Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly have a laugh before the start of the game at midfield during warm ups at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 16, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brian Kelly's Take: LSU Football's Head Coach Weighs In On Florida's Billy Napier

Originally posted on LSU Tigers on SI | By Zack Nagy | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 3:04 PM ET

No. 3 LSU will host Billy Napier and the Florida Gators in Week 3 with both programs set to open Southeastern Conference play on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

After back-to-back victories to open the 2025 season, LSU is 2-0 for the first time since 2019 as Brian Kelly and Co. look to steer the ship in the right direction.

On the other side, the Florida Gators have been in headlines for all the wrong reasons after Napier and Co. dropped a Week 2 matchup to the USF Bulldogs.

National analysts from coast-to-coast have weighed in on Napier's job status as "hot seat" conversations continue ramping up ahead of Week 3 at LSU.

“He completely blew it,” ESPN's Paul Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “(These are) the same problems we’ve been seeing from Napier in terms of game management from beginning, and at this point, there’s no reason for optimism.

"I’m sorry, we went through that last year. It was a roller coaster, terrible at the first, great at the end. And you just can’t keep playing with fans’ emotions. You have to get control of your program. And he clearly has not. So I think the end is near for Billy Napier.”

But LSU head coach Brian Kelly believes the "hot seat" claims are "craziness" as Napier continues developing his own culture in Gainesville.

“Crazy. It’s craziness,” Kelly said of the belief that Florida should part ways with Napier.

“He’s a really good football coach. He knows his team. He knows what their strengths and weaknesses are. You can see it on film. He’s building a culture that is fit to his eye in terms of what he wants to do. He’s doing it his way. That’s awesome."

Brian Kelly's Take: LSU's Shot-Caller Dives in on Napier

“Look, I came in here … and (when Ed Orgeron) was here, he won a National Championship. But, he did it his way. It was his way. And that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s the way it went.

"They wanted to make a change. I do it my way. It takes time. It takes time to put in your philosophy and the way you like to do things. I do them a lot different than Ed does, but he still won. They ask for a change, I came, and it takes time to make that change.

“And, it’s the same thing as Billy. Billy has come in after two or three other head coaches that changed the way the other coaches did it. Now he’s starting to stabilize that program. People talk about whatever they want. It’s crazy. It takes you what it takes, and he will get that thing where he wants it.

“I think he’s got it right now … They beat us last year. Was that considered a rant? Close? A borderline rant?

This article first appeared on LSU Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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