The pressure is still on Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier to prove he is the right person to continue wearing the headset in The Swamp. College football rumors continue to swirl about Napier potentially being on the hot seat.
To Napier’s credit, Florida has improved since the team’s slow start. The Gators have won three of their last four games, but expectations are high in Gainesville.
Florida still has remaining games against the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels. This could provide Napier with an opportunity to save his job, or the treacherous schedule may be the tipping point to Florida making a change.
Florida Gators
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier waves to fans during Gator Walk. Matt Pendleton
On3.com’s J.D. PicKell predicts that Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz will ultimately replace Napier at Florida. The college football analyst offered this aside during his weekly pick segment ahead of Week 9.
“I don’t really trust Missouri all that much. I love Eli Drinkwitz, love Eli Drinkwitz,” PicKell explained during Wednesday’s episode of “The Hard Count” podcast. “If you’re asking me today, I think he’s probably the pick, for me at least, for the next head coach at Florida, assuming that what we all believe [Napier firing] will happen at some point happens.”
It is not the first time Drinkwitz has been linked to Florida. Drinkwitz signed a $46 million contract with Missouri last December, per KRCG.
For context, Napier inked a $51.8 million deal with the Gators. Napier’s buyout heading into the 2024 season was $26.7 million, per CBS Sports.
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