Ex-Florida coach Dan Mullen appears to shade Billy Napier after disastrous opener
By Ryan Dunleavy,
2024-09-01
With Florida fans chanting for his firing amid a blowout loss, head coach Billy Napier wasn’t about to find any sympathy from predecessor Dan Mullen.
Mullen, a college football analyst, recirculated a post on X from his ESPN colleague Matt Barrie that read, “The Florida coach that got fired went to three consecutive new years six games in his first three years. And was let go in his 4th season.”
The facts check out that Mullen posted a 29-9 record with appearances in the Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl (2-1 bowl record) over his first three seasons — climbing as high as No. 4 in the polls — before he was fired for going 5-6 in 2021.
Billy Napier reacts during Florida’s loss to Miami on Aug. 31. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con Dan Mullen served as Florida’s coach before Billy Napier. AP
He was 11-14 through his first two seasons, including a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl, and he opened Year 3 with Saturday’s 41-17 loss at home to rival Miami.
Chants of “Fire Billy” and “Billy, you suck” reportedly rang out from the stands during the second half.
Napier was a hot Power Five coaching candidate after he went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana, but the success hasn’t carried over in the SEC.
Billy Napier and Florida were crushed during their opener on Aug. 31. AP
To add insult to injury, Miami quarterback Cam Ward — a Washington State transfer — took a shot at Gators fans and the renowned atmosphere at the “Swamp.”
“I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed, but it was louder than this,” Ward said. “I played at Oregon and it was louder than this. The Pac-12 is misspoken for. That’s where I believe real football is played. Coming from Washington (State), Washington is one of the loudest environments I’ve played.
Dan Mullen, pictured during his stint at Florida, now works as an analyst at ESPN. AP
“Some advice to the fans: I would say if you’re going to be loud, be loud when we’re huddling. You can’t just be loud when we break the huddle. By that time, there’s no point. We hear the play and we communicated already. But it was a good atmosphere to play in, and I was just excited that we were able to get a victory.”
What figures to get louder is the sound of the pressure on Napier.
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