Stricklin Confirms Commitment to Napier as Gators HC

Billy Napier will return as the Florida Gators' head football coach in 2025, according to athletic director Scott Stricklin.

Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin shakes hands with Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier, right, during Gator Walk before the start of the game against the UCF Knights at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 5, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Amidst outside calls for the Florida Gators to move on from head coach Billy Napier, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin on Thursday confirmed his commitment to the third-year head coach in a letter to Gator Nation.

Stricklin's full statement can be read below:

A message from Scott Stricklin pic.twitter.com/NpLD6ktrHj

— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) November 7, 2024

"Gator Nation,

I wanted to let you know that Billy Napier will continue as head football coach of the Florida Gators.

As we've seen these past several weeks, the young men on this team represent what it means to be a Gator. Their resolve, effort and execution are evident in their performance and growth each week - building a foundation that promises greater success next season and beyond.

UF's commitment to excellence and a championship-caliber program is unwaavering. In these times of change across college athletics, we are dedicated to a disciplined, stable approach that is focused on long-term sustained success for Gator athletes, recruits and fans.

I am confidence that Billy will meet the challenges and opportunities ahead. We will work alongside him to support any changes needed to elevate Gator football. As college athletics evolves, UF is committed to embracing innovation and strategy, ensuring the Gators thrive in today's competititve landscape.

Gator Nation has remained strong, showing up game after game to stand with our team. This loyalty creates an incredible environment that inspires our players to compete with heart and determination. Now, I call on all of Gator Nation to continue standing behind Billy and his dedicated team while we work together to a championship program.

Go Gators!

Scott Stricklin"

Stricklin's message comes as Florida is 4-4 in Napier's third season after a 34-20 loss to rival Georgia. Napier is now 15-18 as the Gators' head coach. After a 1-2 start to the season with blowout losses to Miami and Texas A&M at home, fans seemingly turned on the program's leadership due to a lack of uncompetitiveness.

Had Florida fired Napier, UF would have owed him nearly $26 million in buyout money, which was reportedly ready after the Texas A&M game. Reports following the loss indicated an informal meeting of the Board of Trustees would happen that Sunday.

However, Napier remained, and on the Monday after the loss to the Aggies, he said he did not have conversations with university leadership about his future as the head coach and his focus was on improving from week-to-week.

"Those are all hypothetical scenarios," he said at the time. "I think for me, I'm going to try to model what I would expect from our players, okay? Some of those things I just talked about, I think that's the whole key. As a staff and throughout the organization, we have to do our part to model what we would expect from the players and want from the players.

"And that for me is total focus on the next opportunity to improve. We're going to put the game to bed today from Saturday, and then it's about doing my absolute best to prepare the team to play next Saturday."

Since then, Florida has turned a corner with a 3-2 record, and the two losses were against top-10 teams that were in the Gators' grasps. In an overtime loss to Tennessee, Florida had plenty of chances to score in the first half, but red zone gaffs and a special teams error left needed points on the board.

Last week against Georgia, Florida led 10-3 in the second quarter with a chance to extend, but a hamstring injury to quarterback DJ Lagway stifled the offensive unit, which still managed to tie the game in the fourth quarter.

The return of competitiveness cooled the outside noise against Napier. However, a 2025 recruiting class that is currently outside the top-50 nationally alongside what could be a third-straight losing season under the current leadership remains in the forefront of anti-Napier minds.

The Gators travel No. 5 Texas on Saturday before back-to-back home matchups against ranked opponents in LSU and Ole Miss. Florida ends the regular season in Tallahassee against bowl-ineligible FSU.