Florida Gators makes necessary decision regarding head coach Billy Napier’s future with the program
The inevitable has happened in Gainesville.
Over the last two years, there have been multiple times that the Florida Gators fanbase has called for the firing of head coach Billy Napier. Those voices have gotten louder as the season has gone on, and they have gotten their wish. The Gators have officially relieved Napier of his duties as the head coach after compiling a 22-23 record in three and a half seasons.
It was inevitable that Napier would be fired at some point, especially since he started the season 2-4 and lost to South Florida at home.
Florida Gators fire head coach Billy Napier
There was a lot of speculation on when the Gators might choose to pull the trigger on firing Napier. He lost three consecutive games to South Florida, LSU Tigers, and Miami Hurricanes. There weren’t good opinions on the program going into the first bye week, which is when many thought the Gators would make a change.
They likely didn’t make the move at this point for two reasons:
- Running backs coach Jabbar Juluke was suspended for three games due to an incident against LSU. He is a likely candidate to be the interim head coach.
- Transfer rules have changed since the first bye week, and they wanted players not to be redshirted in a mass exodus from the program.
Those transfer rules are interesting. Instead of a 30-day window for the portal to be open once the head coach is fired, the window is 15 days. With the Gators entering a bye week, that gives them some time to convince players to stay on the roster before the real window opens up on Jan. 2. It could be a major factor in the Gators keeping their roster intact.
The Gators now have a major coaching search on their hands with a bevy of candidates to choose from. From Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin to Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, there is no shortage of talented names who will be linked to Gainesville.
With the Gators letting Napier go, he will be owed a buyout of over $20 million plus the rest of this season. We will continue updating that as things continue to progress.
Florida Gators News
Florida has excellent candidates to replace Billy Napier, including multiple from SEC rivals and the one who got away
There are some high profile names who could replace Billy Napier.
Florida Gators News
How much is Billy Napier’s contract buyout? It will cost Florida Gators substantial amount if they fire its head coach
The Gators would be on the hook for a substantial amount of money
