On Wednesday, USA Today reported that Florida athletic director Scott Stickland met with multiple boosters on Tuesday regarding the status of head coach Billy Napier after a 2-4 start to the season. Those boosters suggested that continued funding of the Gators football team was contingent on an imminent coaching change.
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Per Zach Abolverdi of On3, Strickland only met with one booster, and there was no ultimatum given to Strickland. However, there is serious movement going on behind the scenes in Gainesville.
The program is already starting to vet potential candidates to take over for Napier.
“Gators Online has learned that the vetting process has already started on multiple candidates, according to sources,” Abolverdi wrote. “Florida is doing its due diligence and homework to get a head start on a potential coaching search. UF also vetted candidates last year, sources said.”
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Florida is set to move on from Napier if the program loses another game this season. The Gators are preparing for an in-season coaching change, and Napier is not expected to finish out the remainder of the regular season if he is fired. It’s unclear what the timeline is for a potential coaching change, though it would make sense before the bye in Week 9.
“Napier is unlikely to finish out 2025 if he’s let go during the season, a source close to the situation told Gators Online this week,” Abolverdi wrote. “Whenever a move is made, Florida is expected to put an interim coach in place for the remainder of the year. The likelihood of an interim hire taking over is why UF could consider making a change before the bye week.
“If Napier beats Mississippi State and keeps coaching, the next three games are against No. 9 Georgia, at Kentucky and at No. 5 Ole Miss.”
Napier, 46, is 21-23 overall and 11-16 in SEC play during his four seasons with Florida.
Florida started the season ranked No. 15, but fell out of the rankings after losing 18-16 at home to Southern Florida in Week 2. The Gators lost two more games in a row to then-No. 3 LSU and then-No. 4 Miami.
The Gators appeared to make progress with a 29-21 win over then-No. 9 Texas on Sept. 4, but a 34-17 loss to then-No. 5 Texas A&M dropped the program to 2-4.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.