The Florida Gators fired coach Billy Napier ahead of their Nov. 1 game against the Georgia Bulldogs. In the aftermath of Napier’s firing, Florida had a bye week to reorganize. The Gators named receivers coach Billy Gonzalez as their interim coach.
Gonzalez has been complimentary of Napier and “has nothing but great things to say” about the former Gators coach. Gonzalez is “honored and humbled” to be the interim coach at Florida.
Gonzalez is in a tough situation. The Gators are 3-4 and 2-2 in SEC play this season. Florida has a difficult remaining schedule and will have a tough time making a bowl game.
After Gonzalez learned he would be the interim coach, he contacted the last Florida coach to win a national championship: Urban Meyer.
“I wanted to have a chance to talk to him a little bit about the team concept,” Gonzalez said on his conversation with Meyer. “One of the unique things he talked about, and we talked about, is you’re walking into a situation where it’s not the perfect situation for you, Billy, but at the same time you want to make sure you’re here for the players. We’ve got a bunch of seniors on this football team. We’ve got a bunch of underclassmen that are fighting and are going to do everything they can to be successful.”
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
Meyer coached Gonzalez when he was in college, so it makes sense why he reached out to the former Gators coach. Meyer was successful coaching against Georgia, and he hopes the Gators will get their program back on track.
Gonzalez thinks Florida’s team is resilient and will not give up despite Napier’s firing. We’ll find out on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET (televised on ABC) how the new era of Florida football will look against Georgia.
Follow UGA Wire on Instagram or Threads for more Georgia football coverage!