Florida football’s culture change a focus at SEC media days
SEC media days are wrapping up and with Florida football’s turn in the spotlight now a full day in the past, the press begins to look back on how the events unfurled. The Gators’ new head coach Billy Napier got his first taste of the big-time stage by attending his first Power Five media day in Atlanta and for the most part remained reserved, despite the drama that often unfurls at the yearly scrum.
Shortly after the conclusion of Wednesday’s media docket CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee published his takeaways, which included his impression of what Napier’s primary focus was at the podium.
Napier took over after Dan Mullen essentially ran the Florida program into the ground. Recruiting classes weren’t up to par with what is needed in the SEC East, player development was an issue and, at times, it looked like 85 players were going in 85 different directions. Enter Napier, who has worked on changing the culture within the program as his primary responsibility early on.
“We firmly believe that better people make better football players. We’re committed to improving their character. We’re going to prioritize their education. We’re going to teach football at a high level. I think we inherited the situation that we have. We’re excited about the administration, the resources that they provided. Ultimately, the game is about the players. Everything we do is to serve the players, position them for success within the game, but also when the game’s over one day.”
A lot of coaches drink out of a firehose upon taking over a program considering the Early Signing Period has evolved into the main signing period, a staff needs to be hired and the direction of the program needs to be established. Napier, though, is comfortable with where it stands right now.
“Reality is you have four opportunities to add players to your team: December, the winter portal period, February, then the spring portal period,” Napier said. “I thought we made the most of our time. I think we were fortunate we were able to observe bowl practice and address maybe some of the issues that we observed. Did a great job in December. I think the momentum carried over to February. We added a few more players in the spring.”
It’s a slow process, especially with defending national champion Georgia in the same division. Napier has a track record of success both on the recruiting trail and at Louisiana, where he built a Sun Belt power during his short stint in Lafayette. He’s laying the groundwork for another turnaround in Gainesville.
Sallee hits every nail in his summary, which corroborates with what our own Pat Dooley offered recently in an editorial explaining what culture change looks like. Napier’s approach and pedigree should have the Gators back on track if the historical record is any indication. However, the past decade has seen some serious ups and downs both on the scoreboard and the sidelines, so hopefully, Florida’s newest skipper can turn the ship around in an ever-increasingly competitive college football field.
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