"The coach was a terrible hire from day one": Paul Finebaum contrasts Billy Napier’s future with fired UCLA, Virginia Tech coaches

Much like last year, Florida coach Billy Napier found himself on the hot seat of college football once again when the Gators fell to a 1-2 record after losing 20-10 to the LSU Tigers at Death Valley in Week 3. The loss came on the heels of an 18-16 loss to the South Florida Bulls at the Swamp during Week 2 action.

Other coaches on the hot seat, including UCLA Bruins' DeShaun Foster and Virginia Tech Hokies' Brent Pry, were fired on Sunday after falling to 0-3 records to start the 2025 season.

During Monday's segment of the "McElroy & Cubelic Show," ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum contrasted Billy Napier's future with Foster and Pry's and why the Gators need to retain their coach (31:05).

“I think there’s a difference between Napier’s situation at Florida and UCLA and Virginia Tech,” Paul Finebaum said. “I mean, those two were self-explanatory. Nobody was showing up at UCLA. The coach was a terrible hire from day one.

"Pry was done. I understand that. Just clear the deck. Give the team and the fans a chance to maybe have a fun season. Florida has been competitive. I’m not trying to come up with cliches here, but they did lose the game a week ago by one and the game Saturday they were in [it].”

ESPN analyst reveals Billy Napier firing timeline

Last year, despite being on the hot seat, Billy Napier saved his job by finishing the season strongly. During Monday's segment of the "McElroy & Cubelic Show," ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum detailed how the Gators should approach firing Napier (31:40).

“I don’t think you just fire a coach at Florida just to fire them at Florida," Finebaum said. "I think the next three to four weeks are going to tell the story. This was often a stretch that we talked about. He had to split that four-game stretch, and he’s already lost a game before the stretch even began.

"So, I think if he can’t win anything at the end of this stretch, and by the way, Texas right now is the easiest win of the group, then the season is effectively over. Then you decide. Do you just want to make a change now to have it in cement?”

The Gators have one of the toughest strength of schedules in college football and will travel to Coral Gables to face the No. 4-ranked Miami Hurricanes. Billy Napier's team also has clashes against the Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, Georgia Bulldogs, Ole Miss Rebels, Tennessee Volunteers and Florida State Seminoles to close out the season.