Gators' Billy Napier's insistence on play calling was costly

GAINESVILLE — Billy Napier might have saved his job at UF if he’d ceded play calling duties as his boss had strongly encouraged.

A day after firing Napier, Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin said the two men held lengthy discussions during the offseason to determine whether Napier should focus less on the offense and more on the overall game operation. Instead, Napier continued to call plays, ultimately to his peril.

“We spent probably hours in conversation,” Stricklin told reporters Monday at the Heavener Football Center . “I shared with him that I thought that his strength may be in leading the program and overseeing the bigger picture. But at the end of the day, my philosophy is, you hire head coaches, you give them authority to make decisions on how they want to run th