Billy Napier shares how he’s handled two frustrating seasons at Florida, ongoing rebuild

On Saturday night, Florida fell to Florida State and the Gators’ season ended at 5-7. For head coach Billy Napier, it capped off a second frustrating season in Gainesville, which brought his record in two seasons as the Florida head coach to 11-14.

After the game, Napier discussed how he’s handling both the frustrations that have come during his time with Florida at the ongoing rebuild of the football program.

“Ultimately, what motivates me is doing the best I can for our people, right, for the staff and for the players,” Billy Napier said. “I would tell you that, this was six years as a head coach, we’ve had varying levels of success and failure. But ultimately that’s always the motivating factor for me is doing my absolute best for the players and the staff.”

The rebuild is taking longer for Billy Napier at Florida than it did at Louisiana, his previous stop. However, he does believe that a lot of the games the Gators have played being close losses is a positive sign for the future.

“Look, I think we anticipated this being a challenge. I think that we felt like it was going to be a challenge going in, and then when we got here, we realized we were in for a battle. I think we’re in the middle of that process. I have a tremendous amount of confidence ultimately because of the people I’m around every day, that group of players being at the core of that,” Napier said.

“I think I maybe would feel different if we didn’t compete, if we weren’t in contention if we weren’t in the fight. We’re playing into the fourth quarter with some of the better teams in the country here down the stretch with a group that we all understood going into the year didn’t have a ton of experience.”

Amid the rebuild at Florida, Billy Napier has found plenty of success on the recruiting trail. With less than a month before signing day, the Gators 2024 recruiting class is currently ranked fourth in the country and second in the SEC, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. Still, for now, the roster is very young and it’s still being rebuilt.

“Right, so, we’re in the process of rebuilding the roster. We’re in the process of learning how to make it work at the University of Florida. We were brought here for a reason. There’s no denying that we have work to do, but I think what gives me confidence is what I see from the players, the growth I see, their words, their actions, the way they work, the selflessness, the sacrifice, their investment. I think everybody likes to use the word buy-in, but I think for me it’s more about action. I think I’ve seen a ton of action from the players, not just how they compete on game day, but also I’m with them every day,” Napier said.

“So, regardless of what anybody else says, I don’t really care because I know the young men in that locker room and I have — I’ve got confidence and belief in that group.”

At the end of the day, though, Billy Napier knows that Florida hasn’t been good enough in his first two seasons. Still, he wants to be the example for the team as they work to improve.

“You fall down, much like many of you have fallen down in your career at times. Our young people, they came up short. They’ve got to get up off the ground and learn and adapt and evolve and grow, and it’s hard,” Napier said.

“But, ultimately, I think we all can agree that a lot of the growth and improvement that we’ve been through in life came from some of the tougher times. I think it’s important for me to set a good example for them because I think ultimately that’s what our young people need.”

Billy Napier Florida’s progression amid a rebuild

After two years of rebuilding the Florida program, Billy Napier admitted that there are places it could have gone better to this point. However, he does believe in the plan.

“I think, ultimately, the record is what it is. Listen, there are things that without question I think that we can do better. I think we made some adjustments year one to year two. We need to continue to make adjustments. I don’t know that there’s an answer to that question, if that makes sense. I think we’re fighting every single day. We’re trying to get a little bit better each day,” Napier said.

“Look, I think this is a very fluid dynamic relative to what we’re trying to create and build here. I’ve got belief in the players, that’s what I would say. I’ve got belief in what I’ve observed from that group. Ultimately, we have a veteran team that takes complete ownership. That’s ultimately when we’ll have the best opportunity to field a contender and eventually a champion.”