Florida to stick with embattled Napier as coach

Billy Napier will continue to coach Florida, according to athletic director Scott Stricklin, who put to rest rampant speculation about the embattled coach’s future with the Gators.

In a letter Thursday, Stricklin stressed the need for a “disciplined, stable approach” and asked Florida fans to “continue standing behind Billy and his dedicated team while we work together to build a championship program.”

Napier, in his third season at Florida, is 15-18 with the Gators. After a 41-17 season-opening loss to Miami, he faced increased scrutiny over his job performance — scrutiny that mounted after a 33-20 loss to Texas A&M two weeks later.

Stricklin, however, has been unwavering in his support of Napier, who has repeatedly said he needs time to get the Gator program headed in the right direction.

Back-to-back wins over Mississippi State and UCF helped quell fan discontent, but performances in close losses to No. 7 Tennessee and No. 3 Georgia — Florida held leads in both games — showed progress.

“As we’ve seen these past several weeks, the young men on this team represent what it means to be a Gator,” Stricklin wrote. “Their resolve, effort and execution are evident in their performance and growth each week — building a foundation that promises greater success next season and beyond.”

Stricklin added that he is “confident that Billy will meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.”

The Gators are 4-4 overall this season, including 2-3 in SEC play. They visit No. 5 Texas on Saturday before closing their regular season home for LSU, home for Ole Miss and at rival Florida State.

Much of the progress Stricklin cites has to do with the way Florida’s freshmen and sophomores have played of late.

After veteran quarterback Graham Mertz was lost for the season against Tennessee, freshman DJ Lagway took over as the full-time starter and has played well — leading a 48-20 victory over Kentucky and giving the Gators the lead against Georgia until he left the game with a hamstring injury.

Lagway had been splitting time with Mertz, but his ability to make plays as a dual-threat quarterback has opened up the possibilities for the Florida offense. Lagway is considered questionable for Saturday’s game at Texas.

Freshman running back Jadan Baugh has impressed, too, with 323 yards and five touchdowns.

Sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that 70% of Florida’s name, image and likeness money is tied to freshmen and sophomores, and there is a sense that losing Napier would also mean losing Lagway, who chose the Gators to play for Napier.

In an interview with ESPN earlier this season, Lagway’s high school coach, Trent Miller, said Napier “did a great job of getting DJ to commit early to help the process of building that brand with recruits and everybody else around him.”

The buyout for Napier alone would have been more than $26 million, which would have been the second biggest in college football history, behind Texas A&M’s $76 million for Jimbo Fisher last year.

Sources indicated the cost of transitioning from Napier and staff and buying out an incoming coach was estimated internally at $40 million.

There are other factors at play as well. Interim president Kent Fuchs, who returned after Ben Sasse stepped down, hired Napier and Stricklin and wants to see them succeed.