The University of Florida made a controversial decision this week when the school announced that head football coach Billy Napier would return for a fourth season in 2025 to lead the Gators.
Napier is in his third year in “The Swamp” and has compiled an overall record of 15-18 as Florida Gators coach. The Gators are 4-4 this year, but they’ve faced arguably the single toughest schedule for any Power Four team in all of college football.
On Saturday’s Week 11 edition of ESPN’s “College GameDay,” former Alabama football coach Nick Saban offered some words of support for his former assistant coach.
Speaking live from Baton Rouge where Saban and the “GameDay” crew are stationed for tonight’s massive Alabama vs. LSU showdown, Saban backed Florida’s decision to retain Napier:
“Here’s the thing that I really appreciate, that somebody out there in Florida’s administration recognized the fact that Billy Napier has done a heck of a job coaching this team. They’ve had a lot of adversity, a lot of injuries, a lot to overcome. But yet every game, they start out and they play great in the first half, which tells me that they’ve done a great job of preparing their team with the players that they have. The quarterback situation is going to be tough to overcome, but I think he’s built a good nucleus and most importantly… a culture that can win. And if I was a recruit, I would recognize that and say, ‘This is a place I’m going to consider.'”
Napier was a member of Saban’s staff at Alabama from 2013-16 when he was the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers coach. In December 2017, Napier became head coach at the University of Louisiana and would compile a 40-12 record in four seasons in Lafayette before accepting the Florida job.
Napier’s Gators are in Austin Saturday to face the No. 5 Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.