Napier out at Florida: Top candidates, transfers and recruits to watch

Even aft Florida's late-season surge successful 2024, Billy Napier needed a beardown encore, portion navigating different brutal schedule, to unafraid his semipermanent aboriginal arsenic Gators coach.

After different dilatory commencement this season, that featured losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, Napier couldn't excavation himself retired of the canyon this time, and was fired connected Sunday with a last grounds of 22-23 successful Gainesville.

For the 5th clip since Urban Meyer retired successful December 2010, Florida is seeking a caller caput shot coach. The occupation has its wide upsides -- determination to recruits, instrumentality and fiscal support, the quality to vie for nationalist championships -- but the coaching churn successful Gainesville is undeniable. Meyer won large determination but lone for a comparatively abbreviated period. Florida had 3 consecutive AP top-6 finishes nether Charley Pell and Galen Hall successful the mid 1980s. Otherwise, Steve Spurrier is the lone manager to physique a sustainable victor with the Gators.

Florida gave Napier the indispensable enactment to elevate the program, and made wide gains successful recruiting. Coaches who person faced the Gators the past 2 seasons repeatedly praised the endowment connected the roster. But things ne'er came unneurotic for agelong stretches nether Napier, arsenic Florida didn't sniff the 12-team College Football Playoff successful each of the past 2 seasons.

Athletics manager Scott Stricklin received a declaration hold this summer, and volition beryllium selecting his 3rd shot coach. How overmuch powerfulness helium genuinely has successful the prosecute is simply a question looming implicit this search. Florida has yet to marque the CFP, and truly needs to get this 1 right. There volition beryllium nary shortage of involvement for 1 of the apical jobs connected the market.

Candidates | Transfers | Recruits

Five candidates for the job

Ole Miss manager Lane Kiffin: He's the closest happening to Spurrier -- without each the championships, of people -- successful today's assemblage football: A brash, supremely assured manager whose gifts for playcalling and backmost improvement are undeniable. Kiffin, 50, has started to triumph much notable games successful the SEC, taking down Georgia, South Carolina and others past season. He's 27-6 since the commencement of the 2023 season. While his biggest accomplishments person travel arsenic an adjunct manager (he won nationalist titles arsenic a coordinator astatine USC and Alabama), helium led Florida Atlantic to Conference USA titles successful 2017 and 2019, and knows the authorities and the league well. Kiffin has indicated helium mightiness enactment astatine Ole Miss for the agelong haul -- oregon astatine slightest the somewhat longer haul -- but Florida would beryllium silly not to earnestly gauge his involvement level.

Missouri manager Eliah Drinkwitz: Kiffin astir has to beryllium Florida's apical people wrong the SEC, but Drinkwitz besides merits adjacent consideration. Like Spurrier, he's an offensive-minded manager who delivers the goods erstwhile down a microphone, and volition bring a assured benignant of play to Gainesville. After a dilatory commencement successful Columbia, Drinkwitz, 42, guided Missouri to a Cotton Bowl rubric and a No. 8 decorativeness successful 2023, and besides has a 27-6 grounds since the commencement of the 2023 season. The Arkansas autochthonal could person Missouri positioned for its 3rd consecutive winning play successful SEC play. Drinkwitz likes Missouri, which has shown him a stronger committedness implicit time, but if helium wants to triumph a nationalist championship, helium could question a determination to a programme similar Florida.

SMU manager Rhett Lashlee: After guiding the Mustangs to the CFP successful their archetypal play arsenic an ACC member, Lashlee is 1 of the apical coaching candidates retired there. His adjacent halt apt would bring him to the SEC, wherever helium doubly coached with Auburn alongside Gus Malzahn and served arsenic Tigers' violative coordinator from 2013 to 2016. Lashlee, 42, besides would bring acquisition from wrong the authorities of Florida, arsenic helium served arsenic Miami's violative coordinator successful 2020 and 2021. He has won 11 games successful each of the past 2 seasons astatine SMU.

Washington manager Jedd Fisch...