There is a small group of people who perceive what Billy Napier goes by in Gainesville as head coach of the Florida Gators.
There have been 29 head coaches in Florida soccer historical past, with Napier being the newest. One in all his contemporaries, City Meyer, coached the Gators from 2005 to 2010 and he’ll go down as a legend in “The Swamp” due to the 65-15 document and two nationwide championships he dropped at this system.
On Wednesday, Meyer known as Gainesville a “powerful city to dwell in” as the top coach of Florida soccer, and he is second to solely Steve Spurrier as a program icon.
Now think about how Napier is feeling. He went 11-14 in his first two seasons and began off yr three with a stinker of a loss to ranked Miami. If Meyer felt the warmth in Gainesville, how scorching is Napier’s seat proper now?
“Gainesville, it’s a tricky, powerful job,” Meyer said on “The Triple Choice” podcast with Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone (h/t On3). “It’s an excellent job. It’s one of many high 5 jobs within the nation. You’ve obtained all the things you want. You’ve obtained a recruiting base that’s second to none and also you’ve obtained an excellent stadium, you’ve obtained an excellent fanbase, you’ve obtained an excellent pupil physique. You’ve obtained all of it. However I’ll inform you what, Gainesville is a tricky city to dwell in if you’re the coach at Florida. It truly is.”
That is not Meyer dissing the Florida fan base however quite displaying respect for the excessive customary Gators followers maintain this system to. After two mediocre seasons in a row and now dealing with arguably the nation’s hardest schedule with an 0-1 begin, Meyer feels Napier may very well be in for some tough occasions forward if he cannot rapidly flip issues round.
“I simply by no means actually left the home as a result of I simply, it feels prefer it’s caving in on you. It’s a small city and there’s very robust opinions there,” Meyer stated. “It’s an excellent place, nevertheless it’s a really powerful place to be if you don’t find yourself on the proper aspect of the win column.”
