Florida has endured three consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the 1940s, but coach Billy Napier said his program Wednesday is showing progress.

Napier enters the 2024 season firmly on the hotseat, after posting records of 6-7 and 5-7 in his first two years in Gainesville (the Gators went 5-7 in 2021, Dan Mullen’s final season at the helm). Florida ended last season on a five-game losing streak, but Napier told reporters at SEC Media Days in Dallas that “we’re on schedule to some degree.”

“Change doesn’t happen overnight,” Napier said, via Andy Staples of On3 Sports. “I think ultimately timing is everything. When we took the job, what we inherited, the work that needed to be done, I think we’re on schedule to some degree. Should we have won a couple of games down the stretch? Would I have liked to close some of those games out in the fourth quarter? Absolutely.

“The reality is, I think from a system standpoint, a process standpoint, in-house, the culture, I think we’ve made tremendous progress. And I think this offseason in particular, after observing things for two years, we’ve made some changes that really made a difference.”

Likely working to Napier’s detriment is an absolutely brutal 2024 schedule, particularly in the month of November. After the annual showdown with Georgia in Jacksonville on Nov. 2, the Gators play at Texas, then host LSU and Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks before finishing Nov. 30 at Florida State — five teams that combined to go 59-9 in 2023.

Not that the first half of the schedule is easy, either. The Gators open with Miami on Aug. 31, and must also face Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Florida before the calendar turns to November.

“I think one of the things I’ve learned in our profession is you’ve got to break things up into short periods of time for your players,” Napier said. “If we can execute consistently and get consumed with the work and how we prepare, how we train — for example, the next 10 days are extremely important, and we’ll turn the page for training camp.

“Look, the great thing about our schedule, we don’t have to take this on as individuals. We get to do this as a team. I believe that the thing that I’ve learned and observed in this league, you have to have the ability to self-discipline to prepare the same way each week, regardless of the outcome. Ignore the noise, don’t believe the hype, erase the board, start over, and every person in that building has got to prepare the same way.

“So we’re going to do that. We’re going to focus on the work that’s ahead. Then we’ll look up at the end of the season and we’ll see what that earns.”