GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida will hire Louisiana-Lafayette’s Billy Napier as the Gators’ next head football and the man to stabilize one of the nation’s top programs for the first time in more than a decade.
Napier will replace Dan Mullen and become the Gators’ fourth head coach since 2014.
“We are humbled and honored to accept this incredible opportunity,” Napier said in a statement released by UF.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin fired Mullen on Nov. 17 after an overtime loss at Missouri continued the program’s stunning downward spiral during the past 12 months. But the school had decided to move on from Mullen before the Gators’ 24-23 loss to the Tigers and met with Napier the week of the game, a source told The Orlando Sentinel last week.
“He was the only candidate I met with about the job,” Stricklin said in a statement. “Billy’s ability to bring highly-talented people together — players, coaches, and staff — along with his vision for having a strong, relationship-based culture is what made him such an attractive choice. Add in how detailed his plan is for player development, staffing and recruiting, along with a sustained desire to improve, and it’s easy to see why he’s been successful.”
Napier met with his team Sunday to deliver the news a day after the Ragin’ Cajuns won their 11 straight win to finish 11-1, including 8-0 in conference play for the first time. Napier plans to coach during Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference title game against Appalachian State until turning his full attention to resurrecting the Gators, who closed the regular season 6-6 after Saturday’s 24-21 win against Florida State.
Napier will arrive in Gainesville next Sunday and stage his first press conference as Gators coach.
Florida believes Napier is prepared to make the quantum leap from the Sun Belt to the SEC. Stricklin identified Napier, 42, as able to continue the offensive success Mullen’s teams enjoyed most of his four seasons at Florida, but also develop a better plan for recruiting and a culture built on discipline and accountability.
“We will build a culture that is centered around making an impact on our players: as people, as students and on the field,” Napier said. “We embrace the expectations and are excited about the challenge ahead.”
Napier eschewed previous Power 5 opportunities to remain in his first head coaching job. Napier is 37-12 in four seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including 32-5 the past three seasons and 11-1 currently.
Napier engineered the school’s first double-digit winning season, Sun Belt Conference title and regular-season appearance on ESPN.
Napier, a native of Cookeville, Tennessee, and former quarterback at Furman University in South Carolina, rose the ranks under some of the best coaches in the game.
Most notably, Napier served under Nick Saban coaching wide receivers at Alabama (2013-16), where he worked with Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley, among others. Napier also spent 2009-10 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to Dabo Swinney at Clemson, before the Tigers evolved into a national power.
Swinney’s 6-7 team in 2010 — his second season as Tigers head coach — led decision-makers to decree sweeping staff changes, leading to Napier’s unceremonious ouster. He then spent 2011 in an analyst role in Tuscaloosa before heading to Colorado State to coach receivers and serve as associate head coach to Jim McElwain in 2012 — his first season in Fort Collins after four calling plays at Alabama. McElwain coached the Gators from 2015-17.
Napier’s second stint with Saban earned him Arizona State’s offensive coordinator job in 2017 under Todd Graham, whose Sun Devils averaged 31.8 points before Louisiana hired away Napier.
Napier is know for a keen attention to detail and high-level organization skills honed during five years under Saban. Similar to the Alabama legend, Napier relies on a robust support staff of analysts to recruit, scout opponents and evaluate on-field performance.
Napier’s approach has carried the Ragin’ Cajuns to new heights. They will close the season Saturday at home against Louisiana-Monroe and are scheduled to host the conference championship Dec. 4.
Napier was a standout quarterback at Murray County High School in Chatsworth, Georgia, playing for his late father, Phil. Napier went on to letter four seasons at Furman and was the starting quarterback from 2001-02. He threw for 30 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and 4,801 yards as a starter.
The 2001 team under coach Bobby Johnson was 12-3 and lost 13-6 to Montana during the Division I-AA title game, leading Johnson to leave for Vanderbilt.
Napier is known as a devoted family man. He and wife, Ali, have four children, Annie, Sammy, Nelson and Charlie.
“We look forward to getting to Gainesville and starting this journey,” Napier said.
Napier’s contract with ran through December 2025 and contained a $3 million buyout for leaving before December 2021. Mullen’s buyout was $12 million, making the decision pricey for the Gators, a year after the athletic department lost $54.5 million during the pandemic.
