The Sporting News ranks Top 6 candidates to replace Billy Napier at Florida
Many Florida fans are calling for Billy Napier‘s job after the Gators fell 18-16 to USF on Saturday. On Monday, Sporting News ranked the top six candidates to replace Napier at Florida.
If Florida fires Napier, it’ll have to pay the 46-year-old head coach approximately $20.3 million. Napier has a 20-20 overall record and 10-14 mark in conference play during his tenure at Florida’s helm.
While Billy Napier was able to manufacture a turnaround last season after a slow start, it won’t be easy for him to replicate that magic this season. Florida has eight ranked opponents ahead on its schedule, starting with No. 3 LSU on Saturday. Naturally, some fans have already started wondering who could be the next head man at UF.
Dan Lanning has been outspoken about his lack of interest in leaving Oregon. He quickly shut down any rumors of him leaving the Ducks to take over at Alabama when Nick Saban retired in January 2024. Nonetheless, is it wrong for Florida fans to dream?
After all, Lanning has been nothing short of spectacular at Oregon. Through his first three seasons with the team, he led the Ducks to a 35-6 record and the 2024 Big Ten championship. With SEC ties at Alabama and Georgia, perhaps Lanning could be interested in testing his talents at Florida.
Lane Kiffin is a familiar face in the SEC, with stops at Tennessee, Alabama and, currently, Ole Miss. The offensive mastermind is known for his up-tempo style and could provide plenty of laughs for Florida fans off the field, as well.
Kiffin is in his sixth year at Ole Miss, where he’s amassed a 46-18 overall record and a 26-16 mark in conference play. The Rebels have had back-to-back 10-win seasons. Prior to Ole Miss, Kiffin had never been the head coach anywhere longer than four seasons.
Jedd Fisch is a quarterback whisperer. After spending over a decade in the NFL, Fisch returned to the college ranks, where he’s mentored standout QBs such as Arizona‘s Noah Fifita. Fisch could undoubtedly offer some excellent advice to Florida QB DJ Lagway as he enters his third season in 2026.
Of course, Fisch can coach more than quarterbacks. After taking over a struggling Arizona program in 2021, Fisch rebuilt the team and led them to a 10-3 record in the 2023 campaign. He replaced Kalen DeBoer at Washington in 2024 and the Huskies are 2-0 to start this season.
Eli Drinkwitz deserves respect for what he’s accomplished at Missouri. The typically under-the-radar program is regularly a Top 25 team nowadays, and has posted back-to-back 10-win campaigns.
Off the field, Drinkwitz might remind Florida fans of legendary head coach Steve Spurrier, with his always-entertaining personality. In December 2023, Drinkwitz signed a contract extension through 2028 with Missouri. He would owe the university $5 million if he left without cause before Dec. 1, 2025. The number would drop to $4 million after Dec. 1.
Lance Leipold’s stock isn’t as hot as it once was, after Kansas posted an underwhelming 5-7 record last season. Alas, Leipold’s overall success with the Jayhawks has been one of the most impressive comeback stories in college football.
The year before Leipold took over, Kansas went 0-9. In his first season with the team, Leipold won just two games. However, the Jayhawks gradually built on that momentum, and went 9-4 in 2023. It won’t be easy for Leipold to leave Kansas. The school recently invested $450 million of investment in its football stadium and operations building.
Florida fans couldn’t keep their eyes from wandering over to USF’s sideline Saturday as Alex Golesh led the Bulls to their first win over UF in program history. Golesh is one of the hottest names in coaching circles around the country right now, after two impressive first seasons at USF.
In his debut campaign, he led USF to a 7-6 record and a bowl game for the first time since 2018. He followed up the strong season with another 7-6 campaign in 2024. Golesh is signed through 2028 with USF, but Florida could always pay the 41-year-old head coach’s exit fee.
