The University of Florida will hire Louisiana-Lafayette’s Billy Napier as the Gators’ next head football coach and the man to stabilize one of the nation’s top programs for the first time in more than a decade.
Napier will replace Dan Mullen and become the Gators’ fourth head coach since 2014.
“We are humbled and honored to accept this incredible opportunity,” Napier said in a statement released by UF.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin fired Mullen on Nov. 17 after an overtime loss at Missouri continued the program’s stunning downward spiral during the past 12 months. But the school had decided to move on from Mullen before the Gators’ 24-23 loss to the Tigers and met with Napier the week of the game, a source told The Orlando Sentinel last week.
“He was the only candidate I met with about the job,” Stricklin said in a statement. “Billy’s ability to bring highly-talented people together — players, coaches, and staff — along with his vision for having a strong, relationship-based culture is what made him such an attractive choice. Add in how detailed his plan is for player development, staffing and recruiting, along with a sustained desire to improve, and it’s easy to see why he’s been successful.”
Napier met with his team Sunday to deliver the news a day after the Ragin’ Cajuns won their 11 straight game to finish 11-1. They were 8-0 in conference play for the first time. Napier plans to coach during Saturday’s Sun Belt Conference title game against Appalachian State until turning his full attention to resurrecting the Gators, who closed the regular season 6-6 after Saturday’s 24-21 win against Florida State.
Napier will arrive in Gainesville next Sunday and stage his first press conference as Gators coach.
Florida believes Napier is prepared to make the quantum leap from the Sun Belt to the SEC. Stricklin identified Napier, 42, as able to continue the offensive success Mullen’s teams enjoyed most of his four seasons at Florida, but also develop a better plan for recruiting and a culture built on discipline and accountability.
“We will build a culture that is centered around making an impact on our players: as people, as students and on the field,” Napier said. “We embrace the expectations and are excited about the challenge ahead.”
Napier eschewed previous Power 5 opportunities to remain in his first head coaching job. Napier is 37-12 in four seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including 32-5 the past three seasons.
This year, Napier engineered the school’s first double-digit winning season, Sun Belt Conference title and regular-season appearance on ESPN.