I had a chance to talk to the parent of a player who was at Florida under Dan Mullen and the last two under Billy Napier.
Here are some of their thoughts:
The biggest Dan Mullen positive was the ability to coach & develop the quarterback position. He was familiar with The SEC, and a great playcaller. CDM was a very confident coach. One of the reasons he got off to a fast start is he brought in a lot of his assistants that he had at Mississippi State and they had continuity.
His weaknesses were that he was set in his old ways. What he had been doing worked at MSU and when he was first hired at Florida so I feel like he felt like he didn't need to adapt. Also, a lack of defensive accountability and recruiting. One of the things about him, if you didn't really know him, when you first met him, he could rub you the wrong way. Some people get used to it, but a lot of people who would come around the team didnāt like Danās personality.
In the end, I think it spiraled out of control so fast, that it wasnāt that Dan didnāt care, I feel like he felt like there wasnāt anything he could do to stop it. I think he came to realize that it wasn't all about his coaching, recruiting was the most important tool to winning in the SEC, and IMO I think he was tired of competing with Alabama & UGA in an unfair recruiting game at the time and didn't think Florida was going to ever be able to overcome that disadvantage.
Losing Brian Johnson to Eagles before the last season started didnt seem like a big deal at the time, but Brian knew the offensive scheme in and out and did a lot for Dan, and acted a little as a buffer with the players to get what Dan wanted to do across.
When Dan was fired I felt like UF needed a proven veteran SEC coach, but after meeting Billy for the first time I immediately knew he had full support of the UAA, and at that time it was enough for me. There are a lot of parents who will tell you that how we were treated at first tailed off a little in year two.
The differences in the football building was night and day from Dan to Billy. Danās staff was full of guys who had been around the SEC and were seasoned coaching veterans. Don't get me wrong, Billyās staff had good coaches in their own right, but none of them have a ton of SEC experience.
What I did like was he put his recruits in a brand new apartment building and those kids didnāt have to live in Keys Dormitory, which was a power move and a great recruiting tool. We canāt forget about the new football facility. That place is immaculate and allows them to save precious time that was previously time lost in walking from the practice facility to the stadium locker room and vice versa. I think coming in and addressing some of the parental concerns put Billy in a good light with most of the parents, but I also noticed that tailing off in year two.
What I didnāt like was the fact that he didnāt keep Coach [Nick] Savage - he is a dude in the world of S&C. I'm glad we had him while he was there. [Mark] Hocke seemed to have the intensity level you want in a S&C coach. I just think he just lacked experience in The SEC. I felt like he should have kept Coach Rat [Keiwan Ratliff].
I'll say this. Billy is good guy, a genuinely nice person. He cares about his players, you can see that, and being the head coach at UF is something thatās important to Billy Napier. I think Billy is a good head coach, but itās going to be an uphill battle for him. I wish him the best, but I donāt think it happens at this stop. The deck's stacked against him and the fanbase is growing increasingly more impatient.
I think one of the things is you could see a mindset start to take hold. You could see some signs in the players the last two years. Players that were used to winning here and in high school, you could see a conversion in them where they were starting to get beaten down. but Florida is a big logo school with one of the largest fan bases in the country. Some of the fans though are borderline insane. The losing, the constant negative feedback. It takes a toll.
If I had to name a player who is better than many fans know it is Zip [Keon Zipperer]. When he is healthy he can change an offense. You have to give him credit for sticking it out. I wonāt call out any names, but I will say a lot of really good football players have left over the last two years. Many found homes and contributed to teams who ended up with better records than UF. What does that tell you.
Right now, Iād say the best thing about Florida Football is The Swamp. The Gators will always have a chance to beat anyone they play in The Swamp.
-------
With Ricky Pearsall having a show out weekend, I asked about him:
Yeah, Slick has been a dog since he first stepped on campus and I donāt think people knew how good he really was.
Coming up later this week is at least one, maybe two more Anonymous Player Q&A sessions. Sign up HERE for a membership!
