Thanks folks. Even Jimmy Chitwood had to eventually play ball again. Ox, in the midst of our non-denominational social media synagogue, penned things in the op that I’ve felt and believe. Particularly, we’ve been on a decade plus slide that has featured coaches who were more able than their records might indicate, but were obstructed by arrogance, sloth, and hubris. Ironically, those traits, two of them at least, are frequently associated with winning programs. The missing elements are in my opinion a connectivity between the athletic administration, the fans, and boosters/sources of funding.
Steve Spurrier changed a lot of opinions and served notice that the Gators were rising and through his leadership would rise to contest the conference leadership. And we did just that. After he left, we hiccuped for a bit until Urban came on the scene and won with a swagger of his own. We seemed finally to be resting in our rightful place among the cfb elite.
And then, almost as quickly as it came…poof…it was gone and for the next decade plus our trajectory resembled the Biden economy (with a couple of spikes) under the leadership of a young defensive genius who couldn’t believe we needed an offense, a carnival huckster who was somewhere on the spectrum, and a carpetbagger who used his “in” to parlay his snarky personality and aversion to work into a big exit payday.
Enter Billy Napier, or “Billy Who?” as many questioned. Why, we deserve better! We should have a coach with a pedigree, NC rings, curb appeal, etc. Maybe so. But we’ve got a young up and comer who brings a larger organizational plan and a willingness to work at recruiting, which was withering on the vine, and a guy that believes in sound fundamental football as the core of his program. Has it been exciting? Has it been overtly and immediately successful? Have we fans been patient knowing the inherited deficiencies? No, no, and no.
What will have to change at some point is the willingness to allow time, not forever mind you, for some needed changes to be instituted and cultivated for an actual program to develop. Until that is allowed to happen, it’ll be wash, rinse, repeat…again. Sooner or later we’re going to have to stick with a plan if we ever want to get off of this tilt-a-whirl we’ve been riding.
Last thing, for comparative purposes. Try to take an objective look at Kirby Smart and where he’s at with the hated Dawgs. He spent his time as a position coach, then coordinator, and finally HC. He struggled to start with, but he stuck with his approach based on who he learned from and how he was taught to plan and prepare. Last few years or so, he’s been right there and is sitting in the catbird seat again with a very fundamentally sound and well-coached team. Billy has similar roots. There’s no guarantee he’ll rise as far or as fast, but I’d bet on him and I’m looking forward to what we can do beyond this first season. I don’t think I’ve got enough years left to keep spinning the roulette wheel.
