Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun

Analyst sends firm message about Florida Gators HC Billy Napier without mentioning him by name

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Tyler Forness | Last updated May 25, 2025 8:25 AM ET

When you think about Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier, there are a lot of different emotions that you will get across the board.

You will see some with a heavy belief in him after the major growth the Gators showed at the end of the 2024 season. It was really impressive the shift in both the performance and energy surrounding the program, something that we knew would take a long time to build back up.

The other end of the spectrum comes from his detractors, as 19 wins in three years isn't going to fly in Gainesville. You have to be able to play better than that for a near-blue blood program.

When you look at Napier in comparison to coaches throughout all of college football, you would think about him somewhere around the 20th-25th best head coach in the nation, especially after his tenure at Louisiana.

However, CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli didn't include him in his top 25 head coaches in the nation. He ranked 45th on Fornelli's list.

First, let me congratulate Napier on still being here. I really didn't think he'd make it another year when I was staring at Florida's death march of a 2024 schedule. But the Gators went 8-5, and Napier is getting at least one more season. It's somewhat surprising that he didn't climb a little higher. 2024 rank: 47 (+2), High: 31, Low: 51

Is that something that Gators fans should take personally? Depends how you look at it.

When Napier was hired by the Gators, he was seen as the hottest candidate. Despite having offers to leave Louisiana for years, Napier chose to wait it out and select the perfect opportunity. He decided that the Gators were perfect for his vision of how he wanted to build a program.

The other side is all about his performance. Why should you be seen as a highly-ranked coach in the nation after going to a school with elite resources and underperform?

His competition to make list can be overtaken, as 21-25 is an interesting group.