Billy Napier reveals what traits he looks for when filling staff positions

Florida made quick work of its hiring process, as the Gators wasted no time in replacing former head coach Dan Mullen with Billy Napier. And much like the university’s hiring process, Napier worked quickly to fill out his staff at Florida and work towards the future of Gators football.

Among Napier’s many hires so far are co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney, co-defensive coordinator Sean Spencer, offensive coordinator Rob Sale, associate head coach/running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, assistant head coach/cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, assistant coach/wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and many more. Though he was able to fill out his coaching staff relatively quickly, Napier explained that the search for assistant coaches followed a very intentional process — he was looking for authenticity.

“I think (I was looking for) a sincere, authentic care for people,” Napier explained. “Someone that has a genuine approach relative to — they really care about people and are in the profession to directly impact and potentially be the difference in young people’s lives. And also, I think there’s a little bit of that — they can put their ego on the shelf and really be a good teammate within the organization. And then we’re looking for expertise, competency at the job they are asked to do. Whether they have competency already or we think that they’re going to grow or develop into that role. Then I think lastly, the recruiting footprint, more personality or network skillset that they bring to the table from a recruiting dynamic.”

According to Napier, he looks for those three traits in the hiring process. He wants his assistant coaches to care and have a genuine, authentic personality; he wants his assistants to be experts at the role with which they’re tasked and he wants his assistants to have an outgoing personality that could help in the recruiting space.

“So, it’s really three parts to every person that we hire,” Napier said, “in that order.”

Tim Tebow discusses Billy Napier relationship, what has to change at Florida

No one knows how to succeed at Florida quite like former quarterback Tim Tebow, who helped lead the Gators to two national championships in 2006 and 2008, and Tebow believes that new head coach Billy Napier can bring the program back to the top of college football.

In four seasons under former head coach Dan Mullen, Florida had its best season by record in 2019, when the Gators went 11-2 and finished with an Orange Bowl victory. One year later, in 2020, Florida managed to clinch a spot in the SEC Championship game, but the 2021 season saw Florida’s program take a turn. The Gators fell from an AP Poll ranking as high as No. 10 to finish with a 6-7 overall record, including a loss in the Gasparilla Bowl, and Mullen was fired midway through the season. Now, under Napier, Florida’s future looks bright — and Tebow agrees.

Tebow said he’s known Napier for a while now, and he expressed excitement in the Florida program with the former Louisiana-Lafayette coach at the helm.

“I’ve had the chance to get to know Napier over the last couple of years,” Tebow said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I think he’s a coach that really loves young men. He really loves developing. He loves building culture. I think he’s really excited about this opportunity, and he should be. Florida is a great place. A new facility I think is going to help.”

Napier turned Louisiana into a Sun Belt powerhouse in his four seasons at the helm, amassing a 40-12 record and coaching the Ragin’ Cajuns to four bowl games in his tenure. He was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year twice, but Tebow exercised caution in discussing an immediate turnaround at Florida — after all, the stakes are higher in the SEC.

“I do feel like there’s going to be some — I wouldn’t call it learning curves because I think he’ll be able to figure that out, but I think getting used to the culture of Florida and everything is going to be really important,” Tebow said. “I think he’s very high-character. I think he’s done a great job with Louisiana. I think he’s got the chance — but it’s also so different going from a school that is not necessarily a powerhouse to one where there is so much pressure on you. I think that’s when he’s going to need support, you need to have a great relationship with Mr. Stricklin, and really understand everything that comes with the Florida job. Because just like any big job, it’s not just coaching. It’s not just X’s and O’s. There’s so many things that you need to do as a head coach.