Bruce Feldman gives latest on Florida coaching search, names SEC coach as possibility

Florida’s coaching search has been a prominent discussion across college football since even before Dan Mullen was fired. With just one game remaining in the regular season, Bruce Feldman has provided the latest update on the Florida coaching search.

Louisiana head coach Billy Napier might be seen as the favorite in Florida’s coaching search at this point. Feldman points out his experience working in the SEC as a factor in his rise as a strong candidate.

“Billy Napier has done a really good job in Lafayette,” Feldman said. “He’s been in the mix for some other jobs that he’s kind of backed out of interest or opportunities at some really good Power 5 jobs in past years. So here is Florida sitting out there open now. And I think what’s the differentiator right now for him and why these schools are more interested in Billy Napier than they are (Coastal Carolina coach) Jamie Chadwell. I think in talking to some industry sources even going back to last year, Billy Napier has been in the SEC. He spent a lot of time there, worked under Nick Saban.”

Napier has worked as an assistant under Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban, and he also has experience at Colorado State, Florida State, South Carolina State, and Arizona State. Over the past four years with Louisiana, Napier has led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 38-12 record with three consecutive bowl appearances, and a fourth soon to come. Louisiana is 10-1 this season.

Feldman notes one SEC coach has come up in Florida’s coaching search

One possible under the radar option in Florida’s coaching search could be Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. Feldman ultimately believes that Florida could want an offensive minded coach. But Stoops has at least been thrown around as a possibility.

“What I have heard about Florida early on, and I did a coaching search candidates piece on Sunday and one of the names mentioned was (Kentucky coach) Mark Stoops. Somebody else has pointed to me that Florida would probably prefer to go for an offensive minded guy if they could,” Feldman said. “We’ll see if they land on Billy Napier. If you’re Scott Stricklin you might have to beat somebody to the punch here and get Billy Napier if they in fact think he’s the guy. An overarching thing about this year’s coaching carousel is there’s too many jobs and not enough proven candidates to fill them.”

Stoops has done a great job at turning things around at Kentucky. The Wildcats are 8-3 this season with a 5-3 record in the SEC.