DJ Lagway, after throwing for a freshman record 456 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday in his debut as a collegiate starting quarterback, was asked about why he chose a struggling University of Florida program when he could have gone to any college football powerhouse in the country. The first words out of his mouth when he answered the question were these: “Coach Napier, of course – and the fan base. The fan base has shown me love since Day 1. I’m a Gator through and through.”
The $25 million (amount of coach Billy Napier’s contract buyout) question is this: Will Lagway, the top high school quarterback recruit in the country last season, still be a Gator if that fan base runs Napier out of town? Or, to put it another way, can Lagway save Napier’s job? This is something UF fans, boosters and administrators must consider in the coming weeks as they debate Napier’s future. If it means keeping the supremely talented and gracious Lagway in the fold for the next two years, are they willing to stick with Napier as the head coach?
It’s certainly not a stretch to surmise that if Billy Napier stays, DJ Lagway stays. And if Billy Napier goes, DJ Lagway might just be the starting quarterback of the Miami Hurricanes, UCF Knights or Florida State Seminoles next season. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, barring a complete disaster – such as a 3-9 or 4-8 type of season – I believe Napier should be given a fourth year to rebuild the Florida program. Instead of boosters raising the $25 million to buy out Napier’s contract and start all over again, the money would be better spent buying a bunch of talented players to help .
Of course, after the season-opening debacle against Miami, the narrative for Napier quickly shifted from bad to worse. There has even been some media speculation that the boosters were already pooling their money to buy out Napier. Of course, that’s just the way it is in Gainesville, where UF is an abbreviation for Unforgiving Faction. The Gators almost always panic and pull the plug on coaches way too soon. Jim McElwain went to two straight SEC Championship Games – albeit, getting crushed by Nick Saban’s Alabama machine both times – and the Gators fired him and bought out his contract in the middle of this third season because he purportedly lied about getting a death threat.
