The Florida Gators are 1-2 without a win against FBS competition three weeks in to the 2025 college football season. Unfortunately for Gators head coach Billy Napier, ESPN's Paul Finebaum does not believe he can recover from this start.
“Their path is very challenged, and I mean I’m not going to sugarcoat it on your podcast here,” he said in an appearance on the Matt Barrie Show on Monday. “Billy Napier is not coming back next year. I don’t see a path for him.”
Napier is in his fourth season at the helm in Gainesville with 2024 being his only winning season. But even then, the Gators went 8-5, 4-4 in the SEC, good for a 10th-place finish. Overall, he has a 20-21 record in his time at Florida with a 10-15 mark in SEC play.
The Gators' 20-10 loss at LSU over the weekend was the first game of four in a row against ranked SEC opponents, which continues next week at No. 4 Miami. Such a tough stretch only makes Florida's 18-16 loss to South Florida in Week 2 all the more inexcusable.
Given the gauntlet that is the SEC, Florida will need to beat at least three ranked teams the rest of the way to even salvage bowl eligibility.
“They're one game into the four game schedule that many thought would undo them,” Finebaum continued. “The schedule reads Miami next week, Texas after a by week, and at Texas A&M. Texas now looks like the easiest of those four and they’re already one down after dropping the USF game.”
For Napier's part, he was asked point-blank on Monday if he thought he was coaching for his job. He delivered a diplomatic response.
“I think I'm trying to solve problems,” he said. “You’re trying to find the right combination of things to help. We’re a handful of plays away from winning that game Saturday.”
Finebaum added that, by speaking to Florida fans at the airport, he learned that many still want the Gators to hire Lane Kiffin away from Mississippi. Kiffin is 47-18 in six-plus seasons with the Rebels, which includes a pair of New Year's Six bowl appearances.
