The Florida Gators are entering a new era, as the program has officially announced that they are firing Billy Napier as head coach. The decision comes even though the team beat Mississippi State 23-21 in Week 8.
After the program called for a staff meeting around 1:45 p.m. EST, which was followed by a 2 p.m. EST players meeting, Florida is officially moving on from Napier, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN. The Gators will have an interim step in and prepare for a Week 10 matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs as the team gets a bye in Week 9.
“Sources: Florida is firing coach Billy Napier. He’s gone 22-23 in four seasons there, and Florida is 3-4 this year. Florida has a bye week before playing Georgia on Nov. 1.”
Speculation was running rampant on X, formerly known as Twitter, before the announcement was made. Uncredentialed accounts that are not affiliated with Florida's football program went as far as to claim that Napier had lost the job well before the announcement.
Florida is paying nearly $19 million to buy out Billy Napier's contract, per Chris Vannini of The Athletic. About half of that money will be paid to the 46-year-old head coach within the next 30 days, while the rest will be paid to him annually.
“BREAKING: Florida has fired head coach Billy Napier, The Athletic has learned. Napier was 22-23 in four seasons. His buyout is around $19 million, with no offset from another job. About $9.7 million is due within 30 days. The rest [will be] paid annually into 2028.”
Florida is expected to announce wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales as the interim head coach, reported by Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Gonzales has held that role for the past three seasons. He will have the Week 9 bye to prepare the Gators and reset for the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign.
“Billy Gonzales is set to be named Florida's interim head coach, sources tell CBS Sports. Has been Florida’s wide receivers coach the last three seasons.”
Amid all of the speculation of firing Billy Napier this season, the decision was finally made on Sunday. Florida will finish the year with Gonzales leading the way and will conduct a thorough search once the regular season concludes.
