Florida fires Billy Napier, who becomes first Gators coach with losing record since 1940s

Story by

Story by
Florida fires Billy Napier, who becomes first Gators coach with losing record since 1940s

Florida fires Billy Napier, who becomes first Gators coach with losing record since 1940s

Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAY NETWORK · USA TODAY Sports

Sun, Oct 19, 2025 ·

3 min read

About Our Ads

Florida has fired football coach Billy Napier, the school announced Sunday . The move comes after an 23-21 win against Mississippi State improved the Gators to 3-4 on the season.

Napier ends his tenure with the Gators with an overall record of 22-23 in his four seasons at the school.

"As coach Napier has often said, this is a results-driven business, and while his influence was positive, it ultimately did not translate into the level of success we expect on the field," Florida AD Scott Stricklin said in a statement.

Napier's run at Florida was immediately under scrutiny after his success at Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was 40-12 overall and 33-5 in his final three seasons. The Gators went 6-7 in his first season after replacing Dan Mullen and then followed that with a 5-7 campaign that saw the team miss a bowl game for just the third time since 1990.

Opinion: Florida needs Lane Kiffin a whole lot more than he needs the Gators

Who will replace Billy Napier? Eight candidates Florida should consider

Cal fired Justin Wilcox on Nov. 23 with one game left in the regular season. The Golden Bears are 6-5 this season but 48-55 in Wilcox's seven seasons in charge.
(Brian Bishop-Imagn Images)

Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze on Nov. 2 following a home loss to Kentucky. Freeze was 15-19 in two-plus seasons on the Plains.
(John Reed, John Reed-Imagn Images)

LSU fired Brian Kelly on Oct. 26 after an embarrassing home loss to Texas A&M the night before.
(Tyler Kaufman, Getty Images)

Florida fired Billy Napier on Oct. 19 during his fourth season as Gators coach. UF was 22-23 during Napier's tenure.
(Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images)

Penn State fired James Franklin on Oct. 12 after a third straight loss. The Nittany Lions were 104-45 in 11-plus seasons under Franklin.
(Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

UAB fired Trent Dilfer on Oct. 12 after a 2-4 start to the 2025 season. Dilfer was in his third season as head coach of the Blazers.
(Randy Sartin, Imagn Images)

Sam Pittman was fired by Arkansas on Sept. 25, a day after the Razorbacks were blown out by Notre Dame, 56-13. Pittman was 32-34 in his five-plus seasons as Hogs coach.
(Nelson Chenault, Imagn Images)

Virginia Tech fired Brent Pry on Sept. 14 after the Hokies started the season 0-3. Virginia Tech was 16-24 overall in Pry's three-plus seasons.
(Brian Bishop-Imagn Images)

UCLA fired DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14 after the Bruins fell to 0-3 following a home loss to New Mexico. The Bruins were 5-10 in Foster's one-plus season in charge.
(Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images)

Mike Gundy was in his 21st season as Oklahoma State coach when he was fired on Sept. 23. Gundy was 170-90 as Cowboys coach, but started 1-2 this season after going 3-9 in 2024.
(William Purnell, Imagn Images)

Oregon State fired Trent Bray on Oct. 12 after the Beavers started the season 0-7. The Beavers were 5-14 in Bray's season-plus in Corvallis.
(Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images)

Colorado State fired football coach Jay Norvell on Oct. 19. Norvell was 18-26 in his four seasons in Fort Collins.
(Logan Newell/The Coloradoan)

Stanford coach Troy Taylor was fired prior to the 2025 season following allegations of mistreating staff. He was 6-18 in two seasons with the Cardinal and was replaced by interim coach Frank Reich.

(Eakin Howard-Imagn Images)

Kent State coach fired coach Kenni Burns on April 15 after he posted a 1-23 record of and was placed on administrative leave by the school in March. Mark Carney is serving as interim coach.
(Matthew O'Haren, Imagn Images)

Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin gave Napier a vote of confidence after a slow start to the 2024 season. Against one of the toughest schedules in the country, Florida finished 8-5 after turning things around in the second half with freshman quarterback DJ Lagway leading the offense in upset wins over Mississippi and LSU .

Florida entered the 2025 season with high expectations following the strong finish and was ranked as the No. 17 team in the country in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll .

However, the Gators stumbled after a win over Long Island in their opener with losses to South Florida , LSU, Miami and Texas A&M . The lone victory during that span was at home against No. 7 Texas on Oct. 4

Among the lowpoint to his time in Gainesville, Napier finishes his career with a 3-12 mark against Florida's rivals ― Georgia, Miami, LSU, Tennessee and Florida State. Napier also had an 0-14 record against ranked opponents away from home.

Napier is the first coach for Florida to have a losing career record since Raymond Wolf finished his tenure with a 13-24 record between 1946-49.

Florida is headed for a bye week and then its annual game against Georgia in Jacksonville, Florida on Nov. 1.

"Making this decision during the open date provides our team valuable time to regroup, refocus, and prepare for the challenges ahead," Stricklin said. "The timing also allows us to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and well-informed search for our next head coach. We remain fully committed to utilizing every resource available to identify the right leader to guide Gators Football into the future."

Billy Napier buyout with Florida

Florida owes Napier nearly $21.7 million , according to contract information obtained by USA TODAY Sports. The Gators will pay Napier 85% of his annual compensation, which expires Jan. 31, 2029.

The first installment of his buyout must be paid within 30 days of his firing, and is set to be 50% of what he is due for the total buyout. Napier has no duty to mitigate, and Florida is not entitled to an offset from his future revenue.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida football fires coach Billy Napier during fourth season

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by:

Florida fires Billy Napier, who becomes first Gators coach with losing record since 1940s

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

College football coaches fired already in 2025 season. See who's on the growing list

Billy Napier buyout with Florida