GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The factual comment came near the end of Billy Napier's press conference late Saturday night following the Gators' 45-35 home loss to LSU.
Responding to a reporter's question about an important recruiting weekend for the Gators mixed with a disappointing loss, Napier first emphasized that with everything UF has to offer academically and athletically, those decisions should not be influenced by a single event.
As Napier continued to speak and promote Florida as a college destination, he stated a cold, hard fact that often seems forgotten or ignored by a segment of fans and media. It might be the most crucial thing Napier has said in his 11 months on the job.
"It's been 14 years since Florida has won the SEC and a national championship,'' Napier said. "We've got work to do."
Those who are good at math and aware of the program's history are probably saying, "well, duh." Hey, we get it. No one needs to remind you how long it's been. You prefer to rehash the good times.
You remember the early season wins in 2008 over Miami and Tennessee, the shocking home loss to Ole Miss, the famous Tebow's Promise, the thumping of LSU and Georgia, that beatdown of the HBC's South Carolina team in The Swamp, the rain-soaked romp in Tallahassee, the celebration in the Georgia Dome after beating Bama, and finally, the throttling of Oklahoma in Miami to win a second national title in three seasons.
The Gators were on top of the world and dancing to their own beat. Two football national championships in three seasons. Back-to-back men's basketball national championships. Names resonated on University Avenue and far beyond: Urban, Billy D, Tebow, Percy, Joakim, etc.
What a blast, even for those not within Gainesville city limits. I was in Tampa when the good times started to bounce on the court in late 2005, then in Tallahassee at their peak, and by the time they ended with that loss to Alabama in the 2009 SEC Championship Game, back in Tampa.
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 18, 2022Adversity reveals character.
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A year later, I joined the University Athletic Association and found myself once more in Tallahassee, covering the Florida-Florida State game. The Gators lost 31-7 to the Seminoles that day — snapping UF's six-game win streak in the rivalry — prompting Urban Meyer to utter those famous words afterward: "It has to be fixed. It's broke a little bit right now."
Meyer, of course, was talking about the program he had built and returned to the top. Two weeks later, he announced his resignation, ending a six-year run in which he won 65 of 80 games, two national titles and two SEC championships.
And there we were late Saturday night, in the same meeting room underneath the stands at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium where Meyer used to address his players and the media, listening to Napier dance with delicate questions.
Why can't the defense stop anyone on third down? Where is the program at midseason relative to your expectations? What's up with the clock management at the end of the first half?
Napier has faced many pointed questions in his career, whether as offensive coordinator at Clemson and Arizona State or as head coach at Louisiana. All coaches do at some point. That's part of their job, just like the media's job is to ask them about what fans want to know.
As the Orange & Blue faithful have quickly learned, Napier is an introspective soul with one eye always on the long road.
That's where one must be when building a program in full reboot mode like never before.
"When you're in a leadership position, there's only one answer: You've got to do better for the people that you're leading,'' Napier said. "Players, staff, all the people that care and represent this university, right? You've got to do a better job. I can do my job better.
"Our football needs to get better. I can say that. Lots of things contribute to that. There's no shortcuts. You gotta go right through every single bit of adversity. It ain't easy. I don't like to lose."
In today's world, when comments hit social media as soon as they are spoken, passionate fans fire off typical responses. They wanted him to announce drastic changes. They wanted players benched and coaches tossed under the bus, a list of immediate corrective measures posted on the whiteboard behind the podium where he spoke.
Yes, we've been here before since that loss to the Seminoles in 2010. So has Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen. And we know where they are now.
The first email arrived in my inbox at 10:05, within minutes of the game's end. A couple of texts followed. A call the next day. That's the way it goes. That's big-time college football in 2022 when every team is supposed to win every game and play perfectly.
We all know it doesn't work that way, even if some of us sometimes forget.
Seven games into his UF tenure, Napier is just getting started.
"I want to win every single game that we play. We're in Year 1. The big thing I would say is that we're working hard on the people. I think we're making progress there,'' Napier said. "Working hard on expectations and culture, habit-building. I think that the football execution part is where we need to improve. But in terms of competitive spirit, togetherness, discipline, I think that we're making progress in that part. When you're building a foundation, that's where you start."
The bye week came at a perfect time for the Gators. They spent much of the week on quality control and trying to find some of those answers on the field. They have No. 1-ranked Georgia next, so there is no 'wait 'til next year' mindset floating around.They close the season at FSU, their first visit to Tallahassee in three years.
Still, as I've written before and said repeatedly, this is not your father's or big brother's Gators program. This is an organization being rebuilt from the ground up as a new era of college football unfolds on a weekly basis.
It takes time. Napier has a plan. That's why he's here.
Signs are pointing in the right direction. On Thursday afternoon, according to each of the four major recruitingsites(ESPN.com, 247Sports.com, On3.com and Rivals.com), Florida resided in the top 10 in the 2023 class.
And in case you have forgotten, remember what he said Saturday and save it for the rest of the season. It has been a decade — and nearly half of another one — since the Gators won a conference or national title.
That is a long time. How long ago? The players who will author Florida's rebirth story were not even in elementary school and probably know little to nothing about Tebow's Promise other than the plaque on a wall outside The Swamp.
That's probably just as well. They are the future, not the past.
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