After weeks of speculation, Florida parted ways with head coach Billy Napier on Sunday. Napier, who had been with the program since 2022, led the Gators to a disappointing 22-23 (12-16) record over four seasons. He’s the first full-time Florida head coach to end his tenure with a losing record since Raymond Wolf, who was 13-24 from 1946-1949.
Athletic Director Scott Stricklin will now head the program’s first head coaching search since the 2021 offseason, when head coach Dan Mullen was fired midseason after leading the Gators to a 5-6 start to the year. Stricklin will be looking to finally make the correct move at head coach, as no Florida head coach has lasted four full seasons at the helm since Urban Meyer resigned following the 2010 season.
During a press conference on Monday, Stricklin spoke highly of Napier and thanked him for his contributions to the program. Along with that, he proclaimed that the now former head coach left the Florida football program in a better place than he found it.
Stricklin says Napier left program in a better place than he found it
“We had a meeting with coach Napier and as you’d expect, he handled it as graciously as anybody could,” Stricklin said. “None of us will find a finer individual. His integrity, his character, the way he’s led this place. The investment that he’s made into this football program will always be appreciated. I think we will benefit from it for a long, long time. I’m incredible appreciative of Billy and I think we’re all sad and disappointed it didn’t work out from a results standpoint the way we wanted. But, I just feel so strongly about who he is as a person.”
“He’s leaving this place in a much better position than when he found it, from the quality to the roster and a lot of the support structure that our team benefits from now. Whether it’s our life skills program like GatorMade or other things. The kind of people he’s brought into this program have been top notch so I want to acknowledge that and how much respect and appreciation we have for him.”
Since Meyer resigned, four different head coaches have come and gone from the program (Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen and Napier). Mullen led the way with a 69% winning percentage, followed by McElwain (65%), Muschamp (57%) and Napier (49%).
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