After a blowout loss at home to Miami in Saturday’s season opener, Florida coach Billy Napier was the subject of a lot of criticism. Dan Mullen, who was replaced by Napier, seems to be one of the people who does not approve of how well Napier is leading the Gators.
Florida was no match for Miami on Saturday. The Hurricanes dominated the game from start to finish, handing the Gators a 41-17 loss in the swamp.
During the game, ESPN’s Matt Barrie posted on X (formerly Twitter), “The Florida coach that got fired went to three consecutive new years six games in his first three years. And was let go in his 4th season.”
The “Florida coach that got fired,” was Mullen, who now works with Barrie at ESPN. Mullen reposted Barrie’s message, which On3 Sports screengrabbed.
Former Florida coach Dan Mullen’s latest retweet😬https://t.co/LT52ygZFu9 pic.twitter.com/yyBd36yojl
— On3 (@On3sports) August 31, 2024
Mullen’s Gators went 10-3 in 2018, 11-2 in 2019 and 8-4 in 2020, reaching the Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, respectively in those seasons. The Peach Bowl and Orange Bowl trips resulted in wins over Michigan and Virginia, while Florida lost the Cotton Bowl to Oklahoma. Things did go off the rails in the 2021 season. With the Gators sitting at 5-6 and 2-6 in SEC play, Mullen was fired. Interim coach Greg Knox coached the final two games of the season — a win over Florida State in the regular season finale and a loss to UCF in the Sasparilla Bowl.
That said, it hasn’t been a smooth ride since Napier took the program over in 2022. Florida went 6-7 in 2022 and 5-7 in 2023, going 3-5 in the SEC both years. And Barrie was not the only person to second guess Florida’s decision to replace Mullen with Napier.
Reminder: Florida fired a coach who won 30 games in his first three years to hire Billy Napier.
— Brandon Walker (@BFW) August 31, 2024
Billy Napier’s buyout is 85% of his remaining contract.
He’s owed $26m+.
Saved you a google
— Brooks Austin (@BrooksAustinBA) August 31, 2024
Florida was completely overmatched against Miami. Aside from a 71-yard run touchdown run by Montrell Johnson Jr., the Gators struggled to do anything of note offensive and surrendered more than twice as many yards (529) as they allowed (261).
Things don’t exactly get easier for Florida, which has the toughest schedule in the country. So if Napier and the Gators can’t shake Saturday’s performance off, the criticism is only going to increase.
