Florida has found the next coach to lead its football program.
The Gators have announced Louisiana coach Billy Napier as the team’s next coach.
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Napier, a former assistant to coaches like Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Alabama’s Nick Saban and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, among others, will take the leap to Power 5 for the first time in his coaching career. me.
The change comes after Florida was elected to move from Dan Mullen, who was fired after a 24-23 loss to Missouri. It was the latest in a miserable streak for the Gators, as they lost three games in a row to LSU, No. 1 Georgia and South Carolina to FCS rival Samford, 70-52.
Mullen hit 34-15 in four seasons at Florida, starting with seasons 10-3 and 11-2 in 2018 and ’19, respectively. Gators are a throw your shoes away from competing against Alabama in the SEC 2020 championship game for a place in the College Soccer League; after that incident, Gator went to 5-9 under Mullen’s lead.
That was the challenge Napier faced in Gainesville. With that, Sporting News shares everything you need to know about the Gators’ next coach:
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Billy Napier’s Coaching History
Napier has only four years of head coach experience, but has done a great job of building the Louisiana football program into a perennial contender for the Sun Belt. He took over the Ragin’ Cajuns program in 2018, leading the team to a Sun Belt West championship and a 7-7 record in his first season. The team went through three consecutive losing seasons before Napoli’s first season in Lafayette, La.
Following that, Napier led the program with an 11-3 record and finished in the 2019 Sun Belt championship game, losing to App State 45-38. In 2020, he led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 10-1 record and another Western team title, but was unable to play Coastal Carolina in the conference title game due to COVID-19. Louisiana is 11-1 to 12 games in the 2021 season and will face App State in the conference title game on Saturday.
| Year | Take note | Final Ranking (AP) | Result bowl |
| 2018 | 7-7 | N / A | Cure Bowl (loss) |
| 2019 | 11-3 | N / A | LendingTree Bowl (win) |
| Year 2020 | 10-1 | 15 | First Responder Bowl (wins) |
| Year 2021 | 11-1 | TBD | TBD |
Before taking over Louisiana, Napier served as an assistant to several of the top coaches of college football. That includes Swinney’s time as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Clemson from 2009-10 (at 29, he was the youngest offensive coordinator in Power 5); an analyst for Saban in Alabama in 2011; coach for the 2013 Fisher’s Florida State national championship team; and Saban’s receiver coach from 2013-16 (Crimson Tide made the playoffs every year from 2014-16 and won the title in 2015).
Napier’s last stop before taking over Louisiana was Arizona State’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach in 2017.
Billy Napier’s Attack Map
According to a Features 2018 from SI’s Dellenger, Napier installed “a stripped-down version of Alabama’s complex system, a rear-end spread attack with professional links that can operate at different speeds.”
“The running game of the offense mainly originated with longtime Alabama assistant Joe Pendry, and its passing action game came from the Lane Kiffin offense. The plan included some Air Raid. from his tenure in 2017 under former Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham, and he borrows Jim McElwain’s tactics to guide and teach passersby. … “
Napier, who also coaches quarterbacks, has seen tremendous success in attack leading the Ragin’ Cajuns since 2018. That includes a 3,000-yard passer and two 1,000-yard sprinters. . Here’s how Napier’s offense has increased nationally since 2018:
| Year | Total offenses | Overcoming offense | Hasty insults | Score crime |
| 2018 | 424.3 YPG | 205.6 YPG | 218.7 YPG | 31.9 PPG |
| 2019 | 494.1 YPG | 236.7 YPG | 257.4 YPG | 37.9 PPG |
| Year 2020 | 421.5 YPG | 208.5 YPG | 213.0 YPG | 33.6 PPG |
| Year 2021 | 374.8 YPG | 196.3 YPG | 178.5 YPG | 31.3 PPG |
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Billy Napier Contract Details
Details of Napier’s contract with Florida were not immediately known. That said, Gator will pay Mullen his full $12 million buyback. Napier signed with Louisiana ahead of the 2021 season, a deal that pays him $2 million a year for five years. It includes a $3 million buyout.
This section will be updated.
