5 ways Billy Napier has pushed Gators forward

Billy Napier technically only landed in the Swamp 13 short days ago, but he has made the most out of those days. The new head football coach of the Florida Gators has given the program a major boost so far, and we’re going to take a look at the top ways he’s done that.

1. How he took the job

Billy Napier was arguably one of the most intriguing coaching candidates available for hire at the end of the 2021 season. The same could be said for Napier at the end of the 2020 season. He had drummed up interest from plenty of teams back then and Gator athletic director Scott Stricklin had his eye on him even when Dan Mullen’s position seemed safe.

Napier turned down the Auburn Tigers during their 2020 head coaching search and it’s rumored a few other power-five schools as well.

Napier was looking for the perfect opportunity to set himself up for success. He chose the Florida Gators as that opportunity. Something that should give the fans and the players a big lift amongst uncertainty.

2. His introduction 

To keep it short, his introductory press conference was powerful. It seemed like he has a plan, it’s outlined, it is ready to go. He has a vision that he wants to bring to Florida and the Gators had to buy into that if they wanted him.

3. Staff changes

Napier mostly cleaned house of the Dan Mullen staff upon his arrival in Florida. This was a point of controversy for some fans, but Napier wants his people not Dan Mullen’s. He also should want to distance himself as much as possible from the memory of Dan Mullen.

The Florida Gators also upped their staff budget 1.4 million dollars over what Dan Mullen had in 2021. This means Napier will be able to bring in a ton of extra staff with the extra money.

4. Love of recruiting

A huge knock on Dan Mullen this past year was that he’s not a huge recruiter. He didn’t have recruiting on his mind 24/7 and that was a big reason for teams like Georgia blowing by the Gators. It’s been a known fact over the last few years that Napier works tirelessly recruiting, and he spent years under possibly the best recruiter in the history of college football, Nick Saban.

5. Stealing from foes 

Billy Napier stole two huge recruits right out from under arch-rival Georgia on Wednesday. First it was 5-star defensive back Kamari Wilson, and then it was a highly rated 4-star linebacker Shemar James. Both players seemed to be out of the picture upon the firing of Dan Mullen. Georgia had been bullying the Gators for the past few years in recruiting, often coming into Florida and walk out with the states best prospects. A huge boost for the program going up head-to-head with Georgia and walking out the winners.

It’s also worth noting that Napier wasn’t content in just stealing away recruits. He stole away the Bulldogs director of recruiting operations ,Katie Turner. Turner is now the assistant athletic director of recruiting strategy for the Gators. It’s the little things like poaching employees from Georgia that make you smile.

Billy Napier looks like he might just be here for a bit.