Who Is Billy Napier?

[GoodlettsvilleVol]

According to several Gator know it all's he is the odds on choice to be the new coach at Florida.

Do we like this?

We don't want a top coach at Florida needless to say.

 

[miket4god]

According to several Gator know it all's he is the odds on choice to be the new coach at Florida.

Do we like this?

We don't want a top coach at Florida needless to say.

No we don't like this.

 

[perico]

According to several Gator know it all's he is the odds on choice to be the new coach at Florida.

Do we like this?

We don't want a top coach at Florida needless to say.

He should do a good job there. He’s a coach on the up.

 

[mitzustu]

A lot of people love the guy and how he projects to Power 5. There’s a podcast out there that uses a formula of coaches stops prior to Power 5 that has been pretty accurate. They love the guy.

 

[Rylee_Vol18]

Saban disciple. Seems to be a pretty decent coach. We'll see I guess.

 

[VolnJC]

According to several Gator know it all's he is the odds on choice to be the new coach at Florida.

Do we like this?

We don't want a top coach at Florida needless to say.

Louisiana HC was OC at Clemson...I like him not a bad hire not a splash but solid Billy Napier - Football Coach - Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

 

[tnmarktx]

Do we like this?

Dave Aranda and Kiffen are better coaches IMO.

 

[VolnJC]

 

[BlinghamptonVol]

Florida isn’t all in as a school and athletic department. That’s the real thing we don’t want to see change. Napier will be good, but with full university support, uf becomes elite. Of course, ‘full support’ in Gainesville means covering for murderers, abusers, and weapons charges.

 

[lilesrt]

He’s the current head coach of the UL Lafayette Ragin Cajuns (Lafayette, La). He’s done exceptionally well at a program that’s been a bottom feeder in the Sunbelt up until about 10 years ago. Mark Hudspeth started the turn around and Billy Napier elevated it.

He recognized the excellent recruiting landscape of South La and the I-10 corridor. His offense is multiple and his program is built on integrity, which makes me wonder why Florida is interested in him . Hope this helps.

 

[BlinghamptonVol]

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I admittedly don’t know much about Napier, but crazy he went from Clemson OC to Bama analyst as his next stop. Did he get fired from Clemson?

 

[bamawriter]

Napier is a great recruiter and players love him. If he makes the right hires as far as playcallers, he's going to be scary good.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

He's a good coach.

I mean no matter what UF isn't going to be that bad ever.

We need to beat them baddd next year.

 

[sjt18]

Good coach. All promotions from G-5 to P-5 come with risks. A few succeed then you have more that end up like Sumlin.

Ten years ago Kevin Sumlin was the guy everyone wanted. He had produced a 12 win season at Houston and looked like a sure bet. TAM hired him in 2012. He had a good first season then was mediocre until they fired him in 2017. He took the Arizona job and was fired after 3 years with the final blow being a 70-7 loss to ASU. He appears to be currently living on his buyout... not employed in football at 57 years old.

There are so many factors that go into a coach's success. He has to be a quality coach... but the circumstances and situation have to match him too.

 

[tnmarktx]

Of course, ‘full support’ in Gainesville means covering for murderers, abusers, and weapons charges.

This all day. Florida has had a discipline problem for years. I wonder if Mullen tried to crack down on his players and they revolted on him. Mullen is a weird dude but he has proven that he can coach. They beat us soundly during the season and there's no way they could've at the end of the season. It's rare to have a team fall off this much and this quickly.

 

[rdk4121]

I would far rather him go to LSU where we don't have to deal with him as much.

 

[Zues1]

4 star, don't want.

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Actually, yes, we not only like it, we love it. He is not elite at anything in particular. He was not a successful OC, he's not been an overly successful position coach and he's done nothing phenomenal as a head coach.

Napier, Mullen, Herman, Fuente, Etc are all on the same meh level. . . three of them have proven it, now it's Napier's turn.

 

[VolForLife83]

People in the Dalton, Ga/NWGA area should be familiar with this guy. He grew up and played ball in Murray County and his father was the HC for Murray County in the 90s/2000s and had them rolling for awhile.

 

[VolnJC]

I admittedly don’t know much about Napier, but crazy he went from Clemson OC to Bama analyst as his next stop. Did he get fired from Clemson?

Yep Dabo was overruling his calls and they had a difference of opinion in offense schemes he fired him. Fired from Clemson, Billy Napier took new route at Bama

 

[Rylee_Vol18]

Actually, yes, we not only like it, we love it. He is not elite at anything in particular. He was not a successful OC, he's not been an overly successful position coach and he's done nothing phenomenal as a head coach.

Napier, Mullen, Herman, Fuente, Etc are all on the same meh level. . . three of them have proven it, now it's Napier's turn.

Not sure about this. He's elevated a program that's not been good. Consistently gotten better.

 

[sonofUT62]

Actually, yes, we not only like it, we love it. He is not elite at anything in particular. He was not a successful OC, he's not been an overly successful position coach and he's done nothing phenomenal as a head coach.

Napier, Mullen, Herman, Fuente, Etc are all on the same meh level. . . three of them have proven it, now it's Napier's turn.

1)Extremely successful recruiter unlike Mullen and Fuente
2)Liked by his players unlike Herman
3)Beat Matt Campbell last year with lesser talent
4)Beat App State by 30 this year with about similar talent
5)Im not certain I would fear him as much as Aranda but hes not a "meh' level coach

 

[Sarms58]

The word has always been that he’s waiting for LSU…we’ll see since that is now open.

I‘d like to see Butch Jones take the Florida job…or Dereck Dooley…or Cornbread…

 

[WhatInVolnation]

If I were a UF fan, I would be excited about Napier as the next HC. So, of course, that means we UT fans should not like it .

Napier was a candidate that I had hoped would be in the running at UT last go around. I have no clue if UT tried there or if there was no traction.

Still, I think it is indisputable now that hiring a coach has an unavoidable randomness to it. I mean, Dan Mullen to UF seemed like a very nice hire. The drawback with him was always his odd personality and poor individual recruiting, but he had Mississippi State at the highest levels that program ever reached and the thought was the recruiting would take care of itself at UF given the talent in Florida. But a year after a SEC championship game appearance, Mullen is out on his ear and UF has regressed and quite this year. Tom Herman and Justin Fuente were supposed to be sure things and they both fizzled. Sarkisian was supposed to be a sure thing and Texas is in the midst of a historic losing streak.

And so, Napier would be a hire that we should be concerned about. But it isn't a hire that should strike dread in UT fans like UF bringing back Meyer or bringing in Kiffin

 

[Sarms58]

Good coach. All promotions from G-5 to P-5 come with risks. A few succeed then you have more that end up like Sumlin.

Ten years ago Kevin Sumlin was the guy everyone wanted. He had produced a 12 win season at Houston and looked like a sure bet. TAM hired him in 2012. He had a good first season then was mediocre until they fired him in 2017. He took the Arizona job and was fired after 3 years with the final blow being a 70-7 loss to ASU. He appears to be currently living on his buyout... not employed in football at 57 years old.

There are so many factors that go into a coach's success. He has to be a quality coach... but the circumstances and situation have to match him too.

Good points. Also, some situations just won’t work regardless of who takes the job. Texas and USC come to mind right now…