Florida AD: Napier didn't meet goal of winning championships - ESPN

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said Monday he has one goal when it comes to hiring the next football coach: Find someone who can win championships.

During a press conference in Gainesville, Fla., Stricklin said his decision to fire Billy Napier on Sunday following a 3-4 start to the season was ultimately because «we didn't win to the level we needed to.»

Napier went 22-23 in four seasons with the Gators, including 12-16 in SEC play. While Stricklin credited Napier for leaving Florida in a much better place than he found it — including modernizing the football program structure — he also said the two had long conversations about whether Napier should give up play calling headed into this season.

Napier decided to continue calling plays, and ultimately the Gators struggled on offense, behind an injured DJ Lagway and a lack of consistency across the board. Florida ranks No. 90 in the country in total offense, averaging 363 yards per game.

«I shared with him I thought his strength may be in leading the program and overseeing the bigger picture, but my philosophy is you hire head coaches, you give them the authority to make decisions on how they want to run their program,» Stricklin said. «And then you hold them accountable and that's probably a big part of the reason why we're here today.»

Napier had been under fire over the last two seasons as Florida struggled to win consistently. Stricklin decided last year to stick with Napier, and the Gators finished the year with four straight wins. But that momentum did not carry into this season, and the situation grew untenable as the losses mounted.

Florida owes Napier about $21 million, a cost Stricklin said was not «insignificant.»

«We have tremendous resources, but