Saturday, the Florida Gators improved to 3-4 on the 2025 college football season with a 23-21 win over Mississippi State. Florida picked off Bulldogs quarterback Blake Shapen in its own territory with under a minute remaining to seal the win.
Billy Napier beat Mississippi State, but still lost his job
A win over Mississippi State wasn’t enough to save the Florida coach.
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
It was not enough to save Billy Napier’s job.
Napier, who has been under increasing pressure this season in Gainesville after losing three straight games following a win over Long Island University to open their season, was dismissed by the school on Sunday. According to CBS Sports, Napier is owed nearly $20 million under the buyout terms of his contract ($19.38 million to be exact) and half of that buyout must be paid within the next 30 days.
Hired ahead of the 2022 season to turn around a Florida program that finished under .500 the year before he arrived, Napier endured two losing seasons in Gainesville before the Gators won four straight games at the end of 2024 to finish at 8-5. Expectations were high for Florida coming into the 2025 season, as the Gators were ranked No. 15 in the preseason Top 25 and climbed to No. 13 after their win to start the year.
But three straight losses -- including losses to in-state rivals South Florida and Miami -- dropped the Gators out of the rankings. An upset of Texas perhaps, bought Napier some time, but the Gators came back to lose to Texas A&M after that win, which, according to reports, sealed his fate.
Even with a win yesterday.
As his Florida tenure draws to a close, not only did Napier finish under .500 while with the Gators (22-23), but he finished with a losing record in the SEC (12-16), against FBS schools (18-23), against Power Four schools (15-22), and against both Florida State (1-2) and Miami (0-2).
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