Kirby Smart comments on Billy Napier attending Georgia's practice
Nearly a month after being fired in the middle of his fourth season at Florida, former head coach Billy Napier was seen at Georgia’s football practice on Tuesday in Athens,. That was first reported by UGASports’ Anthony Dasher.
On Wednesday during the SEC Coaches Teleconference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart confirmed Napier was in fact there, saying it was just a visit from an old friend.
Napier was fired on Oct. 19 after the Gators started 3-4 and two weeks before Florida’s rivalry game at Georgia. The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs won that game 24-20 in Jacksonville on Nov. 1.
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“Billy’s a good friend of mine. We coached together (at Alabama) for years, I’ve known him (a long time),” Smart said Wednesday. “People don’t understand relationships between coaches. Coaches have a brotherhood and fraternity together. His dad was good friends with my dad, his dad was really good friends with (UGA offensive coordinator Mike) Bobo, and we all grew up in the state of Georgia with our fathers coaching high school football. They were real respected people and he’s been a friend for a long time. So, he dropped by (Tuesday’s practice), but that was really it.”
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Napier grew up in Chatsworth, Ga., and played quarterback for his late father, Bill Napier, who coached at Murray County High from 1991-2006 before passing away from ALS in 2017. Smart also lost his father, Sonny Smart, in January after complications from hip surgery.
The two also worked together at Alabama under former head coach Nick Saban. Smart was Saban’s defensive coordinator from 2007-15, while Napier joined as an offensive analyst in 2011. Napier later coached receivers for the Crimson Tide from 2013-16.
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