Florida hires Napier, 42, from Louisiana-Lafayette
TCU goes with Dykes from SMU
Florida went back to Nick Saban’s coaching tree in hopes of finding its next great coach.
The Gators hired LouisianaLafayette’s Billy Napier on Sunday, ending a quick process that landed them their top target a week after firing Dan Mullen.
The 42-year-old Napier will remain with the Ragin Cajuns (11-1) this week as they prepare to host Appalachian State (102) in the Sun Belt Conference championship game Saturday. He is 39-12 in four seasons in Lafayette, including 32-5 the past three years.
“We are humbled and honored to accept this incredible opportunity to be the head football coach at the University of Florida,” Napier said in a statement. “Our team, staff and entire organization will work daily to establish a program with integrity and class that we all can be proud of.
“We embrace the expectations and are excited about the challenge ahead.”
Florida scheduled an introductory news conference with Napier for Dec. 5, the day after his finale in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Mullen was fired last Sunday after Florida’s fourth loss in five games. He was let go less than a year after leading the Gators to a third consecutive New Year’s Six bowl. His stunningly swift downfall ended a tumultuous two seasons that included mounting losses, numerous public relation missteps and NCAA sanctions.
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin moved quickly to land Napier, a former receivers coach at Alabama under Saban and a former offensive coordinator at Clemson and Arizona State. Florida previously hired Jim McElwain (2015-17), who worked under Saban.
McElwain was fired in 2017, and Stricklin surely expects a better working relationship with Napier.
Napier has been one of college football’s rising stars and hottest names in recent years. He was in the mix for current openings at Virginia Tech and TCU.
He also turned down Mississippi State after the 2019 season and backed away from South Carolina and Auburn following the 2020 season. His name has been connected to other Southeastern Conference openings, too, including Mississippi and Missouri.
He takes over a Florida program that’s been in disarray for more than a year but is close to opening an $85 million football facility that could help the team catch up in recruiting. And that could help the Gators close the gap on superpowers such as Georgia and Alabama.
Florida had lost nine of their last 11 games against teams from the Football Bowl Subdivision before beating rival Florida State on Saturday. The 24-21 victory in the Swamp made Florida (6-6) bowl eligible.
Stricklin surely hopes Napier will help Florida continue the offensive success it enjoyed in much of Mullen’s four seasons while also providing a better culture and more accountability on and off the field.
Napier is known for having detailed organization skills that he adopted during his time with Saban. Napier’s approach has carried the Ragin’ Cajuns to unprecedented success.
Louisiana had not been ranked since 1943 until Napier arrived. The team had never won 10 games until Napier arrived, and now he’s done it in three straight seasons. He beat Iowa State in the 2020 season opener.
Napier, from Cookeville, Tennessee, was a former quarterback at Furman in South Carolina. His coaching career took a a big step forward while coaching receivers at Alabama (2013-16), where he worked with stars Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley.
He parlayed that into a job as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator in 2017 under Todd Graham, whose Sun Devils averaged 31.8 points before ULL hired away Napier.
Napier’s contract calls for a $3 million buyout to be paid to Louisiana-Lafayette.
TCU: Sonny Dykes is set to be introduced as TCU’s new coach on Tuesday after four seasons at SMU, according to a person familiar with the decision.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday because there were no official announcements from TCU or SMU amid numerous reports citing unnamed sources that Dykes would be the Horned Frogs’ new coach. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram was the first to report plans for Dykes to be formally introduced Tuesday.
Dykes’ return to the other side of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is a much-anticipated move. The son of former Texas Tech coach Spike Dykes had been considered a top candidate for the Frogs job since Gary Patterson and TCU mutually agreed Oct. 31 to part ways with four games left in the season.
Patterson, the school’s winningest coach with 181 wins, was in his 21st season. The Frogs finished 5-7 after splitting the final four games under interim head coach Jerry Kill.
After SMU’s regular-season finale at home Saturday, Dykes thanked the school’s administration for a great four years, thanked players for their efforts and said he hated the way the season ended, though it’s not over for the bowl-bound Mustangs (8-4).
The 52-year-old Dykes was 22-15 at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12 before going to Cal, where he was 19-30 and had only one winning season in his four years there.
DUKE: David Cutcliffe won’t return for a 15th season as Duke’s coach after the school announced a “mutual agreement for separation” on Sunday following the Blue Devils’ winless Atlantic Coast Conference record.
The school’s announcement came a day after the Blue Devils (3-9, 0-8) closed a three-win season with a 47-10 home loss to Miami. That marked the first winless slate for Duke in league play under Cutcliffe, who transformed the Blue Devils from one of the nation’s worst performers into a regular bowl contender and even claimed a division title in the ACC in 2013 before the program slid badly in the past two seasons.
In a statement, Cutcliffe, 67, said the decision came after “some detailed and amiable discussions” with new athletic director Nina King, who took over earlier this year but has worked at Duke since 2008 and handled primary administrative duties for the football program.
TIDE RB UNCERTAIN: Alabama tailback Brian Robinson Jr. has a pulled muscle that makes his status for the Southeastern Conference Championship Game against No. 1 Georgia uncertain.
No. 4 Alabama’s coach Nick Saban said Sunday that Robinson sustained a “lower body pulled muscle” in Saturday’s four-overtime victory over Auburn. Robinson was holding his left leg on the ground after a 37-yard carry in the fourth quarter of the 24-22 Iron Bowl win.
TOP 25: Michigan jumped to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday and Oklahoma State joined the top five for the first time since 2015.
Georgia was a unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank for the eighth consecutive week. For the fourth straight week, there is a different No. 2 team behind the Bulldogs.
Michigan has its highest ranking since it peaked at No 2. in 2016. The Wolverines moved up four spots after emphatically beating Ohio State on Saturday to break an eight-game losing streak in the rivalry.
Cincinnati moved up to No. 3, flip-flopping with Alabama at No. 4. The Crimson Tide slipped after beating Auburn in overtime.
Oklahoma State moved up two spots after beating Oklahoma for the first time since 2014. The Sooners fell three places to No. 13, and later in the day lost their head coach Lincoln Riley to USC.
Notre Dame dropped a spot to No. 6 and Ohio State tumbled five spots to No. 7 a week after it peaked at second last week.
The week before the Buckeyes were No. 2, Alabama held that spot. The Tide had replaced Cincinnati the week before.
Mississippi, Baylor and Oregon rounded out the top 10.