Billy Napier reportedly attends practice of Florida rival
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Billy Napier may be out of coaching after his firing from Florida, but that doesn’t mean he’s not staying away from college football altogether.
In fact, Napier turned up at Georgia‘s practice on Tuesday, according to On3’s Anthony Dasher.
Napier, in 2011, was an offensive analyst under Nick Saban at Alabama while Kirby Smart was the Crimson Tide’s defensive coordinator. He later rejoined the Alabama staff as wide receivers coach from 2013 to 2016.
After Napier’s firing in October, Smart mentioned having “a lot of respect” for his former co-worker.
“He’s a guy that thinks things out really well. I think they’ve recruited well and done a good job,” Smart said.
Smart’s already taken a page out of the notebook of his former boss, as Saban was known to hire former head coaches to analyst roles while at Alabama. Former Florida and South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp has been a defensive analyst at Georgia for the past 2 seasons, previously serving as the Bulldogs’ special teams coordinator and later as co-defensive coordinator.
While it’s too early to tell whether Napier ends up working with Smart’s staff in some form and fashion in the near future, he’s at least remaining in touch with the Georgia head coach.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
