re: Melt MegaThread

Napier needs to get things going. 6-6 In year 3 after two 6-6 seasons would be unacceptable. I don't care what is on the schedule.

USC has a pretty bad defense. Riley better get that corrected going into the Big 10 unlike what he did in the Big 12 where he got away with that.

But going back to that point, Riley was considered a grand slam hire, and at the time, I'd agree.

But he's been pretty disappointing at USC and could realistically end the year 7-5 (and probably losing a bowl game that Caleb would sit out of).

His recruiting class is also #19 on 247, which is really the most surprising thing. I knew his defense would suck with Grinch as DC, but I thought he'd kill it recruiting at USC.

It just goes to show that hiring a "proven" coach isn't such a gimme. And there aren't many "proven" coaches out there:

-Saban (on his last legs)
-Kirby
- Urban (retired, might have more juice left, but might not)
- Dabo (on the decline)

Who else out there fits this category?

Ryan Day?

Brian Kelly? (Won't be leaving LSU unless he fails and gets fired)

Chip Kelly?

I'm not saying we should stick with Napier for the sake of it. His recruiting is good but on-field hasn't been up to par. He needs to improve that sooner rather than later. I'm not ready to call for his head in year 2, but drastic improvements on the field need to be made in years 3-4.

But back to the question at hand, who is a proven head coach who could be realistically hired and even if they are, with Kirby rolling at UGA, who is to say they'd be able to succeed with the talent deficiencies this program has and needs to shore up to compete?

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My guess is the realistic options would be the top assistant coaches at big time power 5 programs and a couple of head coaches who are considered good right now but might be willing to leave thinking Florida is a bigger stage and gives them a better chance to get a national championship.

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Neither option would be necessarily bad, but neither would really be considered "proven" either.

Top assistant coaches are a total gamble, seeing the range between Muschanmp and Kirby (would likely end up somewhere in between).

Who are the coaches currently out there who could be considered in the second category?

Johnathan Smith at Oregon St, Elko, Leopold (great coach but getting old), maybe Tom Herman from FAU?

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Riley - USC

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Based on what I've seen so far, I doubt he'd save us. He's not even saving USC

Herman wouldn't be considered I think. Kalen DeBoer at WA has 2 quick turnarounds but he might not be a good fit for the SEC. Dan Lanning at Oregon looks decent on paper with SEC ties but I doubt Oregon's money people would let someone take him now. Like DeBoer I am not sure Smith would be a good fit in the SEC. Jeff Brohm had 2 decent seasons for Purdue at the end before Louisville but not sure if he is the real deal or not.

I think we just have to take our lumps with Napier regarding occasional in game coaching miscues and hope that his talent evaluation and recruiting lead us to the promise land. I have no confidence Stricklin would go out and hire anyone better.

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. I wonder if Ryan Day would ever consider leaving if they lost to Michigan this year and didn't win a national championship in 2023 or 2024.

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If that happened, he might get fired.

I would bet he'd try an NFL coordinator role rather than another college HC role if that happened.

I think he's a good coach, his record is fantastic at Ohio State, but slipping the momentum to Michigan is concerning considering how far ahead he was when he took over.

If Napier pulls another 6-6/7-5 record a 3rd straight year he doesn't have a clue how to build a champion. His game management so far is very concerning. The new coach in 2025 would have a pretty good roster to work with though. I hope Napier gets his act together and we find a decent OC to save him but if we came out of the gate with our schedule next year and lost that home Miami game he would be in deep trouble as far as surviving to 2025. Miami has a coaching issue also but their talent level wont be much behind ours for next year's game.

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Hard to say but the East was pretty weak when Mac won it.

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I don't disagree. He wasn't the answer, but if he hadn't been fired in 2017, we would have had more time to make a better hire than Mullen, would've had Corral instead of Emory and possibly a few other top players in that class he recruited.