1. Should head coach Billy Napier give up offensive play-calling duties and hire an offensive coordinator?
A question that will likely be discussed a lot over the 2024 offseason is should Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier hire an offensive coordinator and relinquish play-calling duties.
One of Napier’s biggest points to fans of the Gators when he was hired he expressed vehemently during his introductory press conference when he was hired on November 28th, 2021.
“I’ll be calling plays here. I think it gives us an advantage, in my opinion,” Napier said.
Two seasons later, that stance will be questioned now that the season is over, but it’s hard to imagine a change being made at this point in time. Napier seems steadfast on keeping the responsibility of calling plays for himself.
2. Can the Florida Gators fix the offensive line?
Florida Gators offensive tackle Austin Barber (58) – Mallory Peak/Florida Gators Athletics
In the same breath when discussing calling plays, Napier discussed the importance of having two offensive line coaches, saying “…we’ll have the advantage of having two offensive line coaches.”
That said, even with two offensive line coaches, it was very apparent this season that the Gators offensive line struggled. Yes, the unit dealt with injuries and saw some young players play along with players playing out of their natural positions, but the unit just did not perform well this season.
The Gators are losing center Kingsley Eguakun, but will be welcoming back players such as Austin Barber, Jake Slaughter, who started at center this season in place of Eguakun, Damieon George Jr., Kamryn Waites, Richie Leonard IV, Knijeah Harris and some other freshman that were redshirted like Roderick Kearney and Caden Jones.
The Gators will also be very active in the transfer portal when it comes to new roster additions outside of highs school prospects and the offensive line will be a position that emphasis is placed on through the transfer portal.
3. Will QB Graham Mertz return for one more season?
Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz (15) – Lorenso Vazquez/Florida Gators Athletics
The Gators already received good news with a returning senior, as DT Cam’Ron Jackson announced his intentions to return to the Gators for one more season of college football. Now, the Gators await the decision of QB Graham Mertz. Mertz injured his shoulder against Missouri but should be fully recovered by the time training camp begins for 2024 should he decide to return Gainesville for his senior season.
Given how deep the 2024 NFL Draft class will be at QB with names such as USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Washington’s Michael Penix, Oregon’s Bo Nix, Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, and FSU’s Jordan Travis all in the mix amongst others, the QB class is deep.
Mertz could potentially feel as if he has some unfinished business with the Gators given how his season ended. If that’s the case, the Gators would welcome Mertz back with open arms to be their starting quarterback in 2024.
4. Will a Special Teams coordinator change be made?
Napier has already parted ways with two of his defensive assistants, defensive backs coach Corey Raymond and defensive line coach Sean Spencer.
Another change that could be made soon revolves around the special team’s coordinator, which at Florida, is called the “Game Changers” coordinator.
The Game Changers negatively impacted the Gators on multiple occasions this season and it is clear that the unit needs a dedicated coordinator to coach them and not an assistant. However, Florida has (at least at the moment) two offensive line coaches, so they do not have room for a full-time special teams coordinator, which is why they had an assistant running the unit.
Some other moves would have to be made for a special teams coordinator to be implemented, but it’s a change that Florida may consider making.
5. Can the staff get the top-five recruiting class they have currently committed on campus?
Arguably the most important item on the docket for the entire football staff after the open positions are filled and final staff changes are made will be the Gators keeping all of the commits that they have for the 2024 recruiting class on board and pushing for the commitments of some of their remaining targets.
The class, as of right now, is ranked in the top-five in the country across multiple recruiting services. Napier said in his postgame press conference following the loss to Florida State that “We’re in the process of rebuilding the roster.” Getting the level of talent they have committed on campus would support that notion tenfold.
However, in this era of name, image, and likeness, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to getting high school players to sign their letters of intent and actually arriving on campus. Florida needs to close on the commitments they currently have and go after some of the best remaining high school players ahead of early signing day on December 20th.
