The Bad Keeps Getting Worse for Gators Under Billy Napier

Florida fell to 2-4 in Billy Napier's fourth season leading the program.

The Florida Gators continue to reach new lows under Billy Napier. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Everyone knows that the marriage between Billy Napier and the Florida Gators has been disappointing over the past four years. Despite reeling in all the talent he has, he has yielded very few positive results on the field. 

However, the most recent loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station on Saturday signifies just how bad things have gotten under his guidance since his hiring ahead of the 2022 season. 

Florida is now 0-14 in games versus ranked opponents away from Gainesville with Napier at the helm. He has contributed three losses to that record this year, as well, with defeats to LSU, Miami and now Texas A&M. 

This is nowhere close to enough for a head coach of such a prestigious football program that expects to compete every season. 

Billy Napier is 21-23 halfway through his fourth season with the Florida Gators. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Moreover, the record is even more damning when considering the substantial amount of money invested in the team for both players and coaches. 

Florida is spending $8.25 million on the staff this season and $7.22 million on Napier. His salary also has him as the No. 24 highest-paid coach in America, ahead of Texas A&M’s Mike Elko, whom he just lost to for the second year in a row.

For the players, it is a little bit more murky to find actual numbers, but according to an On3 survey of which programs spend the most in college football, the Gators received four votes to be placed inside the top 10. 

The worrying numbers don’t stop here, either. 

Napier is now 21-23 in his first 44 games with the Gators, which is the worst for a Gators coach through their first 44 games in the modern era and since Tom Lieb from 1940-45.

One reason it has reached this point for him is his stubbornness in relinquishing his play-calling duties. 

Despite having the likes of DJ Lagway, Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson and Jadan Baugh, Florida’s offense ranks dead last in the conference in scoring. It is averaging just 22.33 points per game, tied with South Carolina. 

Taking away the 55-0 win over FCS Long Island, Florida is averaging just 15.8 points per game against FBS opponents.

It also ranks No. 14 in rushing offense, No. 12 in passing offense, No. 13 in first downs per game and No. 16 in converting third downs. 

Additionally, it is easy to see how bad the Gators have been at converting third downs this season. 

Against the Aggies, the offense was just 1-for-10 on third downs in the contest. The only conversion came in the second half on a 25-yard completion from Lagway to Eugene Wilson III on 3rd-and-11 to set up a field goal, which was Florida's only points in the final three quarters. 

Teams will always struggle to post points with these numbers. To save his job, which gets more unlikely with every week, he will need a miracle stretch to end the 2025 season, and it will have to start next weekend against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.