He’s the head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach. It was clear on Monday that Napier does not intend to relinquish his playcalling responsibilities this season. Other coaches around the country have made the decision to step back from playcalling duites.
Like Napier, calling plays got Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz his job. Giving up the play-calling duties wasn’t easy for Drinkwitz, who revealed his reasoning behind the decision at SEC Media Days.
“Yeah, I think you have to step back and you know, I think you got to embrace your role and put the team first,” Drinkwitz said. “You know, my nature was I really loved the offensive side of the ball, I loved calling plays, I think I was really good at it.”
Napier’s process will lead to those evaluations after the season. If Florida’s offense continues to trend toward the middle of the pack or worse he’ll have to make a difficult decision but one that is the best for the program.
