GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No one can deny Florida’s improvement this season — not even coach Billy Napier’s most ardent critics.

The Gators (4-4, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) have made progress since lopsided losses to Miami and Texas A&M in the first month of the season. Napier strengthened its shaky defense, found a potential star in freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and developed young talent on both sides of the ball.

It’s the kind of progress that has captured everyone’s attention, inside and outside the program.

And that should earn Napier at least another season.

No matter what happens in November, the Gators appear ready to move forward with Napier as head coach. And it might not be pretty considering Lagway is unlikely to play at No. 5 Texas due to a left hamstring strain.

Florida is expected to turn to third-string quarterback Aidan Warner, a transfer from Yale, when it faces the Longhorns (7-1, 3-1) for the first time since 1940.

“We all want things to be faster, don’t we? said Napier, who is 15-18 over three seasons in Gainesville. “I think life and football are no different. This tests our patience. …

“Obviously we were very disappointed with the way we started the year. But I have a lot of respect for (this) group of players, all the work since the opening date. … I think the mindset, the competitive spirit, the improvement, the improvement in football, I think the tape speaks for itself.

Most notably, the Gators went toe-to-toe with then-No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville and again with Georgia, second in Jacksonville.

Florida lost 23-17 in overtime to the Volunteers after squandering several scoring chances. And many believe the Gators would have won “the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party” if Lagway hadn’t pulled his hamstring in the second quarter while leading 10-3.

“I feel like the frustrating thing throughout the season is we’ve proven time and time again that we can hang with the best of the best,” tight end Hayden Hansen said. “We’re still a little short. We have to finish.

By September it looked like Napier wouldn’t even finish the season.

Florida was inept on both sides of the ball in a 41-17 loss to rival Miami to open the season and showed no improvement in a 33-20 loss to Texas A&M two weeks later. Under first-year coach Mike Elko, the Aggies ran for 310 yards, got three touchdowns from a freshman quarterback making his first college start and ended a 10-game skid on the road.

Napier’s low point came at half-time. As the teams left the field, Napier appeared on the stadium’s big screens for a public service announcement aimed at preventing drunk driving. He was booed wildly.

But Napier’s popularity began to change with a dominant win at Mississippi State, then a bye week that turned into a series of ultra-competitive practices – on-field work that players see as key to get on the right track.

While some wondered if the Gators would start giving up or withdrawing, they turned their attention to Napier.

“I love this group,” Napier said. “As I’ve mentioned many times here before, this is a very unique group in that regard. We wouldn’t have been able to continue playing with this type of effort if we didn’t have a pretty unique character.

Florida would owe Napier more than $26 million if it fired him in 2024. Assuming Napier stays put, he could still open next year in the vaunted hot seat. And for good reason.

Florida is 2-12 against teams ranked below Napier and 1-10 against rivals Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami and Tennessee. And Napier’s errors in the game continue to pile up (see Tennessee), albeit at a much slower rate.

However, growth outweighs growing pains. And with November being a key month for recruiting, Florida administrators should consider giving Napier a vote of confidence, especially with his team so out of whack. The Gators could be down their top two quarterbacks, their top two running backs, two of their top four receivers and four cornerbacks when they take the field in Austin.

“We play for him,” Hansen said. “This locker room plays for him and plays hard. There is still a belief. We’re going to try to win, get bowl eligible, win the bowl game and continue that great momentum next season.

“I think there has been huge progress in the first two years. … We’re going to be a dangerous team going forward.