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Gators Billy Napier Still Head Coach with Most to Prove in 2025

The late-season turnaround hasn't stop the critics from keeping expectation low for the Florida Gators head coach

Harrison Smajovits

Napier is far from being off the hot seat
Napier is far from being off the hot seat / Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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It’s make-or-break time for Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier. On3’s Ari Wasserman released his head coaches with the most to prove, and Napier topped the list. 

Wasserman isn't a staunch critic of Napier, but there are valid points as to why he put the Gators' head coach at the top. The Gators are coming off an 8-5 finish that saw them win their final four games and pull off two major upsets. To Wasserman, this only raised the stakes for Napier. In turn, the pressure is also on quarterback DJ Lagway after his winning streak as the starter. 

“The heat may have eased for the time being, but he'll enter next season with more pressure than even last year,” Wasserman wrote. “It feels like the last stand for Napier to show the Gators faithful that Florida can compete at the highest level in the SEC. There's a lot of pressure on Lagway - who is limited this spring - to perform, too. And Florida's schedule is every bit as challenging as it was this year.” 

The Gators showed they could win under Napier. Now, they have to take that to the next level. The goal post has moved, and that par for the couse.

Other college football analysts showed how much Napier has to prove beyond that. That potential turnaround might have only ever so slightly raised expectations. 

For an example of how low expectations are, when Paul Finebaum was on Andy & Ari, he looked at the four-game stretch of LSU, Miami, Texas and Texas A&M on Florida’s schedule and wrote them all off. 

"Not even a big statement to say, but he should lose all four,” Finebaum said.

Now, his expectations are so low that it caught both Andy Staples and Wasserman off guard. Even the guy who made this top-10 list and put Napier at the top was surprised. 

“I don’t know if I would go that far,” Wasserman said. 

Expecting a loss to Texas is fair, but the other three require an evaluation. 

Florida proved they could beat LSU last season. However, it’s been a long time since they won in Baton Rouge. Their last win there came in 2016. However, LSU did finish last season on a downward trend. They have to show they’re back to form, too. A fair analysis is that LSU should be favored, but there’s some overconfidence in them winning. 

Texas A&M is a similar example. They looked great at the beginning of the year and sputtered. They beat a Florida team that stumbled out of the gate. LSU arguably beats Florida in the same scenario. Texas A&M likely loses to Florida late in the year. Napier has also proven he can win at College Station. He did that year one. 

Like LSU, A&M would rightfully be favored at home and coming off a win last season over Florida. Again, there is an overconfidence that A&M will win. 

Miami might be the most different team compared to last season. Quarterback Cam Ward is gone. So are wide receivers Xavier Restrepo and Jacobly George and running back. If Florida’s defense shows up for Miami the way it did for Ole Miss and LSU, they should be in a good spot to win that one. That might be their most likely win of the four. 

In theory, it should be bold to say that the Gators will lose all four. Unfortunately for Napier, that’s just how low expectations are. There is a chance to change that. Winning these games will do that. 

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Harrison Smajovits
HARRISON SMAJOVITS

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