Florida’s Billy Napier predicted to lose Gators job to 16-win coach in ironic twist

Florida’s Billy Napier predicted to lose Gators job to 16-win coach in ironic twist originally appeared on The Sporting News

The No. 13 Florida Gators lost to South Florida 18-16 at home at The Swamp. The Gators are now unranked in the latest AP poll.

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Now it’s the Bulls ranked No. 18 in the country heading into a top-25 matchup with No. 5 Miami, while the Gators are left searching for answers as they head to Baton Rouge to face No. 3 LSU.

Of course, the loss to South Florida could be one of the final nails in Billy Napier’s coffin, as the head coach was already entering the season on the hot seat. That seat is now likely scorching.

“Needless to say, this was a nightmare scenario for fourth-year coach Napier, who finally earned some goodwill with a strong finish last season but may now face trouble all over again,” The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel wrote.

Napier is now right at .500 in his fourth season at Florida at 20-20, with just one winning season. That came last year when Florida, beginning the year 1-2, finished 8-5 with a bowl win.

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That was enough to seemingly save his job then, but the loss to South Florida once again has those in Gator country calling for his job. If that were to be the case, The Sporting News’ Bill Bender says there could be an ironic twist to all this, where Florida hires Bulls coach Alex Golesh to replace him.

“If you can’t beat them, then hire them? Golesh, 41, was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee from 2021-22 with Hendon Hooker, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting that season,” Bender wrote. “The Bulls are 9-6 and gave Alabama fits the last two seasons. Golesh runs an up-tempo offense, but is he that different from Tulane’s Jon Sumrall? Golesh’s stock has never been higher after early-season victories against Boise State and Florida. Is this the move?”

Golesh is now 16-12 at South Florida with two bowl victories. He has yet to win a conference title, but he and the Bulls are in line to contend for the American Conference crown this year.

Also, next week, South Florida has a chance to pick up its third straight win over a ranked opponent when it travels to Miami to face the Hurricanes. If they can do that, Golesh will no doubt become one of the hottest names on the coaching carousel.