Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier probably isn't going to be employed in Gainesville for much longer, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier sent clear edict on future in Gainesville after Mississippi State win originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier’s team didn’t do enough over the first seven games of the 2025 season to “preserve” the 46-year-old’s tenure. As soon as Sunday, UF AD Scott Stricklin may announce that the school has fired Napier.
The Tampa Bay Times’s Joey Knight reported Napier’s likely fate with blunt certainty following Florida’s 23-21 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the “Swamp” on Saturday that moved the Gators to 3-4 on the year.
“All the elements that have conspired to tarnish the Napier era — baffling play calls, mismanaged personnel and chronic self-infliction — nearly conspired to thwart the Gators yet again. But even as a “Fire Billy” chant resonated early Saturday evening throughout Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, 300-pound defensive lineman Michai Boireau intercepted a short Blake Shapen pass inside the Florida 30 with 21 seconds remaining,” Knight wrote.
“That preserved a 23-21 Gators triumph against Mississippi State but likely did nothing to preserve the Napier tenure. With a bye week now on tap and reports surfacing that several prominent boosters informed athletic director Scott Stricklin that future financial support hinges on a new direction for the program, the school could formally announce Napier’s dismissal as early as Sunday.”
Going out on a win is rare in college football, but Napier’s hot-and-cold tendencies may have gotten the hopes up for Florida’s boosters for the last time. That the Gators’ upset of the Texas Longhorns was followed up with an unraveling of a fourth-quarter dud against the Texas A&M Aggies the very next week was the last straw for Napier.
UF has designs to join the Penn State Nittany Lions, Arkansas Razorbacks, UCLA Bruins, and Virginia Tech Hokies as Power 4 programs that fired their coach in-season.
If/when that happens, Napier may become a viable head coaching option in the Group of 5 ranks. “Sunbelt Billy” was a hit with the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns and earned that nickname for a reason.
It’ll take some time and proving himself before Napier gets too many calls to be a Power 4 head coach again.
Category: General Sports
