Billy Napier’s Florida Gators football tenure gets nail-in-coffin message from USA Today on likely imminent firing

Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier has already “failed” in the eyes of USA Today’s Paul Myerberg. Not sure how there’s any coming back from that in Gainesville, where the Gators are 1-2 with losses to the USF Bulls and LSU Tigers and a win over the Long Island Sharks.

Myerberg put Napier atop his hot seat list alongside the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ Mike Gundy, the UAB Blazers’ Trent Dilfer, the Northwestern Wildcats’ David Braun, the Arkansas Razorbacks’ Sam Pittman, and the Wisconsin Badgers’ Luke Fickell.

Myerberg had three facts handy to make the point that Napier isn’t working with UF.

“Here are three facts to sum up a failed tenure. Napier’s winning percentage of 48.7% is the worst of any non-interim Florida coach since 1950. He’s 5-14 away from home. And he’s a combined 3-11 against rivals Miami, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State and LSU. In comparison, Steve Spurrier lost 27 games overall 1990-2001 and Urban Meyer dropped 15 games from 2005-10,” Myerberg wrote.

USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer named October 13 as the potential deadline for a decision to be made one way or another on Napier’s future. This was before the 20-10 loss to LSU. By then, Florida will have played the Miami Hurricanes, Texas Longhorns, and Texas A&M Aggies.

“It’s tempting to describe Florida’s 18-16 loss to the Bulls at The Swamp as stunning, but was it, really? South Florida had just smashed Boise State. The Bulls have positioned themselves as a prime contender for the Group of Five’s College Football Playoff spot,” Toppmeyer wrote.

“Meanwhile, Napier is a .500 coach, and September has been an awful month for Florida throughout his tenure. The Gators lost either the first or second game of the season in all four years under Napier. Three of those losses occurred at The Swamp.

“So, this counts as an upset, but it’s not stunning. With Florida’s next four games coming against ranked opponents, it sure wouldn't be stunning if Napier absorbs a knockout punch before Columbus Day.”

Napier’s operation flew off the rails after the USF loss. While the Gators played the Tigers tough in Baton Rouge, and somehow were within striking distance despite a five-interception effort from DJ Lagway, they took a second straight loss before their second-toughest stretch in 2025.

Florida takes on the Georgia Bulldogs, Ole Miss Rebels, Tennessee Volunteers, and Florida State Seminoles, all current top-15-ranked teams, during the season’s final months.

Napier surviving this campaign would be nothing short of a miracle.