Nick Saban: Florida's Woes 'Not Just' About Napier, Coaching; Talks Facilities, NIL

Former University of Alabama head football coach and current ESPN analyst Nick Saban defended University of Florida head coach Billy Napier on Saturday amid the Gators' disappointing 1-2 start.

Speaking on ESPN College GameDay (h/t On3.com's Matt Connolly), Saban suggested the university itself is more to blame for the football team's struggles than Napier, citing shortcomings with regard to team facilities and the name, image and likeness (NIL) collective:

"Well, I think maybe the problem isn't the coaches. You know, they've been through four coaches since [Steve] Spurrier and Urban Meyer, who both created a tremendous culture of winning there. And sometimes the fanbase can just think, 'Well we can show up and expect to win.' And not make the commitment to the program that you need to make to be able to continue to make the changes and investments you need to make to keep up with changing times.

"Things change. … They should've taken advantage of building better facilities when Urban Meyer was there. What's there collective been like? How have they adapted to this new model of college football? So it's not just the coaches. When you've been through four coaches that haven't had success, there's something else that people should be looking at."

Entering the 2024 season, the Gators had finished below .500 in three consecutive campaigns, including each of Napier's first two years at the helm.

To Saban's point, Florida was an elite program during the tenures of Spurrier and Meyer, winning three national titles during their 18 combined years at the helm.

From 1990 to 2001, the Gators went 122-27-1 under Spurrier and won the national championship in 1996.

After Spurrier left Gainesville at the conclusion of the 2001 season, Ron Zook took over as head coach, but he departed after just three seasons, giving way to Meyer.

During Meyer's six-year run at Florida, the Gators were 65-15 and won national titles in both 2006 and 2008. Remarkably, three of Meyer's six seasons in charge saw Florida finish with a 13-1 record.

Since Meyer's departure, the Gators have posted four seasons with double-digit wins, but they have not been national title contenders.

The decision-makers at the school have seemingly been searching for the secret sauce to get back to that point, which is likely why Florida has cycled through so many different head coaches in recent years.

Will Muschamp spent four years at the helm, followed by three years of Jim McElwain and four years of Dan Mullen.

Mullen led the Gators to a bowl game in each of his four seasons, won double-digit games twice and finished ranked inside the top 10 three times, but it wasn't enough to prevent his firing late in the 2021 campaign.

While Mullen didn't achieve the same levels of success as Spurrier or Meyer, Florida fans would likely love to get back to the types of seasons they were having under Mullen given how things have gone thus far under Napier.

Prior to taking the Florida job, Napier built something special at Louisiana, going 40-12 over four seasons, including three straight seasons with at least 10 wins.

That suggests Napier has what it takes to be a great collegiate head coach, and it perhaps lends credence to what Saban said about some deeper issues within Florida's football program.

Per 247Sports, Florida had the 13th-ranked recruiting class for 2024 and is ranked 21st so far for 2025. While those aren't terrible rankings, the Gators ranked first in Meyer's final season in 2010, and they may need to get back to those levels in order to compete for an SEC title and a College Football Playoff spot.

For now, Florida will rely on Napier's coaching to turn things around this season, and it starts with a road game against Mississippi State on Saturday.