New Florida interim coach Billy Gonzales turned to a coach he served under for advice Alan Youngblood / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Billy Gonzales Turns to Urban Meyer for Guidance Before Leading Gators

Originally posted on Florida Gators on SI
By Tyler Carmona | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 8:55 AM ET

While Florida Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales owns one of the most impressive résumés among assistant coaches in the country, he’ll be taking on a new challenge as a head coach.

Ahead of his debut as Florida’s interim, Gonzales reached out to former Gators national championship coach Urban Meyer for advice as he steps into the role.

Billy G called Urban Meyer for advice on being a HC pic.twitter.com/B3kp7YGh4u
— Florida Gators (@gatorsszn) October 23, 2025

“I was taking a deep breath, saying, ‘I’ve got to help my guy here.’ This is not easy,” Meyer said. “The most important thing is these darn players. Everything will be recorded on film. A player can ruin his draft stock by not getting coached.”

Meyer said Gonzales told him about an upcoming meeting with his staff and players, and he felt compelled to offer his former assistant a few tips

The two spent a total of nine seasons coaching together, including five seasons at Florida, two seasons at Bowling Green, and two at Utah.

During Gonzales’ time as a wide receiver at Colorado State, Meyer was his position coach.

According to Meyer, the first piece of advice he gave Gonzales was to avoid criticizing former Gators head coach Billy Napier

“The first thing I said, and most importantly, was don't you dare take a shot at the previous head coach,” Meyer said. “Stay completely away from that.”

Meyer left Gainesville with two National Championship rings and a 65-15 record.

After spending two seasons away from coaching, the former Gator head coach returned as Ohio State’s head coach, where he led the Buckeyes to a National Championship in 2014. Overall, Meyer has a 187-32 record as a collegiate head coach.

While Gonzales does not have any head coaching experience, he has been coaching at the collegiate level for 31 years. The Colorado native got his start as the wide receiver coach at Division III program MacMurray.

He has served three separate stints as Florida’s wide receivers coach, spending a total of 12 seasons with the Gators. In between stints, he also coached at LSU, Illinois, Mississippi State, and Florida Atlantic in between his stints at Florida.

After compiling a 22-23 record through three-and-a-half seasons at Florida, Napier was relieved of his duties after the Gators narrowly pulled off an ugly 23-21 win against Mississippi State last Saturday.

Florida is currently on a bye week, giving Gonzales some extra time to prepare his squad for their rivalry matchup against No. 5 Georgia next Saturday.

The game will be broadcast live on ABC at 3:30 p.m. EDT.