After Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart’s advocacy, Billy Napier shares what it’s like working with $80M worth Nick Saban

Billy Napier is the head coach of the Florida Gators and a member of the Nick Saban coaching tree. Napier was the Alabama Crimson Tide's wide receivers coach under Saban from 2013 to 2016.

Ahead of the 2025 season, Napier spoke about Saban's influence on him as a coach. On Friday's episode of Josh Pate's College Football Show, he said,

"I had gotten let go at Clemson,” Napier said. “I was regrouping. Just married. Then it’s, what is the next step? You kind of have to invest, even if you have to go backwards. I think that first year at Alabama as an analyst, that was my 11th year, I would say I learned more in that year than I learned the prior ten. You think you know until you’re right in the middle of that thing.”

Napier, Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart are just some of the popular members of the Nick Saban coaching tree. Kiffin has turned the Ole Miss Rebels into a consistent winning team, while Smart is steadily building something special at Georgia.

Other famed Saban coaching tree members are: Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, Former Texas A&M Aggies and Florida State Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher, Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key.

The legendary head coach who is valued at $80 million by Celebrity Net Worth might have retired from coaching in 2024, but his fingerprints are all over the collegiate football scene. Napier and his fellow coaching tree members are doing a great job of maintaining the Saban way.

What's next for Billy Napier in 2025?

Billy Napier recorded his first winning season as the head coach of the Florida Gators in 2024 (8-5 record). He went 6-7 in 2022 and 5-7 in 2023.

Hence, Napier will build on last season's momentum. He is fresh off his first bowl game win as Gators boss, and he will fancy his chances of scoring yet another bowl game appearance and, consequently, a win.

Napier first joined Nick Saban's staff in preparation for the 2011 campaign. He learnt a lot during the stint and credits his time on Saban's staff with shaping him into the head coach he would become.

So, the ideal target for the upcoming season is for the Gators to stay healthy. Once that's figured out, expect Napier to lead his troops with aplomb.