Florida has fired Billy Napier following 3-4 start in 2025
Kentucky’s opponent in three weeks no longer has a head coach as Florida has fired head coach Billy Napier following the Gators’ 3-4 start in 2025. The team defeated Mississippi State 23-21 on Saturday in what ultimately became the fourth-year coach’s final game leading the program.
On3’s Pete Nakos was among the national reporters to break the news Sunday afternoon.
Napier finishes his time at Florida with a 22-23 overall record after making his way to Gainesville in 2022 following a strong run at Louisiana, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 40-12 record with three consecutive 10-win seasons and back-to-back Sun Belt titles.
Florida went 6-7 in his first season in 2022, 5-7 in 2023 and 8-5 in 2024 to temporarily save his job with the understanding 2025 would be make-or-break for his future in Gainesville.
It broke.
Taking ranked losses vs. No. 19 South Florida, No. 10 LSU, No. 2 Miami (FL) and No. 4 Texas A&M, he was on the sidelines for the Gators’ win over the Bulldogs, but the hay was already in the barn. Speculation ran wild all week regarding his future with reports that school officials and boosters had already decided to part ways with the 46-year-old, win or lose.
Napier was then booed off the field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, leading to direct questions on his job status at the podium.
His opinion? He was still up for the challenge.
“Yeah, I would say I’m built for it. I’m made for it,” Napier said. “I chose the coaching profession. I was called to coach. And the good comes with the bad and the bad comes with the good. I do think the game’s about the players, and I’m proud of the players and the way they played. You’re never gonna make everybody happy in these leadership positions. When you’re in charge these are the things that come with it. I love the game of football. I love the game.”
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Florida officials disagree, clearly.
The Gators will now have to pay out 85 percent of Napier’s total remaining contract, sitting at $20.4 million. He signed a seven-year deal with over $50 million guaranteed back in 2021.
UF wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales will take over as interim coach, On3’s Pete Nakos can confirm. He’s been with Napier since 2023 but has had three separate stints in Gainesville in 2005-09, 2018-21 and 2023-now.
The next steps are more important, specifically as they relate to Kentucky. The Wildcats are set to host the Gators on November 8 inside Kroger Field, obviously, but it also adds a new variable to what is setting up to be an all-time coaching carousel. That doesn’t help with UK sitting at 2-4 and Mark Stoops’ future in Lexington very much in question.
Among the names on the table for Florida? On3’s Andy Staples lists Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin as a top target, along with the likes of Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz and Louisville’s Jeff Brohm. Should Kiffin make the landscape-altering move to Gainesville, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall would be an obvious name to watch in Oxford as a former linebackers coach for the Rebels in 2018 — or the Gators could potentially look at Sumrall themselves.
The dominoes are starting to fall. Will any of them include Stoops and Kentucky?
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