Scott Stricklin discusses Billy Napier hire, organizing football program

When Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin was looking for the Gators’ next head football coach, Billy Napier immediately came to mind. Stricklin had been following Napier’s progress at Louisiana the past four seasons and wanted to get him in Gainesville before someone else snatched him up.

Florida did just that, hiring Napier this past offseason. Stricklin joined the Paul Finebaum Show on Tuesday to explain what exactly it was that stood out about the coach, and why the Gators chose not to interview any other candidates.

“I spent three years on the (College Football Playoff) selection committee and Louisiana was a school that was ascendent under Billy,” he said. “So those of us on the committee were paying attention to what their success looked like. He was someone that all of us in college football were aware of. Obviously his past and where he had been at Clemson, Alabama and Arizona State, it’s a great story. How organized and disciplined (he is), the humility and intelligence — there’s a lot of intriguing pieces to him. So whenever we got in a position where we were gonna do a search, he was really high on the list. To the point where it just seemed like it made a lot of sense and he would be a fit for what we need at the University of Florida. Billy was the only coach I actually spoke to.”

After bouncing around as an assistant for several Power 5 programs, Napier took over the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2018. Following a 7-7 finish in his inaugural season, he led Louisiana to at least 10 wins in each of the next three years and twice claimed Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors. He ended his stint in Lafayette with a 40-12 record including 2-1 in bowl games.

Scott Stricklin said it was that success that initially piqued his interest in Billy Napier as a candidate. Now, after having gotten the chance to develop a relationship with the coach, he is starting to see how it all came together at his last stop.

“He has a real vision for what he thinks it takes to be successful, especially at this level,” Stricklin said. “One of the impressive things he did in Lafayette was, he basically built a Power 5 football program in the Sun Belt conference. By that, I mean the infrastructure he was able to put in place with the available resources. He was incredibly resourceful with how he did that. Coming to Gainesville and being back in the SEC, he was able to take the knowledge he had of the other places he had worked and implement that. It is incredibly detailed as far as the people he wants within the program, the roles they’re gonna have, the attention to organizational structure, how it all flows and works together.”

Florida is coming off of a 6-7 finish this past season that prompted the Gators to part ways with Dan Mullen after four years. Mullen had his fair share of success in Gainesville, winning the Orange Bowl in 2019 and competing for an SEC Championship in 2020. However, the Gators had seen their win total regress the past two seasons under his watch.

With Napier, there is a confidence that won’t happen. Florida believes it will get back to competing for both SEC and national titles in no time.

“There’s just a positive vibe,” Stricklin said. “When you meet with Billy you find out why that’s the case. He’s got an incredible way about him. Like a lot of successful people, he doesn’t make it about himself. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s able to attract really good people.”