Billy Napier, JMU Reportedly Finalizing HC Contract After Florida Exit

James Madison is reportedly "finalizing" a deal to make Billy Napier its next head coach, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel, who reported that a "formal announcement is expected Saturday."

The former Florida head coach will reportedly be signing a five-year deal.

On3's Pete Nakos and Chris Low also reported the pending pact.

Napier is the latest domino to topple in what has been a busy coaching carousal (at least outside of Happy Valley). He'll be replacing Bob Chesney, who is expected to take over head-coaching duties at UCLA.

The 46-year-old Napier was fantastic in his four seasons leading Louisiana (2018-21), as the Ragin' Cajuns went 40-12 on his watch with a pair of Sun Belt titles and four appearances in the conference championship game.

That earned him the leading role at Florida but the Gators never took off during his tenure, going just 22-23 between the 2022-25 seasons. Florida fired him in October after a 3-4 start.

"The timing also allows us to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and well-informed search for our next head coach," Athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement at the time. "We remain fully committed to utilizing every resource available to identify the right leader to guide Gators Football into the future. I will conduct the search with a high degree of confidentiality to protect the privacy of those involved. The search will focus on the hiring of an elite football coach who will embody the standard we have at the University of Florida, and we will continue to provide all of the necessary resources for that coach, his staff and the players to be successful."

While Florida lost out to LSU in the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, the Gators ultimately replaced Napier with Tulane's Jon Sumrall in late November.