Skip to main content
Florida
Join Now

James Madison hires former Florida coach Billy Napier

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi8 hours agoZachAbolverdi

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Former Florida coach Billy Napier has landed a new job. James Madison is hiring Napier as its next head coach, a move that was first reported Thursday by On3.

Napier replaces Bob Chesney, who was hired by UCLA this week. On3’s Pete Nakos reported on Thursday morning that Napier was one of two candidates at JMU, along with Lehigh’s Kevin Cahill.

Napier, 46, was also reportedly one of five candidates who has interviewed for the Tulane job.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Napier received a five-year deal, and a formal announcement is expected on Saturday. Napier’s success in the Sun Belt appealed to JMU officials, Thamel added.

Napier went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana, including a perfect 16-0 mark against members of the Sun Belt West Division. He won four straight West Division titles, a share of the Sun Belt crown in 2020 and the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Championship. UL made four straight bowl appearances.

Billy Napier’s tenure at Florida

Napier’s inaugural season at Florida began with a 29-26 win over the No. 7 Utah Utes. He’s the first Gators coach to beat a ranked opponent in his first game. That good will was quickly undone with a loss in The Swamp to Kentucky the following week. Napier went 0-4 against UF’s rivals in 2022 and a road loss at Vanderbilt — the program’s first since 1988 — was the biggest black eye on the entire year.

The 2023 season started with a loss at Utah before the Gators rattled off three victories, including a win over No. 11 Tennessee. They dropped another game to Kentucky, this time in Lexington, making Napier the first coach in Florida football history to lose his first two games versus UK. But the worst loss came at home against a 4-8 Arkansas team, which was part of a five-game skid to end the year.

The Gators opened 2024 in a 1-2 hole with home losses to Miami and Texas A&M but won three of their next four games as DJ Lagway became the starting quarterback. After losing to No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Texas without the Freshman All-American, and Scott Stricklin’s statement that Napier would return in 2025, the Lagway-led Gators won four games in a row over LSU, Ole Miss, FSU and Tulane.

Following a season-opening win over Long Island, Florida had an embarrassing 18-16 loss to USF before dropping back-to-back road games at No. 3 LSU and No. 4 Miami. A 29-21 win over No. 9 Texas gave Napier a stay of execution — and his third straight SEC win at home versus a ranked opponent — but the 34-17 loss at No. 5 Texas A&M ended any hopes of Napier turning the season around.

Napier was fired from Florida on Oct. 19 following a 23-21 homecoming win over Mississippi State, which improved the Gators to 3-4 on the season. He finished his tenure with an overall record of 22-23 (12-16 SEC) at Florida. That includes a 6-7 finish in 2022, a 5-7 mark in 2023, and an 8-5 record last year.

You may also like