billy napier
Billy Napier. Photo: David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

JMU is set to hire Billy Napier, fired in October after three subpar seasons at Florida, to take over its football program, with current coach Bob Chesney on his way to UCLA.

The hire makes JMU the second state school to go with a guy with a resume who was fired from his previous job in 2025 to take over football operations.


ICYMI


Virginia Tech went with James Franklin, on the market because he got the axe at Penn State in September, to replace Brent Pry, who as it turns out was Franklin’s former defensive coordinator at Penn State.

Napier, 46, was future-endeavored after a 3-4 start at Florida this fall, and a 22-23 overall record in four seasons in Gainesville.

He got the job there on the strength of a solid run at Louisiana, which he led to a 40-12 record in his four seasons there, from 2018 to 2021.

His final two teams at the Sun Belt school finished in the AP Top 25.

I’ve not been big on the Franklin hire at Tech because Franklin hasn’t had to win in the NIL era with a Tech-sized budget, but I can see the Napier-to-JMU hire working out, because he has a record of success at the Group of 5 level.

Published by Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at chris@augustafreepress.com.