Florida Gators may have gamed the system with how they have handled Billy Napier, and it could be huge for the team long term

Scott Stricklin may be playing chess, not checkers with head coach Billy Napier’s status as head coach.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Apr 12, 2025; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier talk before the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators waiting this long to fire head coach Billy Napier has been odd.

As the Gators’ head coach, Napier is 21-23, with a 0-14 record on the road against ranked opponents. That kind of record won’t fly in Gainesville, and it’s why the discussions about him being fired have started picking up again. His buyout isn’t cheap at over $20 million, but last year it was $28 million. Considering his players have continued to play extremely hard for him this year, the decision is a little more difficult.

We know that athletic director Scott Stricklin believes in Napier, which, along with a 4-0 finish to last season, including upset wins over the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels, helped him keep his job. However, there might have been one more reason up their sleeve.

Head Coach Billy Napier Facts

  • Florida Gators hired Billy Napier from Louisiana-Lafayette ahead of the 2022 season.
  • Napier is 21-23 as the Florida Gators head coach, the only coach with a losing record at Florida this century
  • Napier carries a buyout of over $20 million if he is removed as the head coach

New transfer rules might have played into Billy Napier’s coaching this season

One of the biggest aspects of moving on from a head coach is losing players to the transfer portal. The old rules had a 30-day window where players could enter the transfer portal after their head coach was fired. On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos reported that this has changed, and it depends on when you move on from your head coach.

“On3 has learned the NCAA has sent guidance to schools that the portal window for when a new head coach is hired starts five days after the coach is hired, provided that occurs between January 2 and June 30,” writes Nakos.

“For example, if a college football program hires a new head coach on Nov. 25, the portal would not open until Jan. 2. But if a program makes a coaching change in the spring and hires a new head coach, players will not have to wait as long as the hire is made before June 30.”

This is a massive shift in how the transfer portal works for players and teams. Nakos mentioned that the teams that have already fired their head coaches this year have been grandfathered in, but other teams will have only a 15-day window to enter the portal.

The firing of a coach often leads to a mass exodus of talent through the transfer portal. With how much talent is on this team, this could be a main reason why the Gators have waited this long. Did they plan it like this, knowing that this change was a possibility?

If they had that kind of foresight, it would be a brilliant move. With DJ Lagway, Dallas Wilson, and Vernell Brown III being the future of the program, losing them in the transfer portal would be a brutal blow. Only 15 days to enter the portal means the Gators will have more opportunities to keep their players and fewer variables.

If Stricklin is playing chess — not checkers — here, it could be massive for the program’s future.

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