Florida Gators Make Major Announcement Before Texas Longhorns Game

The Texas Longhorns will not face a coach on the hot seat this week.

Jon Alfano | 10 Hours Ago

Florida coach Billy Napier talks with quarterback DJ Lagway (2) during the first half of the team's game against Central Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, October 5, 2024. / Doug Engle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Texas Longhorns

As the Texas Longhorns prepare to face the Florida Gators on Saturday, their opponent's entire future just took a big shift.

On Thursday morning, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin announced that the Gators will retain head coach Billy Napier beyond this season. Napier has been on the hot seat for some time now, at least it appeared that way from the outside, so this vote of confidence comes as a bit of a surprise.

A message from Scott Stricklin pic.twitter.com/NpLD6ktrHj
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) November 7, 2024

"UF's commitment to excellence and a championship-caliber program is unwavering," Stricklin said in a statement. "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 confident 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 competitive landscape."

Napier, 45, has a 15-18 record as head coach of the Gators, including an 8-13 mark in conference play. He led the Gators to a bowl game in his first season, but they failed to reach one last season. Now at 4-4 this season, they're in danger of missing bowl games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1985-1986,

After a difficult 1-2 start, which included double-digit losses to Miami and Texas A&M at home, Napier's seat appeared to be red hot. To his credit, though, the Gators have shown progress recently. They defeated Mississippi State, UCF and Kentucky handily, and gave two top-10 teams in Tennessee and Georgia a tough time, even taking the latter to overtime.

At this point, though, it may be too little, too late. The Gators still play No. 5 Texas, No. 15 LSU and No. 16 Ole Miss before closing the regular season against struggling rival Florida State. If they can't pull off at least one upset, then their postseason hopes are finished.

There are still some concerns to address within the program, but Napier deserves at least some credit for the improvement. How long he remains on the Gators' sideline remains to be seen, but he'll at least be there in 2025.

The Longhorns host the Gators at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday.