Urban Meyer believes buyout cost will save Billy Napier's job at Florida: 'I don't see them making a change'

Urban Meyer delivered some news that many Florida fans won’t want to hear when it comes to coach Billy Napier. He may not be fired after the 2025 season.

Why? Well, the former Florida head coach outlined his reasoning on The Triple Option podcast on Wednesday.

“Billy Napier is caught in a firestorm. How’s it end?” Meyer said. “Again, I don’t see them making the change right now with $21 million (owed). And that’s going on pretty well-documented conversation with people throughout the country that there’s, once again, where does it go? Where you getting that money from?

“Because the money’s already distributed. The money’s accounted for.”

Urban Meyer turned to co-host Mark Ingram for his input at that point, asking him the very same question about where the money comes from. Ingram hit back quickly.

The former Alabama running back and Heisman Trophy winner asked Meyer if coaches simply won’t be fired these days due to the new financial commitments in the sport — a take Meyer has now espoused twice since the season began. The response from Meyer was telling.

“That’s my feeling,” he said. And Meyer certainly has some connections in Gainesville.

But the former head coach also delivered some more grim news for Gators fans. He thinks the expectations for the program are slipping at this point.

“It’s a tough job but a great job,” Urban Meyer said. “I mean Ohio State‘s a tough job. Alabama’s a tough job. It’s just the expectations are a little bit unrealistic.

“When I took over the Florida Gators, you know what the expectations was. National championship. That’s not it any more at Florida right now. It’s just not. It’s let’s get to the SEC Championship Game, which by the way I picked Florida. The way they finished (2024), the quarterback talent they had, the players were fighting for their coach. It’s not turned out, but it’s also if they started with Penn State‘s schedule right now everybody would be saying, ‘Man, Florida’s doing great.’ But they didn’t. They didn’t have that luxury, and it gets even worse.”

Here’s the last little dose of reality from Urban Meyer. Florida simply isn’t very good right now.

“The reality is they’re 20-22,” Meyer said, referencing the team’s record under Napier. “They’re 20-22.”