The University of Florida’s football program turned the page on the Dan Mullen era last Sunday when it announced that Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head coach Billy Napier will be the 29th head coach (including interims) on the Swamp’s sidelines. While the former resurrected the Gators back from the dead when he took over for Jim McElwain — compiling the best-ever record to start his UF coaching career — Mullen’s stock came crashing down this season after an extremely disappointing performance in the second half.
The Gators’ newest head coach has mountainous expectations ahead of him and his upcoming tenure in Gainesville represents the biggest challenge of his coaching career. Many hope that Napier has the chops to turn around Florida’s floundering recruiting efforts as well as instill a long-term culture like that at other successful schools.
The staff here at Gators Wire submitted their grades for the hiring as well as an explanation for why in a midweek roundtable that we present to you below. Read all the way to the bottom for our composite grade and assessment.
Adam Dubbin – Managing Editor
AP Photo/Chuck Cook
Florida’s hiring of Billy Napier was probably the best possible outcome for the Gators this time around the coaching carousel — there may have been some better overall coaches out there, but the soon-to-be-former head coach of Louisiana represents a significant change from the previous head of staff.
Still, Napier is an unproven quality as an SEC head coach and carries a little bit of baggage with him, but nothing too egregious. It was a very good move in a difficult situation but it was not quite a slam-dunk.
GRADE: B+
Tyler Nettuno – Assistant Editor/Writer
AP Photo/Matthew Hinton
Simply put, Napier was a fantastic hire for Florida. Though I initially wrote that Mario Cristobal should be the top option, the more I learned about Napier, the clearer it became that he was exactly what Florida needed. He’s a tireless recruiter with roots across the southeast who should be able to compete with Georgia, Alabama, LSU and others for talent once he gets things rolling.
Sure, there are minor red flags. Napier was fired as Clemson’s offensive coordinator when he was 31, and he’s never been a Power Five head coach before. But then again, neither have five of Florida’s last six coaches. There are no “sure-thing” hires, but Napier is about as close as UF could get. Props to the Gators for identifying their guy early and going after him aggressively.
GRADE: A-
Pat Dooley – Staff Writer
SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network-LafayetteLA
Florida needed a change in culture and that’s what Napier should be able to deliver. There is some trepidation because he hasn’t been a head coach at this level, but he has the pedigree.
GRADE: B
David Rosenberg – Staff Writer
Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Billy Napier seems like a great hire for Florida. He coached under Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban before getting the head coaching job at Lousiana, and then he turned around a struggling football program in just a few years. Florida is certainly in need of a transformation, and Napier’s recruiting prowess could be just the trick. At the very least, it should give Kirby Smart someone to compete with who actually cares about building a program.
GRADE: B+
Composite grade
Mike Curley/Special to the Advertiser-Imagn Content Services, LLC
The overall consensus among the Gators Wire staff was that the Billy Napier hiring was the right move for Florida. At our most optimistic, Lousiana’s out-going head coach was a perfect fit with just a few blemishes, while at the worst, he presents perhaps too many unknowns to be over-confident. Nonetheless, he receives not just a passing grade from us, but a very respectable mark.
COMPOSITE GRADE: B+
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