Amid Billy Napier firing rumors, Nick Saban drops verdict on Florida HC during Week 6 faceoff against Arch Manning & Texas

Following Florida's slow start to the 2025 college football season, the call for Billy Napier to be fired is going widespread again. The coach was previously subjected to intense scrutiny from the Gainesville fanbase early last season, before he was able to turn things around.

The Gators boast a 1-3 record as they welcome Arch Manning and his No.9 Texas team to Ben Griffin Stadium this weekend in another challenging schedule. Without a doubt, the outcome of the highly anticipated encounter is bound to have an implication on the fanbase’s perception of the coach.

Nick Saban dropped his verdict on Billy Napier as he continues to deal with adversity at Florida on Saturday. During his appearance on “College GameDay,” the former Alabama coach praised Napier for maintaining team unity despite the tough start to the 2025 season, mirroring the challenges faced by the team in 2024.

“I do think Billy has done a really good job in the circumstances that he’s in with not losing the team,” Saban said. “I think that’s really, really important in a game like this.”

For the second consecutive season, Florida leads the entire college football strength of schedule ranking, playing a role in its struggle. The Gators have had to face LSU and Miami in their early slate games, and still have to play Texas, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida State.

Steve Spurrier encourages Billy Napier amid Florida struggles

Having led the program to one of its successful eras, Steve Spurrier knows what the pressure looks like while holding the Florida job. The Head Ball Coach was questioned by Marty Smith on what advice he'd give to Billy Napier in his appearance on SportsCenter on Friday.

“Hang in there. ‘Hang in there’ is about what we’re all saying right now,” Spurrier said. “I think the local papers and national media have sort of hinted that our Gator offense has been like a D, and our defense has been like a B. So one’s got to get better and the other stay there or get better also. But, yeah, we’ve got to play better and coach better. “And our schedule’s been tough, we all know that, it was the No. 1 toughest schedule going in (to the season). If we had Texas’ schedule, not to say anything bad, but we’d be 3-1 also. But we’re 1-3 because we played some really good teams. I think we’ve got a good chance, if we play up to our potential.”

Billy Napier turned things around against the odds last season, sealing a crucial win against Ole Miss and LSU late in the season. The coach will be hoping to pull off something similar with his team this season.

Edited by Farouk Yusuf