Amid hot seat rumors, Paul Finebaum gives blunt assessment of Billy Napier with DJ Lagway as Florida's QB1

Paul Finebaum has weighed in on Billy Napier’s hot seat situation at Florida ahead of the 2025 season. Napier led the Gators to an 8-5 finish in 2024 after losing his first two seasons. This underwhelming record has raised speculations about the security of his position as Florida’s coach.

Finebaum recently analyzed Napier’s situation on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” where he said (via Athlon Sports):

“The one thing Billy Napier has right now—he has a couple of things—he has the support of Scott Strickland, which is very critical. He will have a new president, which may or may not matter very much. He also has DJ Lagway, who is one of the best players in the country. What he doesn’t have going for him how he navigates, especially, the early part of that schedule.”

According to Finebaum, Florida’s run of matchups after their season opener against the LIU Sharks. The Gators’ next three opponents will be South Florida, LSU, and Miami before facing Texas at home and a road trip to Texas A&M. This run of schedule, according to Finebaum, is “treacherous.”

The team’s performance in these games will be pivotal in how Billy Napier’s future at the program might turn out.

How tough is Billy Napier’s Florida’s 2025 schedule?

The Gators have the third-toughest schedule in the SEC in 2025, according to a ranking by Athlon Sports’ Kyle Wood. In his estimation, the team will face tougher challenges in the second half of the season when they play against Georgia, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.

So, while it is expected to be a difficult season for Billy Napier and Florida, the team can build confidence by starting strong. However, it will not be unprecedented for the team to pick up steam at a later stage in the season.

After all, this was the case last season, when the team looked set for another losing season with a 4-5 record after nine games. They were facing ranked opponents (LSU and Ole Miss) in two of their final three games of the season.

However, Billy Napier’s men managed a turnaround in their season, defeating LSU and Ole Miss before beating Florida State to wrap up the regular season. A comfortable 33-8 victory over Tulane at the Gasparilla capped off an 8-5 season for the Gators.

A major factor in the team’s comeback is freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, who replaced Graham Mertz when the latter picked up a season-ending injury. He threw for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Edited by Parag Jain