This SEC head coach is on the hottest of hot seats heading into 2024

The 2024 College Football season is inching closer and the anticipation for this upcoming campaign is at an all-time high. What's also being anticipated is how the season will go for the three-time national champion Florida Gators in 2024 under head coach Billy Napier.

The high anticipation for this season is warranted due to the College Football Playoff expansion kicking off, programs entering their new conferences, and a plethora of head coaches under pressure, especially Napier.

Napier has been at the helm for the Gators since 2022 and has compiled a record of 11-14 across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively. Furthermore, the Gators finished 5-7 in 2023 and didn't compete in a bowl game for the first time since 2017 under former head coach Jim McElwain.

The 45-year-old head coach has yet to lead the Gators to a winning season and has led Florida to a combined 6-10 record in the SEC across his two-season tenure.

The former Louisiana head coach is under immense pressure to leap this season, especially for a program that has a storied football program.

The Gators will trot out quarterback Graham Mertz as he enters his second campaign in Gainesville, Florida. In 2023, the sixth-year collegiate quarterback tossed for 2,901 passing yards (career-high), 20 touchdowns (career-high) to only three interceptions.

Furthermore, Mertz averaged 8.1 yards per pass attempt which is also a career-high. The former Wisconsin quarterback will need to step up vastly, as he approaches his final year of college football.

Moreover, the Gators will be without former rusher Trevor Etienne after he transferred to SEC rival Georgia Bulldogs after the 2023 season. In fact, Etienne conveyed that he left the Gators due to the program's underwhelming state.

The Gators' 2024 slate of games is arguably one of the toughest in the country. Florida opens the season with a date against #19 Miami and then will play against the likes of Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss, and close out the season against Florida State.

In fact, two out of those five teams mentioned made the College Football Playoff last season and one went undefeated and won their conference (FSU).

Furthermore, all five of those teams are in the preseason top 25, so Napier and the Gators have a tall hill to climb to be in the College Football Playoff mix.

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