NFL HC Matt Rhule Thinks the World of Florida Gators' Billy Napier
Photos (left to right): Matt Rhule and Billy Napier; Credit: Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports and Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun
The Florida Gators hosted a plethora of coaches from the pro and prep levels of football over the weekend for the university's first rendition of "Chalk Talk" under new head coach Billy Napier.
Prep coaches from across the Sunshine State could be found just about anywhere across UF's football training facility for practices on Thursday and Saturday. In between the workouts, Florida's staff paired with NFL personnel of varying degrees held a clinic to offer attendees advice on schemes, drills and how to run a program.
One of the keynote speakers for the event, Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule jumped on the opportunity to reconnect with Napier.
Napier's Furman University took on Rhule's Western Carolina in 2002, in what was Napier's final season as the Paladins' starting quarterback and Rhule's first campaign as the Catamounts' special teams & linebackers coach. A 252-yard, two-touchdown performance from Napier led to a 24-23 victory in Furman's favor.
The two maintained a relationship over the years, as Rhule rose up the ranks as an assistant and eventually head coach at Temple while Napier carved out a coaching career of his own at Clemson and Alabama, among other stops.
"I've known coach Napier for a long time," Rhule told AllGators after the event. "I think the world of Billy. He's a friend of mine, so anything I can do to help him, I'm gonna do."
Rhule made his way to the NFL as a head coach in 2020 after turning around two drastically different football programs. At Temple in the Group of 5, Rhule took the Owls to as many bowl games in the second half of his four-year tenure (two) as the school had reached in the previous 36 years.
He made the jump to Baylor in the Power 5 in 2017, taking over a program in need of a serious rebuild following a major sexual assault scandal across the team under former head coach Art Briles. After Rhule's Bears went 1-11 during his first season in charge, Baylor clinched back-to-back bowl appearances including a spot in the Sugar Bowl to cap off an 11-3 2019 season.
Napier's situation, first at Louisiana and now at Florida, obviously isn't as daunting as Rhule's was at each stop, especially Baylor, but it is somewhat similar when you consider the challenges in football operations. Napier walked into Lafayette and inherited a program in the midst of a three-year period of sanctions left behind by relieved head coach Mark Hudspeth, including a loss of scholarships and vacated wins.
Yet, Napier turned UL into consistent contenders for the Sun Belt title by his second season in charge before making the move to an SEC program with tremendous expectations. One day before his departure to Florida, Napier and his Ragin' Cajuns raised the Sun Belt Championship trophy for the first time in school history.
"I think when you come to the University of Florida, it's built on winning championships. It's happened many, many, many times," Rhule explained. "You know, [Napier has] done it in a place that it's hard to do — all credit to them, but I mean, he's done something that is difficult to do.
"I think he has the tools and he certainly has the staff, just being around these guys. If today's clinic, and you know, it was first class, if it's any indication of how they're going to do things then they're off to a great start."
Rhule was able to interact with members of Napier's staff during the day before the assistants, including another friend of his in defensive line coach Sean Spencer, gave presentations on schematics and positional training for high school coaches at the event.
His interactions with Florida's new assistants, paired with his knowledge of Napier's success and seeing him lead a practice, made Rhule a believer in what the Gators are building under their new head coach.
"He's a leader. You know, you can feel him on the field," Rhule said of Napier. "He does a great job of, you know, not only managing the quarterback and the offense but running a great practice. I think people should be excited."
Before his presentation for high school and UF coaches, Rhule addressed the Gators following Thursday's spring practice. Making note of team deficiencies in 2021 such as penalties and turnover differential, Rhule emphasized that players must take pride in their play in order to win games.
Although Napier is capable of building a winner at Florida in Rhule's eyes, the players will be equally responsible for changing the team's culture and becoming a championship-caliber program once again.
"I think it's always important for players to understand that like, 'Hey, we control how we play. The coaches are here to guide us, but, there's a lot of things that we can control that lead to winning,'" Rhule said. "So, it was a good-looking group. I encouraged them, I said, 'Hey, you know, fix a couple of things and hopefully I'll see you guys on the right end of a lot of scores this year.'"
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