Nick Saban praises former assistant after landing new gig

The Florida Gators ended their coaching search early, zeroing in on their candidate of choice, Billy Napier, just weeks after firing Dan Mullen in his fourth season at the helm.

Napier comes to Florida with an intriguing resume, with his most recent stop being a four-year stint as the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette. Napier in 2018 took over a Louisiana program that had not eclipsed six wins since 2014, and he turned the Ragin’ Cajuns into a top-25 program with apparent ease; after a 7-7 campaign in his first year, Louisiana amassed two 11-win seasons and a 10-win finish. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished 2020 as the No. 15 team in the AP top 25, and they should finish in the top 25 once again this year.

But prior to his time at Louisiana, Napier served at a number of top-ranked schools, including Alabama. He had two stints under Saban with the Crimson Tide; first, a one-year tenure as an Alabama analyst in 2011, then a four-year stint as Alabama’s wide receivers coach starting in 2013. Saban is impressed with Napier, both as a person and as a coach, singing praise of his time in Tuscaloosa.

“Billy did an outstanding job for us. He was a very good coach. He was a great recruiter,” Saban said. “He had great relationships with the players. He was a good teacher on the field. Hard worker, great character, good personality, very, very good family. I mean, there’s nothing bad that I could think of to say about Billy Napier in terms of what he did here. No surprise to me, because he’s a very well-organized guy and does due diligence before he makes any decision about anything. Very calculated in terms of how he tries to do things in a very positive way for his organization. So not a surprise to me that he did really, really well when he got a head coaching job. I think he’ll continue to do well.”

Report: Surprising detail revealed about Billy Napier hire, Florida coaching search

According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, once athletic director Scott Stricklin met with Napier face to face, the decision was easy. The two met on Tuesday and he was announced as the next Florida head coach shortly after.

“Just said this on air so might as well put it in print: Florida AD Scott Stricklin met with Billy Napier at his Lafayette home on Tuesday,” Dellenger said in a tweet on Sunday night. “And the interview went so well that Stricklin basically ended his search. Once he got in front of Napier, it was over.”

Being the Lousiana head coach for the past four seasons, Napier has a 39-12 overall record. He was announced the Sun Belt Coach of the Year after the 2019 season, leading the Ragin Cajuns to a program-best 11 wins.

After the official announcement, Stricklin explained why Napier was the right guy to take over the Florida program. In a statement, he said the former Louisiana man will bring a “strong, relationship-based culture” to Gainesville.

“I’ve followed and studied Billy Napier’s career with interest, and he became the primary target immediately after this position came open,” Stricklin said in a press release. “We felt confident he would be an excellent leader for the Gators, which is why he was the only candidate I met with about the job.

“Billy’s ability to bring highly-talented people together — players, coaches, and staff — along with his vision for having a strong, relationship-based culture is what made him such an attractive choice,” Stricklin said. “Add in how detailed his plan is for player development, staffing and recruiting, along with a sustained desire to improve, and it’s easy to see why he’s been successful.