Florida fans have been calling for Billy Napier's job. However, as Brad Crawford of 247Sports stated, buying out Napier will be quite pricey.
A buyout for Billy Napier would cost $31 million. That is not something that Florida can do very easily.
In their loss against Utah, Florida made a lot of key mistakes that could have been fixed by better coaching. The Gators actually played a lot better and were the better team in the second half. If Florida had been able to prevent penalties, they might have won the game.
One such example is when Napier's squad gave away a first down on a penalty on fourth down because two players wearing No. 3 were present on the field. Another one is when Florida's first drive of the game ended up stopping after three plays due to the fact the Gators turned a third-and-one into a third-and-six because of a false start penalty.
Going forward if Florida wants to have a successful season, they will need to clean up the mistakes.
What can Billy Napier do to keep his job this season?
An expected outcome of the Gators' next three games will be 2-2. They will likely lose to Tennessee and beat Charlotte and McNeese State.
In those next five weeks, Napier's destiny might end up being decided. The Gators have four winnable games against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Arkansas. They also are playing Georgia in that span but it is really hard to see them beating one of the best teams (or possibly the best) in the country.
If Napier is able to go 4-1 in that stretch, his job might be saved. If he is able to beat Missouri a couple of weeks later, then Napier's job should be completely safe. Pending a bowl win later in the season, Napier will end up securing his job for the foreesable future.
If Graham Mertz is able to play complimentary college football at the QB position and Ricky Pearsall is able to get the ball in good YAC situations, then Florida might be able to do this. Still considering the number of average SEC schools that Florida needs to beat, it is hard to see the Gators being able to do this.
