Florida fires embattled coach Billy Napier in $21M catastrophe

A narrow victory and a sizable buyout were not enough to save Billy Napier.

The fourth-year Florida head coach was fired Sunday on the heels of a 23-21 home victory over Mississippi State, during which, and after, he was booed by a home crowd that witnessed a conference victory.

The university will be on the hook for more than $21 million, according to ESPN, with half due in the next 30 days and the rest to be paid in three installments beginning next summer.

Florida, which is still paying former coach Dan Mullen, will be handing out checks to three different head coaches.

The program decided it had seen enough after a victory — one that looked like a loss until an interception with 21 seconds left and ensuing field goal saved some face — that improved the Gators to 3-4 this season.

Despite the win, Napier heard loud boos as he jogged off the field in what became the final contest of a 22-23 tenure.

“I’m going to enjoy this one tonight,” an emotional Napier told reporters after the game. “Tomorrow we’ll wake up and worry about what’s next.”

The Gainesville crowd already had turned on Napier, who was nearly fired after three games last year, one of which was a blowout at Miami’s hands and another a loss to Texas A&M. But athletic director Scott Stricklin backed Napier, and ending the season with four straight victories offered promise.

But no momentum was carried over in a disastrous 2025 season that included three consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami.

Sunday’s move comes a week after Penn State fired longtime coach James Franklin following three straight losses. He had $49 million remaining on his contract.