"You're a coach you're a teacher": When Florida HC Billy Napier shared the reason behind his habit to carry notebooks

In 2022, Florida Gators coach Billy Napier had an interview with Dennis Dodd during the SEC Media Days. That was when he initially joined the program after departing from Louisiana. Napier arrived to replace Dan Mullen, who was fired from the program after the team's loss to Missouri during the 2021 season.

In the interview, Billy Napier was questioned about his notebooks and why he carried them everywhere. He replied by talking about how he had a habit of noting down every piece of information that could prove to be vital in the future for his team.

Napier also stated he saw himself as a teacher as well, which is why he always looked to create an environment that 'produces the best result.'

"I think that, you know we have learned over time that you are 80 percent more likely to retain information if you write it down. So we're big into that. Part of that is just you're a coach, you're a teacher. Every meeting that we have, there's an opportunity to create the environment that produces the best result for the player," Napier said. (5:00 onwards)

"So we want to equip our players, we want to create habits for our players. These will help them in football. But more importantly, it will help them in campus and they'll help them down the road in their career after football."

However, despite the high expectations, Billy Napier has not been very successful during his stint with the Gators. After leading them to a 6-7 campaign in his debut, Napier failed to help the program qualify for the bowl games last season. They finished with a 5-7 record, leading to him receiving a lot of criticism for his work.

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How has the 2024 season so far been for Billy Napier and the Gators?

Billy Napier and the Gators had a disappointing start to their 2024 campaign. They lost their season-opener to the Miami Hurricanes. However, they bounced back in week 2 to win against Samford, which was followed by another loss to Texas A&M.

This led to many experts believing that Napier was in the hot seat. However, the Gators showed improvement in their performance in week 4 against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. They managed to defeat them on the road 45-28, with QB Graham Mertz putting up 201 passing yards with three TD passes and one rushing TD.

The Gators are scheduled to face the UCF Knights on October 5. Billy Napier will be looking to at least help the Gators qualify for the bowl game this season. Thus, the next few games are going to be crucial for him and the program.