I get it people are underwhelmed. But who TF were we supposed to hire? It seems many here want Kiffin. Do we even know if he wants the job? He's only been at Ole Miss two years, is he really leaving that quickly? There's some serious unreasonable expectations around here.
As far as we've sunk this program the last 11 years, I'm ready to see a guy with a vision that Napier has (if it's him or not); he plans to overhaul this disaster, budget driven, train wreck - by building a Bama-style recruiting office, Bama-style analyst & quality control operation, bringing in a real/bigger S&C staff, etc. If he fails, at least the next guy will be set up to succeed - unlike what Muschamp, Butters, and Mullen left behind.
Disagree w/ this comparison. Someone compared Napier to Harsin yesterday and it was a poor comparison as well. Other than all three being G5 coaches, that's where it ends. Napier comes from the Saban tree, but also worked under Dabo & Jimbo Fisher. He has 11+ seasons as a P5 assistant (compared to NorveLLLL's five seasons, 4 were in the P12 - most of Novell & Harsin's background was G5). For those wondering if he can recruit, he spent 11+ years w/ 3 of the best recruiters in the game (and he spent time w/ Kirby at Alabama). Who did NorveLLLL toil under? I can't name one coach he worked under prior to getting the Memphis job. Also, he was 38-15 at Memphis (after he took over a successful program left by Fuente) - Napier took over a dumpster at ULL that went 5-7 and fired their coach.
- Corral is leaving, and does anyone think that Kiffin wasn't using the time at Bama under Saban, FAU, Ole Miss, as a progression to get a top job again? Seems seriously unreasonable to think otherwise.
- Kiffin has all those too... and state of the art analytics staff.
Maybe Napier works out jumping straight to a program as large as UF, we won't know until we see, and it will take him several years to see vs a Kiffin. We'll see if we are willing to take that chance/risk.
I think that post-2016 Kiffin is less of a chance with higher potential reward, and likely a much more immediate pop in recruiting/recruiting flips/portal transfers, including players from Ole Miss that already know his system. And I do think UF's administration would seriously consider Kiffin if he came with certain endorsements, like Spurrier talked to him on the phone several times as a gut check and said "I'd hire this guy." (and I don't think that is unrealistic, in spite of what Law says).
Kiffin is my "hope" hire that's in the "realistic" (albeit outside edge of realistic) category.
My expectation for a new coach all this year and given UF admin is a Pittman/Mark Stoops. Someone that they hoped Mullen would be: 8-4/9-3 records, revenue covers all sports plus money for some upgrades, a 10 winner sprinkled in every few years, no public embarrassments. Again, I always thought the "embarrassment" part would involve players off field, but between his recruiting violation, press conferences, and on field performance, it was Dan himself that became the embarrassment to UF.
Then we have Napier, who has a plan and some performance actually running a plan in the minor leagues. He does check the box for me of at least having run a program (I have no interest in an OC/DC unless they follow the "Riley under Stoops or Day under Meyer model": they were under an elite coach, in a big program, and moved to HC position in that same program... Venables would not be the same as those two given that criteria), albeit a very small one relatively speaking. Regardless of his ability to recruit well (and let's just say he's phenomenal for arguments sake), I do not see him getting any kind of instant recruiting/portal pop. He is truly a long term build option, that is largely unproven except in the minor league. His offense aside, he looks good on paper, he has a plan, he's saying the right things... but...
So the question is, will UF be a Venture Capitalist and take a shot on Napier, an Institutional Investor and go with a Pittman/Mark Stoops, or somewhere in the middle with Kiffin? We'll see.
There is a very interesting guy that Son #2 listens to all the time and I've listened to him several times with Son #2. He has said the following several times in who he will personally invest his money in: "No matter how good the person looks/sounds in person and on paper, I'll never invest again in someone who doesn't have one major failure. I now only invest in people that have been knocked down at least once and are back with the lessons learned and are here to fight."
Kiffin fits that, Napier hasn't been knocked down yet, and that's what worries me the most with Napier.