Florida coach Billy Napier expresses appreciation for Gators fanbase

A couple of weeks ago, first-year Florida head coach Billy Napier penned an open letter to the Gators fanbase. Napier took the opportunity to thank Florida fans for their support of the team while also going into detail about the steps he has taken with NIL since arriving on campus.

The coach knows it won’t be easy navigating this new world, and has previously asked for patience in the rebuilding process. In a recent radio experience, he explained why he felt to need to send out the letter to fans.

“I think it’s just that time of the year,” Napier said. “As we prepare for the season six months into the job, we couldn’t be more thankful for Gator Nation and how they’ve embraced all our our staff and families. We’ve got a great group of people inside the organization that are taking tremendous pride in their role and working extremely hard with players being at the core of that. I’m so proud of our guys. They continue to impress me with their work ethic and the people inside the building, we’re all thankful to be at the University of Florida. We understand the expectations.”

Napier arrives in Gainesville after four successful seasons as the coach at Louisiana. He took over the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2018, leading them to a 7-7 finish in his inaugural season. After that, Louisiana recorded at least 10 wins in each of the next three years as Napier twice claimed Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors. He ended his stint in Lafayette with a 40-12 record including 2-1 in bowl games.

Florida is coming off of a 6-7 finish this past season that prompted the Gators to part ways with Dan Mullen after four years. Mullen had his fair share of success in Gainesville, winning the Orange Bowl in 2019 and competing for an SEC Championship in 2020. However, the Gators had seen their win total regress the past two seasons under his watch.

That is to say that Billy Napier has seen firsthand how restless the Florida fanbase can get when they aren’t winning. The goal is ultimately to get the Gators back to regularly competing for both SEC and national championships, but that simply won’t happen overnight. It will take time.

“We take great pride in representing all the people that came before us and look forward to the challenges,” Napier said. “A lot of people talk about pressure. To me, I see opportunity. This is such an incredible place and we have such a great product to sell. As we move forward, we’re gonna continue to improve and focus on the things that are gonna help us improve.”

The Billy Napier era at Florida will officially kick off on Sept. 3 against Utah.