SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL: More than a year after he first looked doomed to be fired, Billy Napier finally got the axe in Gainesville. After a day of making phone calls on this, Richard talks with Alex about the Gators’ big move:

* Napier had a solid plan for this job. Why didn’t it work?

* DJ Lagway’s 2025 season is a tale of how a head coach can get himself into REAL trouble with this one simple trick

* Florida AD Scott Stricklin has now missed on two head coach hires. Most SEC athletic directors don’t get a third attempt and would now be marginalized. But that might not happen here, for reasons Richard explains

* The Gators have had four disappointing (or just bad) head coaches in a row. Is this job still as good as it used to be? Yes, actually

* Jimmy Sexton’s manipulation of the national spotlight this weekend was a sight to behold. Sometimes you have to tip your caps to the greats

* An early trip through some names that you’ll see connected to the Gators

This is a subscriber episode. You can join for $10 a month at www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe, or get a month free by signing up for the full year. If you subscribe, you’ll get lots more episodes from us (in season, subscribers often get four podcasts per week, rather than two) as well as Q&A opportunities and all of our coaching carousel shows.

Producer: Anthony Vito