The Billy Napier era has come to an end in Gainesville. Florida fired Napier seven games into his fourth season as head coach of the Gators. Football Scoop had it first.
Following a 23-21 win vs. Mississippi State in week eight, Florida improved to 3-4 (2-2 SEC) on the 2025 season, but the damage was already done.
Entering the season ranked No.15 in the AP Poll, the Gators didn’t live up to their expectations or talent level, dropping three straight games from week two to week four including a disheartening loss to USF at home.
The interim coach is expected to be wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.
It wasn’t just the struggles in year four. Napier posted a 22-23 (12-16 SEC) overall record at UF across 45 games, becoming the first head coach since Raymond Wolf (1946-49) to finish his UF tenure with a losing record. Florida’s lone winning season under Napier came in 2024 when the Gators finished 8-5 after four consecutive wins to end the year.
Florida particularly struggled away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, posting an 0-14 record against ranked teams in road or neutral site games since Napier joined the program in November of 2021.
All three phases of the game were inconsistent at best under Napier. Florida’s offense never cracked the top 50th in scoring including their worst showing in 2025 (seven games), averaging just 22.4 points per game. Florida’s defense plagued the first 2.5 years of the Napier era, failing to finish within the top 70 in total defense for the first three seasons. The Gators’ defense turned a corner halfway through the 2024 season under Ron Roberts’ guidance, who marked the third play caller in as many seasons. Florida had decent specialist play under Napier, but it took until Special Teams Coordinator Joe Houston’s arrival in 2024 for the Gators to iron out concerning organizational failures within the unit.
Perhaps the most significant mistake of the Napier era was his unwillingness to give up play calling despite the need for a revamped passing attack.
According to Dan Rorabaugh of USA Today, Florida owes Napier a buyout of $21.2 million, 50% of which is due within 30 days. The Gators will search for their fifth head coach since the Urban Meyer era (2005-2010).