Florida Fires Billy Napier Despite Mississippi State Win, Massive Buyout

After Penn State’s decision to fire James Franklin, Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier became the next head coach to lose his job. Florida fell to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in SEC play with last Saturday’s loss to Texas A&M.

During yesterday’s game, the Gators narrowly took a 23-21 victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Going into today’s game, the Gators were heavy favorites at home to Mississippi State. However, they haven’t made it look that way.

Florida Fires Billy Napier With Massive Buyout

While Napier won his final game in Gainesville, it wasn’t enough to save his job. At halftime, with Florida up 13-7, fans within the chant called for the head of the former head coach. Just a day later, they were granted their wish.

Sources: Florida is firing coach Billy Napier. He’s gone 22-23 in four seasons there, and Florida is 3-4 this year. Florida has a bye week before playing Georgia on Nov. 1. pic.twitter.com/g6Qf8tdPC1

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 19, 2025

During his time leading the Gators, the Florida head coach went 21-23 with an 11-16 record in conference. The 2024 season, which Napier finished 8-5, was his best season as a head coach. While he nearly lost his job in 2024, the breakout of DJ Lagway saved him.

Lagway was the No. 1-rated dual-threat quarterback for the 2024 recruiting class. In his first season, under the Florida head coach, the freshman quarterback was named in the freshman All-American team.

This season, the Gators quarterback has had a mixed year. Despite throwing for 1,513 yards and 9 touchdowns, the quarterback has also thrown 9 interceptions in his junior season. Napier was also formerly the offensive playcaller at Florida.

It was recently reported that the head coach attempted to hire an offensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 season; however, after his failure to secure the signature of Charlie Weis Jr from Ole Miss. Following that failure, he continued his job as offensive playcaller.

How Much Money Will Florida Owe Billy Napier?

Napier’s contract runs through 2029, and the Gators will pay him 85% of his remaining contract value, which comes out to just above $20 million. In comparison to recent contracts like Franklins, this is not an absurd cost.

The head coach signed a seven-year deal with over $50 million guaranteed in November 2021. The Florida head coach would be paid around $10.2 million within 30 days of the firing. He would receive $2.5 million every July 15th over the next four years.

On top of this, Florida initially paid a fee when it first hired the Florida head coach. Napier, who was previously at Louisville, cost $3 million in order to buy out his contract.

With an amount of funding and investment that rivals even Penn State’s, as well as a history of National Title-winning seasons, Florida will be one of the most attractive destinations in College Football. Meanwhile, Napier will be looking for his next job.