Gators head coach Billy Napier addresses the media following Florida's 39-36 home loss to Arkansas in overtime.
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00:00 Yeah, Billy, how do you kind of preach patience right now
00:04 to like the fan base after a loss like this,
00:07 disappointing, maybe unexpected on some levels?
00:11 Yeah, I'm -- you know, it's not my job to preach patience.
00:14 You know, it's my job to coach the team, you know.
00:18 It's my job to lead those young men in that locker room.
00:20 So, again, you know, I think ultimately
00:29 I've got a job to do relative to the people in that locker room.
00:32 The most important thing to me
00:34 is the young people in that locker room, okay?
00:39 And, look, you know, when you lose games,
00:41 you know, there's going to be criticism.
00:43 It comes with the territory, right?
00:45 So, you know, I understand it, you know.
00:51 I've grown up in this profession.
00:52 It comes with the territory.
00:55 We knew this was going to be a challenge.
00:58 And we're right in the middle of it.
00:59 So I believe in the people in that locker room.
01:04 That's what I would tell you.
01:06 And ultimately, what gives me conviction,
01:11 what do I think about?
01:12 I think about what I can do to help the players.
01:14 How can I help them?
01:15 How can I put them in a position to have more success?
01:20 You know, how can we build a program
01:23 where we impact them as people?
01:25 We prioritize education.
01:27 And ultimately, our job is to develop football players
01:31 and build a team that can be competitive
01:34 and be in contention.
01:35 We certainly were competitive today.
01:37 Momentum halt here with a daunting last three games
01:41 with top 14 college football teams
01:43 that you guys will be going up against.
01:45 What's your message to the team just to keep them
01:46 locked in here for these next three weeks?
01:49 Yeah, we won't have that problem with this group, you know.
01:52 My message to them is be who you are.
01:56 And I know who they are.
01:58 I think we've got a group consistently
02:02 that has showed up and put it on the line.
02:04 That's what I'd say.
02:05 So, you know, it's what you do it for, right?
02:12 To play and compete against the best.
02:15 And in our league, every week is a challenge.
02:19 So, you know, it's going to be no different next week
02:23 than it was this week.
02:24 We're going to go, you know, earn the right to win.
02:27 And ultimately, I'm hopeful that the experience
02:31 that these guys are getting is going to pay off, you know.
02:34 So, you know, Arkansas went toe-to-toe
02:39 with about everybody they played this year, right?
02:41 So, and the same thing could be said for today.
02:45 So, we play good players and good coaches every week.
02:50 And that group suffered a challenge.
02:53 There ain't nobody running and hiding in there,
02:54 I can promise you.
02:56 So, I appreciate the question,
02:58 but we're not going to have that problem.