Spurrier and Myer inherited some pretty talented teams. Any coach would have been glad to inherit such teams. I thought Mullen inherited depleted roster after Butters, but after watching our team this year, I have to believe he one upped Butters.
And I don't buy the assertion that he is okay with losing. That one of those negativity/extrapolations/rush to judgement things that Ox was talking about. Napier wants to win as much as anybody. Napier knows he's not winning the SEC in 2022. So why create personnel and culture issues in the future that may impact your ability to win 2023+?
It's okay to be critical of him, but to go all negative and imply that he doesn't care about winning, hyperbole.
obviously he wants to win. But he is showing by his actions that he is OK losing in the short term to accomplish his long-term goals. My point is both of those things can exist and we’ve seen it. Yes, Spurrier and Meyer both inherited better teams. But they also played the bad they were dealt and made the most of it. With some contributions from a freshman or two, there’s no reason we can’t be a good team next year. There is talent there and there is/was talent in this class. He’s letting it slip through his fingers, knowing it will bite him. A great example would be Dee Webb. Meyer hated Dee Webb. You could see it. He represented everything Meyer hated in his attitude, his sloppy play, etc. But Meyer also knew that he was one play away from having converted WR Reggie Lewis at corner. So he stomached him in 2005 until he could get replacements because he wasn’t willing to lose in the process. That’s someone who not only loves winning but hates the idea of losing. That’s my point.
And back to Gibson, even if you felt he wasn’t your perfect fit, you have to know that there’s a real chance you’ll have to face this kid, a Top50 player if you don’t land him. So when Meyer recruited Bo Williams out of FtL, who didn’t fit our scheme at all, it was to keep him away from fsu. And when we took Fayson, despite having Tebow at QB and a better version of him in Harvin, it was the same thing.
I respect your take, and admit I may be hyperbolic to some degree, but wait until JG catches his first TD against us. I can guarantee you I’ll have company.