Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier entered the season squarely on the college football coaches’ hot seat with the added pressure of facing one of the toughest schedules in college football. With the program on track for one of its worst seasons in years, it’s time to start evaluating Florida Gators coaching candidates.
- Billy Napier coaching record (Sports reference): 52-28 overall, 12-16 as Florida Gators coach
The University of Florida has given Napier time, allowing him 3 seasons to try and make it work. However, with the team headed for its third consecutive season with a losing record, a Gators coaching search is inevitable. With that in mind, let’s dive into our coaching candidates.
Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Rebels head coach
Every Florida Gators coaching candidates list will likely start with Lane Kiffin. He’s matured since the disastrous USC Trojans tenure, first turning Florida Atlantic into an 11-win team twice and then helping the Ole Miss Rebels record two seasons with double-digit victories since 2021. Mississippi also looks like one of the best college football teams right now, a testament to Kiffin’s offenses.
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A great offensive mind and a head coach with personality are great, as is Kiffin’s win-loss record since 2017 (64-28). That in itself could do wonders for Gators quarterback DJ Lagway in 2025 and 2026. The added bonus, which is especially important for Florida, Kiffin is the king of the transfer portal. Ole Miss finished with the 247 Sports’ No. 1 transfer class in 2024 and despite what Dabo Swinney thinks, the transfer portal is just as important as recruiting in the modern game.
Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri Tigers head coach
We’ll first acknowledge a risk with Eli Drinkwitz. The Missouri Tigers coach has no personal ties to Florida and his lone SEC experience before taking over as Mizzou’s head coach came in 2010-’11 as Auburn’s quality control coach. With that said, everything else on his resume stands out and makes him one of our preferred Gators coaching candidates.
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It did take time for Drinkwitz to get this program turned around. Mizzou went a combined 17-19 in his first three seasons at the helm. There are a few things worth highlighting on Drinkwitz’s resume. Missouri finished with the 48th-ranked recruiting class by On3.com in 2020 then jumped to 26th in 2021. He’s now pulling in top-20 classes, including a 5-star recruit in consecutive years, which is rare for Missouri. The Tigers have also played Georgia closer than anyone outside Alabama in the last two years. Drinkwitz is a great coach and his SEC experience makes him a better fit than Napier was.
Glenn Schumann, Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator
It’s always important to acknowledge the risks associated with hiring a coordinator with no head-coaching experience. That would be the big gamble the Florida Gators would take if they hired Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. With that said, there’s a significant upside here.
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Schumann, age 34, started his coaching career as a student assistant (2008-2011) with the Alabama Crimson Tide under Nick Saban. Not only was he mentored by the greatest coach in college football history, but he also got to spend a decade-plus learning from Kirby Smart. When Smart was hired as the Georgia Bulldogs coach, his first move was bringing Schumann with him as co-defensive coordinator. Schumann then replaced Dan Lanning as the DC in 2022 and the Bulldogs defense hasn’t missed a beat. Schumann knows recruiting and he’s a six-time national champion as an assistant. Lanning isn’t coming to Florida, but Schuman could be the Gators’ opportunity to get something similar to the Oregon Ducks coach.
Jamey Chadwell, Liberty Flames head coach
It’s very understandable if Gator Nation has extreme reservations about hiring another successful head coach from outside the Power 4 conferences. After all, Billy Napier posted a 40-12 record at Louisiana and has flamed out at Florida. There’s still a case to be made for Jamey Chadwell.
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The 47-year-old coach joined Coastal Carolina in 2017, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. After going through the growing pains in a 5-7 season (2019), Chadwell turned the Chanticleers into an 11-win team during the 2020 COVID season and replicated that success a year later. After posting a 31–6 record (2020-’22), he took over at Liberty and the Flames now have a higher winning percentage under Chadwell (.941) than they did in the Hugh Freeze era (.694). If Chadwell were to come out on top of a Gators coaching search, Florida would need to invest heavily into a staff with significant SEC experience, because Chadwell doesn’t have any.
Jedd Fisch, Washington Huskies coach
Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch still doesn’t have the reputation he deserves among college football fans. Many still remember his first two years with the Arizona Wildcats, when he posted a combined 6-18 record. That mark requires context, however, as former Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin left that football program in a disastrous position.
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It took Fisch a few years to really get the Wildcats back on their feet, but he and his staff knew how to find gems on the recruiting front. When Fisch landed the 25th-best recruiting class in 2022, it included wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (four-star player) and quarterback Noah Fifita (three-star player). The added talent paired with Fisch’s outstanding offense led to a 10-3 season in 2023 and Washington wasted little time after Kalen DeBoer left before it landed Fisch. Putting Fisch and quarterback DJ Lagway together could spark an electric Gators offense in 2025. Plus, Fisch is a far more realistic option than the likes of Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer and Urban Meyer.