After a blowout loss to Texas A&M, Billy Napier’s time at Florida is running out.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” played in the background Saturday night at the long-vacant and rain-soaked Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

But as Florida coach Billy Napier walked into the locker room after yet another listless double-digit loss at home, it was a 33-20 loss to a Texas A&M team playing a backup freshman quarterback, not even the patio boss out. . Napier briefly shook hands with interim university president Kent Fuchs, who was waiting under the goalposts, and then disappeared under the Napier stands as frustrated fans chanted that a growing number of Florida fans, high financial partners in some programs, were now saying loudly.

“Fire him!” One woman screamed into the boos.

In his press conference after the game, Napier took responsibility for how poorly his team (1-2) has played this season and said there are no excuses.

“I don’t blame them…” Napier said to booing fans. “I mean, ultimately when you play a certain way in this arena, you’re going to be criticized. It’s one of those places where there’s history, tradition and expectations. A lot of good football teams have played there. Stadiums in the past when you played ugly balls and maybe Not all of us seem to want it, then, hey, it comes with the territory.

“So I’d probably do the same thing, truth be told.”

The other sad truth for Napier is that his already fragile Florida coaching career now hangs by a thread. You could see it in his face and his players’ faces and even athletic director Scott Stricklin’s face as he sat quietly in the back of the room during Napier’s press conference.

Napier worked tirelessly to bring Florida back to national relevance. He created a healthy culture within the locker room, treated people right and went about his business in such a way that it was impossible not to like the guy.

What he hasn’t done is win enough games or show tangible evidence that the program is headed for a championship, which is Florida’s standard. Napier is now 6-11 against SEC opponents. The Gators have lost seven straight games to Power 4 opponents, with four of those losses coming at home. A losing season would be his third in a row and the program’s fourth in a row. (Napier’s buyout would be roughly $26 million, and sources told ESPN that high-ranking boosters have raised the money.)

The problems at home were especially frustrating for Florida fans, many of whom did not return after a 47-minute lightning delay at the end of the first quarter. Texas A&M jumped out to a 20-0 lead at the half, and at the start of the fourth quarter, the swamp was less than half full. Napier have now lost six home matches in just over two seasons. Steve Spurrier, who coined the nickname “The Swamp,” was 68-5 in his career at home. Urban Meyer is 35-5.

“I think a lot of progress has been made,” Napier said. “I think my disappointment with the way we’ve played two of the last three weeks. That’s my disappointment. I think we’ve done a lot better behind the wall and organization as a whole. I really believe that, and I think most people in our program do. He will tell what he is familiar with.

“So we’re not getting the results on the field right now that we want, but ultimately you’re judged a little bit on the field. So it comes with the territory.”

Whether decision makers in Florida agree is up for serious debate. Stricklin said on the Paul Finebaum Show before the 41-17 opener against Miami that he believed Napier would be Florida’s coach for a “long, long time.”

Stricklin added that Florida has been patient as a university.

“I think that patience will be rewarded,” he said.

Patience can be fickle in college football, especially when a team looks so inept at competing against the best teams. Remember that Texas A&M had a quarterback make his first career start for a first-year coach in Mike Elko. The Aggies also enter the game having lost nine true road games to SEC foes, with their last win coming nearly three years ago.

And yet, Texas A&M rushed for 310 yards — which Napier called “disgusting and ultimately my responsibility” — and held Florida to 52 yards on the ground. At one point in the first half, the Gators had 203 yards of total offense to the Aggies’ minus-7. Florida missed tackles on defense and struggled repeatedly to stop Texas A&M on third downs.

Napier was roundly booed when he walked off the field at half-time, and boos rang out minutes earlier when a video of him making a public service announcement was shown on the big screen.

He is not stupid and neither are his players. They know how restless the fans are now and most of the attention on the outside will be devoted to how long Napier can last. None of his three predecessors (Dan Mullen, Jim McElwain and Will Muschamp) lasted four full seasons before being fired.

Quarterback Graham Mertz said Napier broke up the team in the locker room and told the players that those last two losses were his fault.

“We’re all like, ‘Nah, coach, it’s on us. We’re not doing our job,'” Martz said. “I think that speaks to the amount of responsibility that has grown with us over the years. Everybody knows that we can all do our jobs better. … We’re all in this thing together.”

Martz, who started and rotated at quarterback with freshman DJ Lagway, added: “There’s no coach I’d rather play for.”

Napier understands the negativity that has engulfed the program outside the locker room and that its uncertain future will dominate the airwaves and message boards.

“The No. 1 thing that’s important for this team is that they stick together, right?” Dr. Napier. “Because ultimately that’s what they’re going to have 25 years from now. They’re going to have that relationship with their teammates. It’s critical no matter how negative it might be and out there. … We might not be able to control. People on the outside are about us. But we can control what we do, the things we say, the things we do, our attitudes, our efforts, our attitudes, right? We do and can we improve?”

It’s no secret that Florida’s schedule only gets more daunting. It travels to Mississippi State the following week, then has a bye and faces UCF at home on Oct. 5. Five of the Gators’ last seven games are against nationally ranked teams, including Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss, all of whom entered the week ranked No. 3 in the AP top ten.

Can Napier make that final stretch? Again, patience in college football is as plentiful as ice cold water in a swamp. And patience is gone in this particular swamp.

No matter how it shakes out, Napier said his focus won’t change.

“The biggest challenge in leadership, I think, is trying to shelve your ego a little bit and try to make decisions that reflect that,” Napier said. “Look, for me, all my decisions are about stewarding the people I’m entrusted with — the players, your staff members. That’s probably what I struggle with the most. When we’re not playing well, what can I do? That locker. Help those young guys in the room because I’ve seen them tail off since January and you want rewards for the player.

“That’s what motivates you.”