Joel Klatt correctly identifies what could doom Florida's Billy Napier

There's a world in which Billy Napier wouldn't be Florida football's head coach right now. He entered the 2024 season on the hottest of hot seats after going 11-14 over his first two seasons.

The Gators improved slightly in 2024, finishing 8-5. With that said, Napier overcame a 1-2 start, and the Gators also picked up some impressive SEC wins. They beat No. 22 LSU and No. 9 Ole Miss in consecutive weekends before finishing the season with a win over rival Florida State.

Napier's strong finish saved his job, but he's not out of the woods in Gainesville just yet. In fact, college football analyst Joel Klatt sees a stretch in Florida's 2025 schedule that could be make or break for Napier.

“This year the expectations are much higher. The schedule is just as difficult, but they’re much higher. And they have an incredibly tough four-game stretch early in the year. I think that they need to go at a minimum 2-2 in these games. This four-game stretch is at LSU, at Miami, (vs.) Texas, and at Texas A&M," Klatt said on his Monday show (h/t On3). 

Florida starts out the 2025 season with a cupcake against Long Island University, and a Week 2 clash against USF should be winnable.

That's when the above portion of the schedule kicks in, though. The Gators have back-to-back away games against LSU and Miami, then face Texas and Texas A&M.

If the Gators have truly turned a corner under Napier, there's a chance they make noise in this stretch and enter mid-October with some momentum and hype.

There is absolutely a scenario that could see the Gators go 0-4 during this tough stretch, though, and a 2-4 start could very well doom Napier before his 2025 season has really gotten started.

Klatt is right. This is a vital stretch of games for Florida. 

Either way, we'll know exactly the type of team Florida will be in 2025 by mid-October. We may also know Napier's long-term future (or lack thereof) in Gainesville by then as well.