What happened to Billy Napier at Clemson?

Billy Napier replaced Dan Mullen as the head coach for the Florida Gators back in November 2021, after spending four seasons as the coach of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. He had a decent record with Louisiana, as he went on to win the West Divison of the Sun Belt Conference in his debut season with the team in 2018.

Napier began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Clemson for two years starting in 2003. In 2005, he did a one-year stint with South Carolina State, after which, he returned to Clemson as the TE coach and recruiting coordinator. He was then promoted to offensive coordinator in 2008, but after just five years, he was fired.

Why was Napier fired?

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What happened to Billy Napier at Clemson?

After being promoted in 2008, Napier became the brain behind a Clemson offense which went on to clinch the ACC Atlantic Divison championship in 2009. During that season, they also went on to secure a program record of 436 points.

However, he could not continue the momentum he had built into their 2010 campaign. The Clemson Tigers had their first losing season since 1998 with a 6-7 final record and also lost the Meineke Car Care Bowl to South Florida.

This led to coach Dabo Swinney, and the team, deciding to fire Billy Napier as they finished fourth in the ACC Atlantic Divison just a year after winning it.

Per ESPN in 2011, Napier addressed his exit from the team, stating that he was grateful for the opportunity he got at Clemson:

"It is unfortunate that my time at Clemson has come to an end under these circumstances. I want to thank Coach Tommy Bowden and Coach Dabo Swinney for the opportunity they gave me to work at Clemson. I was blessed and am thankful for the interaction I had with so many great people", Napier said.

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Billy Napier's coaching career after being fired from Clemson

Following his exit from Clemson, Billy Napier went on to have short stints with various programs.

He was initially contacted by Nick Saban to become the analyst for Alabama 2011, following which, he joined Colorado State as their assistant head coach and QB coach for the 2012 campaign. But just a year later, he returned to Alabama as their WR for four seasons.

He went on to become the offensive coordinator for Arizona State for the 2017 season and then became the head coach at Louisiana in 2018 till 2021.

Last season was his debut season with Florida, but it ended with a losing season with a 6-7 record. Fortunately, this season, Florida has recorded just one loss at the hands of Utah.

Can Billy Napier improve his record in his second year at the Swamp?