We fired Billy Napier; he kept right on working and built a future at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Imagine painting this picture for a Florida fan after the Gators lost to Texas A&M in September…

On a chilly, breezy, sun-dappled day, Lane Kiffin will walk into The Swamp wearing a blue sportcoat and sunglasses. A few hours later, Florida’s coach will hold a press conference. Afterward, the excitement level for Florida’s 2025 season will jump off the charts. 

That fan would have assumed a lot of things. The first assumption would be that the scene described was Kiffin’s introductory press conference as Florida’s coach sometime in early December. Because after the Texas A&M game, Gators coach Billy Napier was definitely getting fired. And the only way anyone was getting excited about 2025 was if Florida could land Kiffin or a similarly situated big fish.

If you’d told that fan the above scene actually happened in late November and that the Florida coach’s press conference would star Napier while Kiffin delivered the losing press conference a few yards away, that person might have called the police. Dead-man-walking coaches simply don’t turn around seasons — especially with one of the nation’s toughest closing stretches on the schedule. 

But that’s exactly what Napier has done with an assist from freshman quarterback D.J. Lagway and a defense that found itself as the season progressed. Saturday’s 24-17 win that knocked Kiffin and Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff ended once and for all any speculation that Napier might still be in danger. Instead, thoughts have turned to how many blue chip class of 2025 recruits Florida can flip in the next two weeks and how many good transfer portal players might want to join the Gators and play with Lagway.

Again, this doesn’t happen. Coaches have started seasons on the hot seat and had good full years that kept them employed. Coaches don’t start a season on the hot seat, get shelled early and then turn their team into one that can beat a playoff contender in a must-win game (for the playoff contender) at season’s end.

“There’s no substitute for people remaining humble and continuing to take pride in what they do,” Napier said of his team, which now is 3-1 in games started by Lagway.

Napier has earned an apology from me and from everyone else who wrote him off. That group includes the biggest check-writers to the athletic department, who were done with him after the Texas A&M game but who came back around earlier than the rank-and-file fanbase as the team improved and it became apparent Lagway could be a superstar. 

Even after athletic director Scott Stricklin put out a statement two weeks ago announcing that Napier would return next season, fans grumbled. The words of the statement were parsed in an attempt to find an out that still allowed Florida to fire Napier this season. And truthfully, if the LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State games had turned out like the blowout loss to Texas that immediately followed the statement, the administration might have found some wiggle room between those words.

But not now. Not after a win against LSU that was just the start of a rough week for the Tigers and after a win against Ole Miss that sent the Rebels’ season spiraling. Now the conversation has turned to what top recruits might want to flip to Florida with National Signing Day a week from Wednesday.

Florida’s high school recruiting languished all season because recruits weren’t sure who would coach the team in 2025. Florida’s collective didn’t make a lot of aggressive offers, because it was unclear who might be coaching the players who do sign. Now, with the identity of the 2025 coach clear and Lagway as the pied piper, it’s full steam ahead as the Gators try to flip any recruits who might have wanted to play in Gainesville but not under the circumstances they saw in July or September. 

Meanwhile, the biggest question is not about Napier’s future but about what players from other teams might be texting Lagway and asking if there might be room on the roster once the transfer portal opens in December.

If all this sounds like too much heaped on Lagway, just watch the freshman play. He’s electrifying on the field, and he’s by far the best recruiting tool Florida has. And he certainly sounds all-in on Napier.

“There’s something about coach Nape, man,” Lagway said. “He’s a different guy. He’s amazing to follow, to see how he believes. Through the good, the bad and the ugly, he’s going to be the same. That’s something you can respect. I love coach Napier.”

The season started bad and ugly. But Napier didn’t waver. Now he’s ushered in the good, and there’s no telling what happens next.