College Football World Reacts to Florida Firing Billy Napier

On Sunday, the Billy Napier era came to an end at Florida.

Napier was fired by the university one day after leading the Gators to a win over Mississippi State, Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde confirmed. It brought Florida's record to 3-4 on the season but it was not enough to stave off Napier's dismissal, which has been rumored for several weeks now.

It marks an unceremonious end to an unremarkable tenure. Napier went 22-23 with the Gators since he was hired in 2021; his .489 winning percentage is the lowest for any Gators coach since Raymond Wolf in the late 1940s. Napier was under fire for most of his time at the helm as he was unable to lead his team to consistent performances over the course of the college football season. He finished strong to end the 2024 campaign but a poor start to the 2025 season proved his undoing.

Although somewhat expected news, the sports world was still buzzing in the wake of his dismissal as another big-time college football job opens up.

Lane Train 🚂 pic.twitter.com/NS3s5mNMDA
— SleeperCFB (@SleeperCFB) October 19, 2025

Billy Napier’s replacement in the Swamp 👀 pic.twitter.com/nD1Kr5apUQ
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) October 19, 2025

As a Georgia fan I really hope they would give Billy 10 to 15 years to figure it out
— Rico (@BigRico88) October 19, 2025

College football AD's be like... pic.twitter.com/e19PcRAVMY
— Good Bet | Bad Bet (@GoodBetBadBet) October 19, 2025

We made it!!!
The Napier era is finally over!!! pic.twitter.com/sGREgUFtVV
— David Biddle (@davidebiddle) October 19, 2025

The one thing I’ll say about Billy Napier is he did things the right way and it’s very clear he is a really good person and the people around him cared for him. I’ll never speak a bad word about him as a person. He just didn’t get the job done on Saturdays unfortunately.
— Ryan (@Ryanmcc_9) October 19, 2025

Oh no. I was hoping to have him at Florida for another 10 years. Roll Tide.
— Matt brannan (@mattbrannan2323) October 19, 2025

weird to do it coming off a win. are they afraid he could win himself another season somehow
— kreis (@flounder76) October 19, 2025

$20 million to go away? Sign me up!
— tigh eatmon (@tigh187) October 19, 2025

Billy Napier🤝Jimbo Fisher pic.twitter.com/S5zlIhiuOz
— Liam (@liam_nabors3) October 19, 2025

How many coaches have been fired after a win? 🥴 pic.twitter.com/NVAzeP2044
— PFSN College (@PFSNcollege) October 19, 2025

deserved or not, firing a coach midseason after a win is Nasty Work https://t.co/M48Fuv3mJk
— ANTIFAldo (@ANTIFAldo) October 19, 2025

This coaching carousel is about to be insane

Buckle Up https://t.co/mhqryfxGCQ
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 19, 2025

Napier, 46, is owed a buyout of over $20 million as a result of the news. Florida will finish out the season and then try to find the next coach who will raise the school to heights not seen since the Tim Tebow days.

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