AP Photo/Matthew Hinton
Florida is reportedly expected to hire Louisiana-Lafayette’s Billy Napier as the next head football coach, according to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated.
A deal between the two sides could reportedly be “finalized soon.”
Napier has a 39-12 record across four seasons at Louisiana, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 11-1 record so far in 2021. The team is set to compete in the Sun Belt Championship Game on Saturday at home against Appalachian State.
After taking over a squad that went 5-7 in 2017, Napier led Louisiana to a 7-7 record and a bowl appearance in his first season as a head coach. The squad then went 11-3 in 2019, the first season with double-digit wins in school history.
The Ragin’ Cajuns have now accomplished the feat in three straight years, including the 10-1 mark in 2020 that ended with a win in the First Responder Bowl.
Prior to his time as a head coach, the 42-year-old gained experience at some of the top programs in the country, including as an offensive coordinator at Clemson and receivers coach at Alabama. The former Furman quarterback also served as offensive coordinator at Arizona State in 2017.
The Tennessee native fill the vacancy left by Dan Mullen, who was fired last Sunday after a 5-6 start to the season.
Mullen produced a 34-15 record across four seasons at Florida, earning wins in the Orange Bowl and Peach Bowl before reaching the SEC Championship Game last season. A slow start to 2021 ended his tenure, showing the high expectations for this program.
Napier will be expected to get the Gators back to national-title contention in a hurry.
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