Billy Napier reacts to James Franklin, other coaches being fired across college football

Coaches across the country are getting fired in the middle of the season. None bigger than James Franklin, who Penn State let go after three consecutive defeats. Losing to Northwestern was apparently the final straw, ending a 12-year relationship between the two sides.

Billy Napier is another name continually finding his name in similar rumors. To this point, Florida has not pulled the trigger on the move. But Napier admitted, when being generally asked about firings, that results are needed or else consequences are faced.

“It’s what we sign up for, right?” Napier said. “They pay us, they compensate us well. These are challenging jobs in today’s climate, in particular. Look, we’re all men, we’re all competitors. We understand we live in a production world. You’ve got to produce. There’s no running from that. It was that way when we signed up at the very beginning. They used to not pay us as well as they do now but when you do get compensated and the amount of revenue that’s generated in our game — I think the compensation, it’s fair.”

Napier is making around $7.4 million this season. He sees the number rise by about $100,000 for every year he stays with the program, currently being locked up through the 2028 season. A hefty buyout, somewhere over $20 million, is attached if Florida chooses to fire Napier at any point this year.

All of those are big numbers but the big results have not followed in Gainesville. Florida currently sports a 2-4 record, dropping another game on Saturday in College Station vs. Texas A&M. Losing to in-state USF and Miami seemingly sent the season into a spiral before getting one back against Texas.

The schedule does not get any easier. Mississippi State comes to town for homecoming before four rivalry games in five weeks. Florida State, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee are all results every Florida fan cares about quite deeply. Napier can experience fan emotion on both sides of the spectrum, depending on who winds up winning.

Napier knows his situation is not an overly special one. He pointed to the tests Franklin continually faced during his time in Happy Valley. And at the end of the day, getting wins over those type of programs are required in his eyes.

“We’re at the top of the food chain here,” Napier said. “We play against the best every week. Penn State is no different than that.”