BILLY NAPIER

The new Florida Gators football coach, fresh off a whirlwind Saturday, arrived in Gainesville on Sunday morning ready to get a start on rebuilding the program.

A person familiar with negotiations says new Florida coach Billy Napier agreed to a seven-year, $51.8 million contract that makes him the fifth-highest-paid coach in the Southeastern Conference.

Levi Lewis scored on a career-high 56-yard run and passed for another touchdown, and No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette capped off soon-to-be Florida coach Billy Napier’s time with the Ragin’ Cajuns by defeating Appalachian State 24-16 in the Sun Belt Conference championship game.

Billy Napier will take the podium for the first time in just a couple of days as the University of Florida’s head football coach and Gators fans are excited for him to get started.

There’s a lot to learn about Gators new coach Billy Napier. From his time as Louisiana’s head coach, all the way back to his days under Nick Saban at Alabama, he takes everything he has learned to lead the Florida Football program.

It’s official: Florida hired <b>Billy Napier</b> as its new football coach.

David Waters joins Gators Breakdown listeners for a call-in style chat to discuss Florida hiring Billy Napier as the program’s new head coach.

Florida Football is set to hire Billy Napier as the 28th head coach in program history.

Can the Gators capture the same kind of success with Billy Napier as they had when they hired Urban Meyer? That's the hope.

Florida has found its next football coach — Louisiana’s Billy Napier.

Florida was able to salvage some part of the 2021 season by ending it with a win over rival FSU.

Florida has hired Louisiana-Lafayette's Billy Napier to be the Gators' next football coach.

One last game of the 2021 regular season for the Gators and it is against rival FSU. FSU has been trending up while Florida has been trending down.

One of, if not, the main issues that plagued Dan Mullen’s tenure at Florida was recruiting. That aspect was just not at a high enough level for the direction the program was heading.

David Waters joins Gators Breakdown listeners for a call-in style chat to discuss Florida firing Dan Mullen. Also, Josh from the Ragin Review Podcast details what Billy Napier would bring as a head coach.

Who could the Gators consider? Here is a list of six names likely to be on the Gators’ shortlist and a couple of familiar names to throw out as wild card picks.

16 Louisiana-Lafayette beat UTSA 31-24 in the First Responder Bowl on Saturday at SMU’s Ford Stadium. The Ragin’ Cajuns (10-1) drove 72 yards in 12 plays for the winning score after UTSA (7-5) overcame a 24-7 second-half deficit to tie it. UTSA: The Roadrunners, playing in the program’s second bowl, fell short of compiling the first four-game winning streak in the program’s nine-year history. The Ragin’ Cajuns are scheduled to open at Texas after upsetting then-No. UTSA: The Roadrunners should be experienced at the offensive skill positions with Harris, a junior, and sophomore running back Sincere McCormick scheduled to return.

Louisiana-Lafayette was 0-8 against Appalachian State, including losses in the last two conference championship games. But Ferrod Gardner and Chauncey Manac combined to sack Appalachian State quarterback Zac Thomas on a fourth-and-9 play at the Lafayette 29. Appalachian State beat Louisiana-Lafayette four times in the previous two seasons, twice in the championship game on this same field. 14 Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Conference championship game on Dec. 19. Appalachian State: Head on the road to face Georgia Southern on Dec. 12 in the regular season finale.