Billy Napier Is Finally Out at Florida, Which Just Became the Best Job on the Market

It's finally over. After more than a year of his job being in seemingly imminent peril, Billy Napier has been fired at Florida. He leaves Gainesville with a record of 22-23 as the Gators' head coach.

This move has been little more than a foregone conclusion since UF lost to South Florida at home with a team that was expecting to compete for a College Football Playoff berth this season. Napier seemed like he was going to be canned at this point last year before the Gators rattled off several strong wins to end the season and he was able to parlay that into one more crack at it in 2025. Things just didn't pan out.

I think this is going to be the best job available this year, even in a cycle that could see more than a few high-profile openings. Florida has the money and recruiting base to be a contender in the SEC every season and I believe the coaches that will be interested in this job will reflect that. Penn State could certainly attract a big-time sitting Power Four head coach, but I think this is the job that will poach someone that will really kick this coaching carousel into overdrive.

Obviously, this search starts with Lane Kiffin. This just feels like the job he's been building towards and I think he would be a real problem for the rest of college football in Gainesville. If he decides to stay put at Ole Miss, the next call should be Eli Drinkwitz. He's done a great job at Missouri and there's no telling what he'd be able to do at a place like Florida. And I know some might not want to hear this, but James Franklin is waiting on a call and I really think he'd have a chance to make a lot of people eat some crow at Florida.

It just can't be overstated how wild this year's coaching carousel is going to be. There are still a handful of other very high-profile jobs that will likely come open and some of these are going to poach sitting power conference head coaches. Buckle up.