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Billy Napier appears on hot list for a job that validates what Gator fans felt

Napier could be heading back to the Group of Five
ByBenjamin Henderson|
Oct 18, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier looks on against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier looks on against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

It's no secret that we here at Hail Florida Hail were off the Billy Napier Train long before many others. If you are keeping score at home, we expressed our sincere doubts after the Arkansas loss in 2023 and called for the outright firing after the Texas A&M loss in 2024.

Among our main arguments was that if Napier was available to the rest of the country, is there a single Power Four school that would trade him out for their current coach?

The answer to that question is no, and a new Group of Five opening only further highlights where Napier belongs.

Billy Napier on the North Texas Hot Board

North Texas coach Eric Morris has accepted the job at Oklahoma State. North Texas is 10-1 this year and is in the mix to win the American Conference and potentially go to the playoffs.

At the moment that announcement was made, Pete Nakos of On3 compiled a quick list of potential replacements, and among the early candidates on his list is none other than Napier.

Now, no disrespect to the Mean Green, but when they showed up in the AP Top 25 last week at No. 22, it was the first time since 1959 the program had been ranked. North Texas was in the Sun Belt, moved to Conference USA, and only recently joined the American Conference in 2023.

The fact that this is the first job opening Napier has even been mentioned with is emblematic of why he flopped so hard in Gainesville. His methodology of program building may have worked in the Sun Belt, but it was clear from a tactics standpoint that he was in over his head once in the SEC.

If you happen to be a North Texas fan and are reading this, just know some of the very real flaws of Napier also had nothing to do with being an SEC program and were mistakes that wouldn't be tolerated by a high school JV coach.

Unlike LSU, Florida hasn't tried to get in the way of Napier's $20+ million buyout, which is fully guaranteed whether or not Napier takes a new job.

If it were us, we would rather take our money and go chill on an island rather than set up shop in Denton, TX.

But perhaps that level of decision-making is what landed Napier in this position in the first place.

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