The subtle shift with Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier

GAINESVILLE — Florida Gators coach Billy Napier isn’t mad. Just disappointed.

That’s still a shift for the notoriously stoic figure and a sign that things have started to change as he enters the second game of his second season.

Consider the first notable line of his news conference Monday, four days after UF’s season-opening loss at No. 14 Utah: “I think obviously very disappointed with the performance of our team.”

Though that sentence doesn’t sound like much, it’s the first time Napier has said anything like it during his main media availability the Monday after a defeat. Even after last year’s lowly loss to Vanderbilt, Napier talked about the lessons his team had to learn about winning football rather than his emotional take on how the Gators played. If Napier has ever used the word “disappointed” to describe Florida’s play, we can’t find it.

It wasn’t just one comment, either. If you listened carefully enough — and athletic director Scott Stricklin probably was during his relatively rare appearance for Napier’s weekly news conference — Napier sounded slightly more animated than usual.

Maybe it was a way to acknowledge fans’ frustrations after rough road loss. Or maybe it was an honest assessment following his fourth consecutive loss — something he has experienced only three other times in his career (as the quarterbacks coach at Colorado State in 2012, as a grad assistant at Clemson in 2004 and as a true freshman quarterback at Furman in 1998).

“I’m committed to not getting used to it…” Napier said. “I’m not joking when I say that.”

He is, however, committed to his process, just as he has been since he arrived here 22 months ago. While many head coaches (like UCF’s Gus Malzahn, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz) gave up offensive play-calling duties, Napier did not. He kept the same structure he had at Louisiana, where he served as the coordinator to free up a spot on his staff for a second offensive line coach.

His offense has struggled in its last three performances (the blowout bowl loss to Oregon State, the spring game and at Utah), and the line was unimpressive.

“A lot of football left to play,” Napier said.

Napier also doesn’t have one dedicated special teams coach. An off-field analyst coordinates what he calls “game changers,” and assistants split the on-field duties.

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It’s easy to second guess that approach after Florida was flagged for having two No. 3s during a punt return because of a miscommunication with different units. Or the other special teams issues, including a missed field goal, questionable decisions on punt returns and appearing unprepared for a Utah field goal. Napier isn’t reconsidering.

“It has nothing to do with infrastructure or job description or assignments,” Napier said of the roster-related penalty. “It’s just one very specific mistake, one that we will learn from going forward, much like we do every week we make mistakes. We adjust and adapt.”

The Gators shouldn’t have to adjust or adapt too much to beat McNeese in Saturday’s home opener, but the SEC opener against No. 12 Tennessee looms next. While it’s too early to take any hot-seat speculation seriously, a 1-2 start in Year Two and another rivalry defeat would risk losing a notoriously impatient fan base.

That’s a product of a Thursday’s showing in Salt Lake City. It wasn’t just the fact that Florida lost. It’s how Florida lost — with careless mistakes under a meticulous coach and issues that were easy for armchair quarterbacks to predict and diagnose. The benefit of the doubt is gone.

“We can’t waste a minute blaming or complaining or sulking, thinking about the past,” Napier said. “We have to learn. We have to change. We have to adapt. We have to grow.”

And if Florida can’t find a way to move on quickly? The emotions will go well beyond disappointment.

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