A Look At Gators’ Midseason Coach Dismissals

Florida’s loss to the Miami 26-7 Saturday brings coach Billy Napier’s record to 20-22. UF has only fired six head football coaches in the middle of a season in program history and Napier has a worse record than each one, putting Gainesville amid an interesting limbo.

The earliest in a season that Florida has fired a coach was in 1984 when Charley Pell (33-26-3) was forced to resign three games into the season by UF’s president, Marshall Criser, after 107 NCAA rule violations. Florida fired his replacement, Galen Hall (40-18-1), five games into the 1989 season, also due to NCAA rule violations. 

Another notable firing came in 2014 when UF announced that head coach Will Muschamp (28-21) would be fired, effective at the end of the season. Muschamp led the Gators in a 4-8 campaign in 2013 and a 5-4 start in 2014. Muschamp lost 14 of his last 24 games at UF.

Jim McElwain (22-12) departed seven games into the 2017 season, his third with the team. UF ousted the 2015 SEC Coach of the Year after a blowout loss to Georgia, placing the team at 3-4. 

The most recent midseason dismissal was Napier’s predecessor, Dan Mullen (34-15). Florida fired Mullen after he went 5-6 in 2021. The performance was a major disappointment coming off of an appearance in the 2020 SEC Championship. 

Frustration with Mullen began when the No. 10 Gators were upset by unranked Kentucky. Interim head coach Greg Knox replaced him for the final two games of the season, a win against Florida State and a bowl game loss to UCF.

Napier would have to win the next eight games to match the record of Pell, the midseason fire with the second-worst record. 

Florida has a bye week before its home game against the No. 10 Texas Longhorns on Oct. 4 at 3:30 p.m.

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Category: College Football, Football, Gators Football, SEC