College football is often unkind as much as the pendulum swings the other way. In the case of Billy Napier, it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. The Florida Gators head coach has not lived up to expectations set for him when the Gators hired him in the hiring cycle a few seasons ago. UF picked Napier when he was a potential target for LSU, who opted for Brian Kelly instead.
So far, despite Kelly’s shortcomings, LSU appears much better off than the Gators. Florida has had a dismal decade-plus in the SEC, and while they’ve made Southeastern Conference Championship Game appearances, they were routinely overmatched by Alabama.
Many, including ESPN’s Rece Davis and Pete Thamel, have suggested that 2024 could be the end for Napier. Davis and Thamel discussed Napier’s job status on this week’s edition of the College GameDay podcast.
Thamel discussed how firing coaches during the season has become more frequent. Heading into this week, the response from Florida against Mississippi State could be crucial to keeping his job.
“The Napier thing is inevitable,” Thamel said. “The whens and the hows,” he added. Davis then went on to agree with the college football insider.
“I’ve been on record for a while; it appears this is not going to work. And the change is inevitable,” Davis said.
Both Davis and Thamel picked the Gators to beat Mississippi State, but they don’t expect much from their head coach anymore.
