This has to be some kind of joke. Just a few months after the Florida Gators fired their former head coach, Billy Napier, and just days after he was finally able to find a new job, he has seemingly let go of any animosity and found the place he wants to be.
When asked about his new job, Napier went as far as to say that he believes JMU is somewhere he could see himself staying in the long run.
Funny, isn't it? A man who was fighting for his job in Gainesville is now more than happy to accept a job with the James Madison Dukes, a Group of Five team.
Not to mention, the Gators are still shelling out $21 million in buyout money while Napier is receiving his salary from JMU.
Billy Napier must be in denial
Let's make one thing clear. Napier didn't leave the Gators for another job. He didn't decide to retire, leave Florida, and then change his mind. Billy Napier was fired. Then, months after he was fired by the Gators, the Dukes offered him the job, after their former HC Bob Chesney accepted the gig at UCLA.
Billy Napier said JMU is a place where he could see himself staying.
— Catie Harper (@CatieHarper) December 10, 2025
Napier acting like Florida wasn't his dream job is a joke. He simply didn't have what it took to make it as the head coach of an SEC program, and the Gators recognized that, however slowly, and they made the decision that he wouldn't be staying.
He earned a 22-23 overall record with the Gators and won just one postseason game (the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl over the Tulane Green Wave). Simply put, Napier was a far cry from the dominant head coach that Florida hoped he would be.
Napier must be in denial that JMU is where he has landed, despite the fact that the Dukes are headed to the College Football Playoff and his former team finished two games shy of any postseason action.