Advertisement

Here’s where Billy Napier landed in CBS Sports’ SEC head coach rankings

Florida Gators head football coach Billy Napier comes in at number eight in CBS Sports’ latest ranking of SEC coaches.

The first-year Gators coach is coming off a successful four-year stint as head coach at Louisiana, going 40-12 and winning the Sun Belt West division in all four seasons. He led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a Sun Belt conference championship in 2021, reaching as high as 19th in the College Football Playoff rankings and as high as 15th in the AP poll. He has two Sun Belt Coach of the Year awards (2019 & 2021) and has won at least ten games for three straight seasons (2019-2021).

Due to his accolades at his prior stop, the expectations in Gainesville are very high for Napier. In his introductory press conference, Napier preached patience with the fans, saying that he was building an “army of people” to help revamp the Florida football program, from top to bottom.

Napier had 59 days from when he was hired to the end of the 2022 recruiting cycle. The Gators finished the 2022 recruiting cycle ranked 20th nationally and 9th in the SEC.

It’s understandable why a first-time SEC head coach who has only four seasons of head coaching experience would be ranked in the bottom half of SEC coaches. National championship-winning coaches such as Kirby Smart, and Nick Saban (whom Napier learned from during two different stints as an Alabama assistant) are the flag bearers in the SEC. It’ll be up to Napier and the Gators to see if his ranking can rise this time next season.

Napier will look to make his Gators coaching debut against the Utah Utes on Saturday, September, 3 at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

Related

In-state 4-star defensive lineman planning on dropping by in late July

4-star OT names Florida in top 4, will return to the Swamp for another visit

Blue-chip safety names Gators among top 12 schools

Where do the Gators stand nationally after picking up latest commitment?

Florida football lands commitment from 4-star DL on Independence Day

List

Dooley's Dozen: 12 best wide receivers in Florida football history

List

Dooley's Dozen: Florida football's 12 best RBs packed with big names

List

Dooley's Dozen: Ranking the 12 best QBs in Florida football history

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!