Florida Football: 3 reasons Billy Napier is the right coach for the Gators

The best things come to those who wait. This saying rings true for William Hall Napier, who has been named the next head coach of Florida football, per the Gators’ official Twitter account.

Napier replaces maligned coach Dan Mullen who was fired by the school three weeks ago after going 2-9 in his last 11 games against Power Five opponents. This season went south quickly for the Gators after losing to LSU for the second consecutive season.

The downfall of Mullen’s tenure could be traced to the infamous shoe game against LSU last season. Before that game, the Gators were 29-6 and 5-9 after the game. Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said he knew a change needed to be made after the loss to Missouri.

Enter, Billy Napier.

Napier comes to Gainesville after leading the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns to their best stretch of football in program history. The Cajuns had never won ten games in school history before Napier; they won ten games three consecutive seasons.

Louisiana went from a mid-tier Sun Belt team to one of the country’s best-run Group of Five programs. Stricklin and the Gators hope Napier can duplicate that success in Gainesville.

Here is a closer look at the Gators hiring Napier.