Billy Napier addresses pressure of taking over Florida job

Florida’s Billy Napier is making the jump up to the big leagues this fall. He is coming off four seasons at Louisiana with a 40-12 record and three bowl appearances. Now, he’s the head man for the Gators in Gainesville. Ahead of his first season in the SEC, Napier says he is doing his best to put his stamp on the program early amidst the pressure of the new job.

Napier talked about these challenges during his appearance at SEC Media Days. He says he has had to realize the era in college football he coaches. Furthermore, he wants to implement his beliefs to get he and his program where they want to be.

“I think the big thing is you’ve got to know who you are. You’ve got to have conviction about how you’re going to operate in house,” said Napier. “Certainly in today’s world, every part of your job is covered. Your recruiting is covered like never before in the history of the game.”

Florida has tasked Napier with bringing in his winning culture from his time with the Ragin’ Cajuns. His teams never lost more than three games the last three years and the AP Poll had them ranked during the last two. After a pair of double-digit win seasons, the Gators had slipped to 8-4 in 2020 and then to 6-7 in 2021. Overall, he is exactly what the doctors ordered in Gainesville.

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To Napier, he says it is all about what they require from the top down. The standard for his players is the same he and his coaches must meet. No matter how they perform under Napier, it will all lead back to the beliefs they establish now.

“I think you’ve got to realize that the intangibles that you challenge the players to have as competitors, those same things apply to your staff and yourself in this time of year,” said Napier. “It goes back to having a set of values, knowing who you want to be, how you want to operate and really sticking to your plan. I think that’s the intent at Florida.”

The challenges continue for Billy Napier as they will have to open their season in The Swamp against Utah. The hurdles will only keep coming in SEC play too. Even so, Napier is ready to make his mark on his new program. If it all works out, it won’t be long before he makes one on his new league either.