Billy Napier responds to call for confirmation that he took Florida job sight-unseen

Florida ended its coaching search early, hiring Louisiana head coach Billy Napier just weeks after Dan Mullen’s dismissal. According to subsequent reports, Florida needed just one meeting with Napier for athletic director Scott Stricklin to conclude that he was the right man for the job.

Florida made the decision to hire Napier early, given the strong first impression he gave. As it later became clear, the same applied for Napier, who accepted the Florida job despite having never visited the university’s campus, save for a previous trip coaching against the Gators.

“We came here when I was at the University of Alabama in 2011. That’s the one time I’ve been in the Swamp,” Napier said in his introductory press conference. “But, yeah. Outside of that (never visited campus).”

Napier comes to Florida with an intriguing resume, with his most recent stop being a four-year stint as the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette. Napier in 2018 took over a Louisiana program that had not eclipsed six wins since 2014, and he turned the Ragin’ Cajuns into a top-25 program with apparent ease; after a 7-7 campaign in his first year, Louisiana amassed two 11-win seasons and a 10-win finish. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished 2020 as the No. 15 team in the AP top 25, and they should finish in the top 25 once again this year.

Florida represents a new challenge for Napier, who had not been a head coach at a Power Five school before accepting the job. But it’s a job that he believes he’s ready to take on, and he’s absorbed plenty

“You’re going to figure out that I’m a football junkie. So, I’m well aware of the history and the tradition here,” Napier said. “This is one of the few places in the country — you’re talking about a championship culture. You’re talking about how it’s been multiple times. I think one of the interesting things here is the success all the other things in the athletic department have had, it’s unprecedented and unmatched.”

Billy Napier reveals how impactful time at Alabama is to his career

Prior to his time at Louisiana, Napier served at a number of top-ranked schools, including Alabama. He had two stints under Saban with the Crimson Tide, the first being a one-year tenure as an offensive analyst in 2011, then a four-year stint as Alabama’s wide receivers coach between 2013-16. Napier said his time with Alabama was one of the most rewarding times of his career.

“First of all, it was a unique time in my career. I was certain I was in a very humble place,” Napier said in his introductory press conference Sunday. “I’m thankful for Coach Saban giving me that opportunity. There’s no question — I’d been in college football for 10 years at that point, and that one year I think I learned more than in the previous 10, if that makes sense.”

Not only was Napier able to learn from Saban at Alabama, but he also coached the Crimson Tide to immense success, including a 2015 national title.

“I didn’t have a ton of responsibility, so I was able to observe all of the different areas of that organization and how they worked,” Napier said of his first stint, a time in which he served as an analyst. “And then, having been a part of going to Colorado State, coming back to Alabama (for a second stint, this time as wide receivers coach), I think my experiences at Arizona State were beneficial. And then, really, the most impactful thing was going to the University of Louisiana and trying to do that on a smaller scale with less resources, and putting your name on it, your spin on it, your brand on it.

“I’m excited about applying those things I learned here.”