Louisiana Will Name Billy Napier Head Coach

He joins the Sun Belt school after one year as offensive coordinator at Arizona State.

A deal with Louisiana to make Arizona State offensive coordinator Billy Napier its new head coach “is imminent,” a source told SI Friday morning.

Napier spent one season at ASU and did a nice job for the Sun Devils. Napier’s deep connections around the south from his days as a Clemson and Alabama assistant coach figure to come in handy at the Sun Belt Conference school. He played a key role in stocking the Tigers and Tide with talented recruits. Napier was promoted to ASU associate head coach last week under new head coach Herm Edwards. The Sun Devils improved from last in the Pac-12 in yards per play to No. 8 under Napier. They also went from No. 9 in the conference in third down offense all the way up to No. 2.

Napier had recruited extensively in Louisiana for Alabama and was part of two national title teams with the Tide.

Napier would replace Mark Hudspeth, who was fired after seven seasons at Louisiana.