Florida football on trajectory to become next Nebraska
Now, of course, there are differences. Florida is in Florida, for one. There's a five-start recruit in a stone's throw in any direction. Nebraska is in Nebraska where you have to jet to Florida to get a five-star.
But it all starts at the top, the very tippy top, with the Athletic Director, and then to the head coach. Florida had one of the best ever in Jeremy Foley. Now they have Scott Striklin who hired Billy Naps.
Nebraska had Steve Pederson who fired Frank Solich, jetted all over the country trying to get a replacement and ended up with Bill Callahan. Which didn't work out.
Then Nebraska had Shawn Eichorst who fired Bo Pelini and hired Mike Riley. Which didn't work out.
Then they hired Scott Frost who inexplicably didn't work out.
Then they hired Trev Alberts as AD, who hired Matt Rhule, which may work out. Then Alberts left.
Florida is at approximately the Scott Frost point.
The point of comparison with Nebraska is that a football program can go south with great rapidity and getting it back north is extremely difficult.
Take those recruits. Florida is not the only game in town in Florida, unlike Nebraska, where you can't fall behind Nebraska State or the University of Omaha. Florida has fallen behind Florida State and Miami. Forget all of those out of state schools recruiting in Florida, how does Florida compete against FSU and UM for Florida players?
Billy Napier's buyout is $26M. That is, apparently, giving Striklin and the interim university prez pause. It shouldn't. Foley had an adage that "When something has to be done eventually, it must be done immediately." There is no compos mentis football person on the planet who thinks Billy Napier shouldn't be gone eventually. That means he should have been gone already.
The University of Florida has more money than God. They can afford a $26M buyout. What they can't afford is another seven-loss football season.