ESPN’s Greg McElroy preaches patience from Florida fans

Former Alabama On a recent episode, Always College Football podcast quarterback Greg McElroy expressed concern over the Florida fanbase. In the snippet, McElroy, who is an analyst on the ESPN family of networks (including the SEC Network), said the Florida Gators are the SEC team he is the most concerned about because of the fanbase’s expectations.

2022 saw the Gators finish with a record of 7-6, losing five of their seven last games. Social media was filled with complaints from Florida fans about the on-field product. Some even called for a boycott. Billy Napier to be fired as head coach following his first season.

While a small section of the Orange and Blue’s fanbase, the majority of Florida fans can agree that losing your final three games of the season, with one of those losses coming on the road to Vanderbilt, is tough to swallow regardless of where in the rebuilding process you are.

Most fans agree with McElroy’s assessment of seven or eight wins next season, but his criticism is still valid. It’s easy to point at someone like Brian Kelly at LSU and say, “Well he did it in one season”. While that’s true, we’re not seeing all the work behind the scenes that Napier and his staff have had to do over the last 13 months to lay down the proper foundation. Only time will tell if Florida fans’ outrage is justified or not.