JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Since Steve Spurrier’s departure to the NFL in 2002, the Gators have hired a coach with history within the program (Ron Zook), a rising star in the profession (Urban Meyer), a highly regarded offensive mind with no big school experience (Jim McElwain), a defensive-minded coach with big school experience, but no head coaching experience (Will Muschamp) and an offensive-minded head coach from another SEC school who had previous experience in Gainesville (Dan Mullen).
Now, they are hiring another rising star in the profession. Can they capture the same kind of success they had when they hired Urban Meyer? That’s the hope.
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Billy Napier, 42, has posted a 39-12 record as a head coach of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. His team earned a trip to the Sun Belt Conference championship game this season. They are scheduled to face Appalachian State on Saturday.
Napier should be able to recruit in the region. He has spent most of his career in the south. He played quarterback at Furman, then was a graduate assistant at Clemson.
After a year as the quarterbacks coach at South Carolina State, he returned to Clemson as the tight ends coach, and then as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (where he coached former Bartram Trail star Kyle Parker as well as Tajh Boyd).
He also spent a season as an analyst at Alabama before serving as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Colorado State in 2012 for McElwain. After that, he returned to Alabama to coach wide receivers from 2013-2016 before one season at Arizona State as the offensive coordinator.
Offensive minded? Check.
Regional knowledge? Check?
Success as a head coach? Check.
Youthful energy? Check.
On paper, it looks like the right kind of hire. Then again, so did Mullen. Mullen had early success, but as Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin has pointed out, Florida is looking for sustained success. In order to do that, Napier will have to recruit better than Mullen did as the Gators head coach.
He will also have to do what Mullen did with Kyle Trask — develop a quarterback into a star. Mullen did not have success with Emory Jones. Anthony Richardson looks like a guy with more tools.
Finally, Napier will need to connect with the players. It was clear that during the pandemic season of 2020, Mullen lost something with the roster. He wasn’t alone.
The challenges of playing amid COVID created challenges for many teams. Once Napier arrives in Gainesville, whenever that happens, he needs to start building relationships in a hurry. Identifying the talent on the roster can come in the film room, but you can only develop relationships in person.