In the midst of another disappointing season, the Florida Gators officially ripped the band aid off and made the decision to fire head coach Billy Napier on Sunday. Napier was on the proverbial hot seat for more than a year, and a loss to South Florida in Week 2 earlier this season proved to be too much to overcome. It seemed that it was only a matter of time until Florida made the decision to move on, and that day has come.
Napier ends his tenure in Gainesville with a record below the .500 mark at 22-23. Last year's Gasparilla Bowl victory over Tulane was his only bowl win with the Gators. Napier now joins several high profile head coaches to be fired already this season, including Penn State's James Franklin, Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, and Arkansas' Sam Pittman.
LSU will miss Napier at Florida
The LSU Tigers will miss seeing Napier on the opposing sidelines with the Gators. That's because Napier was able to beat LSU just once in his four seasons in Gainesville. Earlier this season, LSU defeated Florida by a score of 20-10 in Week 3. The Tiger defense picked off Florida QB DJ Lagway a whopping five times, and held the Gators to just 79 total rushing yards. With the win, LSU gained the all-time series advantage over Florida, with the Tigers now owning a 35-34-3 all-time record against the Gators.
LSU welcomed Napier to SEC play with a 45-35 victory in his first season with Florida in 2022. The Tigers won against the Gators again in 2023, this time by a score of 52-35 in Baton Rouge. Napier's lone win against the Tigers came last season on Nov. 16 when Florida defeated LSU 27-16 in The Swamp. But, LSU was able to get its revenge with this year's Week 3 win.
LSU won't be the only school to miss Napier at Florida. Napier was never able to consistently win in the SEC, as he posted a 12-16 record in conference games with the Gators. His best season in the SEC came last year in 2024 when he led the Gators to a 4-4 SEC record.
With the coaching move, there are several Florida commits that LSU should consider looking into. The Florida job is among the most appealing in the country, and it will be interesting to see who the Gators go after.