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USA Today: Grades for First Year Coaches

Discussion in 'RayGator's Swamp Gas' started by rmonteag, Dec 2, 2022.

  1. rmonteag

    rmonteag GC Hall of Fame

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  2. archigator_96

    archigator_96 GC Hall of Fame

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    Hard to argue with that but I might have went C+.
     
  3. partdopy

    partdopy GC Hall of Fame

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    If we didn't lose to Vanderbilt I'd agree but that was bad. Real bad.
     
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  4. archigator_96

    archigator_96 GC Hall of Fame

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    It makes me wonder if the person that did these rankings looked at the situation the new coaches were walking into. I would have to guess that they did.
     
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  5. manigordo

    manigordo GC Hall of Fame

    I would have different reasons but give the same grade.
    Lots of turmoil still for BN to negotiate. Wishing him the best!
     
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  6. ThePlayer

    ThePlayer VIP Member

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    D+

    Billy Napier, Florida (6-6)
    Napier's first team got to bowl play with six wins but lost every game that mattered, including rivalry matchups to Tennessee, LSU and Florida State. The Gators also managed to lose to Vanderbilt, which would be enough alone to drop Napier a full letter grade.
     
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  7. ThePlayer

    ThePlayer VIP Member

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    Even Mike MacIntyre (4-8) at Florida International got a B-.
    But CBN's play calling was clearly in the dumps as well his choice for a DC.
     
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  8. g8trdoc

    g8trdoc Premium Member

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    I’d give him an F after Vandy loss
     
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  9. gatorempire

    gatorempire GC Legend

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    6-6 was sort of my C grade. He basically equalled last year's record but with a new staff and a much harder schedule.

    Some befuddling losses, a few surprise wins. I can't hang my hat on anything nor can I look at it as a failure.
     
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  10. bike1014

    bike1014 GC Hall of Fame

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    In hindsite, I think we overachieved a bit this season. I’ve stated elsewhere that I don’t think very highly of our roster - and 13 transfers so far kinda illustrates that.

    If we knew preseason AR was NOT really a heisman candidate, we’d likely be thinking 7-5 this season.

    vandy was just wildly inexcusable on every level.
     
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  11. Gator715

    Gator715 GC Hall of Fame

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    First-year coaching grades for big programs should be influenced by recruiting almost more than on-field results. We just don't know quite how well this class will finish.

    Next year, completely different ball game. Does that mean we have to be firing on all cylinders next season? No. But the elites of elites generally don't have bad years in year 2.

    Coaching Records in Year 2:

    Nick Saban (LSU): 10 wins
    Nick Saban (Alabama): 12 wins
    Urban Meyer (Florida): National title
    Urban Meyer (Ohio State): 12 wins
    Ryan Day (Ohio State): 7-1 during COVID year
    Kirby Smart (Georgia): 13 wins, CFP appearance
    Jimbo Fisher (FSU): 9 wins
    Dabo Swinney (Clemson): 9 wins
    Jim Harbaugh (Michigan): 10 wins
    Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma): 12 wins

    The exception, which is not really an exception is Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) with 8 wins, which isn't terrible in the SEC West, and he's on the hot seat. I guess you can say Dabo (Clemson) and Jimbo (FSU) win a mere 9 games, but of all of the elite coaches in the game, that seems to be the floor. Not sure if Jimbo is even elite anymore, if he ever was. I say he was because he seems to check all the boxes: won a natty, excellent offensive prowess when he was at his best, defenses generally competent to good, recruits well, etc.

    In a nutshell, if the standard is championships for Florida, the benchmark for a successful season for Florida next season IMO is 9 wins including the bowl game. Anything less than that is not quite damning, but it's a red flag under that standard.
     
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  12. MaceoP

    MaceoP GC Hall of Fame

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    I believe end of year 2 we will have a better idea of the direction we are headed. If it takes 2 or 3 years to get near the level we want to be i'm ok with it. I would like to see us at some point be top 5 and an annual playoff contender every year. We will win a championship if CBN can do what he wants to and thinks he can do.
    It'a going to be interesting to see what our roster looks like in 2 or 3 years. The key to our success next year will be if we get an experienced, quality QB from the transfer portal..
     
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  13. antny1

    antny1 GC Hall of Fame

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    It has always been about progress for me and losing to Vandy and even fsu kind of raised some concerns. That's not to say I'm not in full support of Napier as I have been but the season didn't have to happen the way it did despite the deficiencies in the roster. Much of the roster turmoil should be sorted this off-season so seeing some cohesive development absolutely needs to happen next year.
     
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  14. leecounty

    leecounty Sophomore

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    You'd rank him higher??
     
  15. DawgFanFromAlabam

    DawgFanFromAlabam GC Hall of Fame

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    Hard to take this guy seriously when he writes UF “lost every game that mattered, including rivalry matchups to Tennessee, LSU and Florida State” but omits UGA.
     
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  16. 62gator

    62gator GC Hall of Fame

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    “The Gators also managed to lose to Vanderbilt, which would be enough alone to drop Napier a full letter grade.”

    Hard to argue with that. The loss to Vandy was a doubled over gut punch, still can’t believe it. The roster was way over thought of by many, imho. Some areas were low to mid G5-ish. Roster upgrade is job #1, the staff appears to be all in on that. Still very bullish on Billy, no doubt to me he’s the right guy for this job. He’s playing the long game here, building a strong foundation. Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither was Bama.
     
  17. Wanne15

    Wanne15 GC Hall of Fame

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    I expect progress next year but that might not mean wins. New qb starting and no idea if he will last the year or not. There will be a new 1/2 roster and I’d bet as many as 20 could get some sort of playtime. We have some talent coming back and what could be a very good class but I doubt it will be freshmen to the revue time.
     
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  18. Atl_Gatr

    Atl_Gatr All American

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    Maybe he assumed that was a foregone conclusion?
     
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  19. gator10

    gator10 GC Legend

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    Just don’t have players…Lombardi couldn’t have done much better.
     
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  20. shane4three

    shane4three GC Hall of Fame

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    Very fair on Billy and For those that continue to make excuses and say “it’s his first year “there are 15 to 20 other coaches graded A and B that did very well. Be any of your rivals and I would say C minus. Losing to Vandy makes the D.
     
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