Florida has fired coach Billy Napier with the Gators off to a 3-4 start this season, a source told ESPN amid multiple reports.
Napier, 46, finishes his time at Florida with a 22-23 record in four seasons.
The Gators have a bye this week before playing Georgia on Nov. 1.
Votes of confidence, which Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin gave to Napier at midseason last year, are often bad signs for coaches. But Napier validated his with how Florida finished last season, one that once appeared like his last in Gainesville. Napier navigated a brutal schedule, ending with wins over LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State and Tulane in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. And with a top 10 recruiting class in tow, the Gators opened 2025 with a Top 25 ranking and a swamp full of optimism.
But a disheartening loss to South Florida in Gainesville in Week 2 quickly thrust Napier right back onto the hot seat, with Florida’s athletic department and boosters knowing full well that opponents — much tougher than the in-state Bulls — were ahead on the SEC trail for Florida. Most around college football thought Florida would lose some games this season. What they didn’t think was the South Florida game might be one of them.
The Gators struggled to bounce back from that home defeat. A week later, in the SEC opener vs. LSU, penalties and turnovers ruled the day, as the Gators fell, 20-10, to the Tigers in Baton Rouge. The following week, Florida was limited to just seven first downs in a 26-7 loss at Miami, a game that included an 0-13 effort on third downs.
A rousing 29-21 win over Texas at home on Oct. 4 quieted the critics for a week in Gainesville, but last week, that momentum floated away when the Gators were handled by Texas A&M 34-17 in College Station in front of a primetime audience. And on Saturday, in front of a grouchy home crowd at The Swamp, where fans loudly chanted “Fire Billy!,” Florida narrowly squeaked by Mississippi State, 23-21.
“I think I’m built for it; I’m made for it,” Napier said Saturday when asked about his job status. “I chose the coaching profession; I was called to coach. The good comes with the bad. The bad comes with the good. The game’s about the players, and I’m proud of the way they played.”
“I love the game of football,” he added, choking back tears. “I love the game.”
There was a thought that — with a top-tier quarterback in DJ Lagway and some success in the transfer portal — Napier had some additional runway this season as the Gators chased their first bid into the College Football Playoff. There was also the matter of whopping buyout total — an eye-popping at $20.4 million — with no offset or mitigation on the deal. But as the losses piled up, and with rivals like Georgia and Miami having top-10 seasons, the breaking point was reached in Gainesville.
Florida hired Napier in 2021 after he went 40-12 in four seasons as Louisiana’s coach.