Here are some of their thoughts:
The biggest Dan Mullen positive was the ability to coach & develop the quarterback position. He was familiar with The SEC, and a great playcaller. CDM was a very confident coach. One of the reasons he got off to a fast start is he brought in a lot of his assistants that he had at Mississippi State and they had continuity.
His weaknesses were that he was set in his old ways. What he had been doing worked at MSU and when he was first hired at Florida so I feel like he felt like he didn't need to adapt. Also, a lack of defensive accountability and recruiting. One of the things about him, if you didn't really know him, when you first met him, he could rub you the wrong way. Some people get used to it, but a lot of people who would come around the team didnāt like Danās personality.
In the end, I think it spiraled out of control so fast, that it wasnāt that Dan didnāt care, I feel like he felt like there wasnāt anything he could do to stop it. I think he came to realize that it wasn't all about his coaching, recruiting was the most important tool to winning in the SEC, and IMO I think he was tired of competing with Alabama & UGA in an unfair recruiting game at the time and didn't think Florida was going to ever be able to overcome that disadvantage.
Losing Brian Johnson to Eagles before the last season started didnt seem like a big deal at the time, but Brian knew the offensive scheme in and out and did a lot for Dan, and acted a little as a buffer with the players to get what Dan wanted to do across.
When Dan was fired I felt like UF needed a proven veteran SEC coach, but after meeting Billy for the first time I immediately knew he had full support of the UAA, and at that time it was enough for me. There are a lot of parents who will tell you that how we were treated at first tailed off a little in year two.
The differences in the football building was night and day from Dan to Billy. Danās staff was full of guys who had been around the SEC and were seasoned coaching veterans. Don't get me wrong, Billyās staff had good coaches in their own right, but none of them have a ton of SEC experience.
What I did like was he put his recruits in a brand new apartment building and those kids didnāt have to live in Keys Dormitory, which was a power move and a great recruiting tool. We canāt forget about the new football facility. That place is immaculate and allows them to save precious time that was previously time lost in walking from the practice facility to the stadium locker room and vice versa. I think coming in and addressing some of the parental concerns put Billy in a good light with most of the parents, but I also noticed that tailing off in year two.
What I didnāt like was the fact that he didnāt keep Coach [Nick] Savage - he is a dude in the world of S&C. I'm glad we had him while he was there. [Mark] Hocke seemed to have the intensity level you want in a S&C coach. I just think he just lacked experience in The SEC. I felt like he should have kept Coach Rat [Keiwan Ratliff].
I'll say this. Billy is good guy, a genuinely nice person. He cares about his players, you can see that, and being the head coach at UF is something thatās important to Billy Napier. I think Billy is a good head coach, but itās going to be an uphill battle for him. I wish him the best, but I donāt think it happens at this stop. The deck's stacked against him and the fanbase is growing increasingly more impatient.
I think one of the things is you could see a mindset start to take hold. You could see some signs in the players the last two years. Players that were used to winning here and in high school, you could see a conversion in them where they were starting to get beaten down. but Florida is a big logo school with one of the largest fan bases in the country. Some of the fans though are borderline insane. The losing, the constant negative feedback. It takes a toll.
If I had to name a player who is better than many fans know it is Zip [Keon Zipperer]. When he is healthy he can change an offense. You have to give him credit for sticking it out. I wonāt call out any names, but I will say a lot of really good football players have left over the last two years. Many found homes and contributed to teams who ended up with better records than UF. What does that tell you.
Right now, Iād say the best thing about Florida Football is The Swamp. The Gators will always have a chance to beat anyone they play in The Swamp.
-------
With Ricky Pearsall having a show out weekend, I asked about him:
Yeah, Slick has been a dog since he first stepped on campus and I donāt think people knew how good he really was.
Coming up later this week is at least one, maybe two more Anonymous Player Q&A sessions. Sign up HERE for a membership!
