Just one week after firing coach Dan Mullen, Florida already had its next head coach in place. On Sunday, the program announced that it would be hiring Louisiana coach Billy Napier, who was one of the hottest names this coaching carousel cycle after leading a Ragin’ Cajuns team that had never won 10 games to three-straight 10-plus win seasons and four-straight Sun Belt West division titles.
Despite the fact that Napier has never been a head coach in the Power Five before, he’s built quite a reputation for himself, and the hire saw almost universal praise. In his grades for every new coaching hire so far, CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee gave the Napier hiring an “A” grade.
Napier was 39-12 in four seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including three straight double-digit win seasons. His recruiting prowess throughout the southeast is a perfect fit for what Florida needs. Grade: A
Considering the struggles with recruiting that coach Dan Mullen and his staff had, bringing in a CEO-type who is known as a recruiting-oriented coach makes a lot of sense for UF.
Currently, the only other move receiving the same grade is LSU‘s hiring of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. USC‘s stunning poaching of Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, as well as Georgia Southern’s hiring of the coach the Trojans fired, Clay Helton, are the only hires that have received “A+” grades.
Napier seems to have been the top target the whole time. According to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, the Florida administration was made aware that both Riley and Kelly were potentially open to leaving, but that didn’t stop them from almost exclusively pursuing Napier.
The Gators got the guy they wanted the whole time, and while there’s no guarantee of success, Scott Stricklin and the administration are receiving a lot of credit from the national media for making this move.
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