LSU’s Kelly Defends Florida’s Napier

No. 3 LSU coach Brian Kelly came out in support of Florida coach Billy Napier, who returned to the hot seat after the Gators were upset Saturday at home against South Florida, in his weekly news conference Monday.

Kelly said the call for Napier’s firing by some was “craziness.”

“He’s a really good football coach,” Kelly said when asked of his impressions of Napier. “He knows his team. He knows what their strengths and weaknesses are. You can see it on film.”

Kelly praised Napier for “building a culture that is fit to his eye in terms of what he wants to do. He’s doing it his way, and that’s awesome.”

Kelly talked about his own experience in building a culture after he succeeded Ed Orgeron as coach at LSU. Orgeron won a national championship with the Tigers in 2019. Kelly emphasized “it takes time to put in your philosophy and the way you like to do things. […] It takes time to make that change, and it’s the same thing with Billy.”

Napier is in his fourth year as the head coach of the Gators. Kelly noted Napier is coming in after three coaches — Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen — all had their unique cultures for Florida football. Kelly further praised Napier for “starting to stabilize that program.”

Kelly even noted how Florida beat LSU last year at The Swamp. Florida’s upset win not only ended LSU’s hopes at making the College Football Playoff, but started a four-game win streak for Florida to end the season 8-5.

After the Gators’ strong finish, calls for Napier’s firing calmed down. Now the hot seat talks are back after Florida’s upset loss to an unranked team. The seat will get hotter if Florida cannot manage a win in Death Valley.

Florida (1-1) takes on LSU (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC. Coverage will also start at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.

Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Football