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Billy Napier is no longer the head coach of the Florida Gators. It was a rough go of things for Napier, who was one of the hot up-and-coming names in the college football coaching world when the Gators hired him to replace Dan Mullen in November of 2021. Napier has since gone 22-23 in three-and-a-half seasons in Gainesville, and he was fired after the Gators beat Mississippi State this past weekend. If you're getting fired after a win, you know things have gotten bad. In his place, trying to lead the Gators out of this quagmire will be interim head coach Billy Gonzales, who has been around the Florida program in different capacities since 2005. Who is Florida Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales? Gonzalez coached under Urban Meyer as the wide receiver's coach for Florida from 2005 to 2009. He was a part of two national championship teams as the Gators' wideout coach. Gonzalez put together other stints as an assistant and sometimes a co-offensive coordinator at LSU, Illinois, Mississippi State and Florida Atlantic. He joined up with Napier in 2023 and is now Florida's interim coach thanks to his experience over three different stints with the Gators. "Coach Gonzales has been a valued member of our program for many years, including being a part of multiple championship teams," athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. "He is a Gator through and through. His deep understanding of our culture, our student-athletes, and what it means to represent the University of Florida makes him well-suited to lead our team." Gonzales has some work to do, but the good news for him is that the Gators have a bye this week. He has a chance to implement his plan, which many interim coaches don't get, but it looks like he's going to be leaning on the coaches around him as well. Billy Gonzales to split up the effort for Florida's offense Napier called plays at Florida, but Gonzales has said that the Gators will work this thing via a committee approach moving forward. Offensive coordinator Russ Callaway will remain over the unit, but quarterback coach Ryan O'Hara will call plays. Florida will also break it down even further into the passing game and running game on offense. Offensive line coach Rob Sale and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke will be over the rushing attack. Is that too many cooks in the kitchen? It's worth noting that this type of set up is becoming more and more popular amongst coaching staffs, but it's not like Gonzales and the Gators have anything to lose.
