New JMU Head Coach Billy Napier

[T-Dog]

That no good stinkin Furmie is gonna be at another purple school.

[appstate24]

That no good stinkin Furmie is gonna be at another purple school.

If true, that’s a major hire for them. For that reason, I hope it’s not true.

[ASUTodd]

So either they are paying him a BOATLOAD to come coach there or he said, You know what???? I couldn't hack it with the big boys and I got a big paycheck from Florida....I might just go back tot he Sunbelt and ride it out for less money.

[EastHallApp]

So either they are paying him a BOATLOAD to come coach there or he said, You know what???? I couldn't hack it with the big boys and I got a big paycheck from Florida....I might just go back tot he Sunbelt and ride it out for less money.

I wouldn't think he'd have a lot of immediate interest from other P4 schools after the way his Florida run went.

[ASUTodd]

So either they are paying him a BOATLOAD to come coach there or he said, You know what???? I couldn't hack it with the big boys and I got a big paycheck from Florida....I might just go back tot he Sunbelt and ride it out for less money.

I wouldn't think he'd have a lot of immediate interest from other P4 schools after the way his Florida run went.

That's what I'm saying. He showed that he couldn't make it work with a HUGE Florida budget and support. Not sure what JMU will give him Florida couldn't. While our coach had no head coaching experience, he is trying to move up in the world, Napier seems like he's trending down. Maybe its just my skewed way of looking at it. Also, NIL wasn't a thing until 2021 which is the last year he was at LL.... also thats the year the portal exploded. Maybe he learned something down in Florida that will help him but I wouldn't be hyped about the hire.

[BeauFoster]

So either they are paying him a BOATLOAD to come coach there or he said, You know what???? I couldn't hack it with the big boys and I got a big paycheck from Florida....I might just go back tot he Sunbelt and ride it out for less money.

I wouldn't think he'd have a lot of immediate interest from other P4 schools after the way his Florida run went.

That's what I'm saying. He showed that he couldn't make it work with a HUGE Florida budget and support. Not sure what JMU will give him Florida couldn't. While out coach had no head coaching experience, he is trying to move up in the world, Napier seems like he's trending down. Maybe its just my skewed way of looking at it. Also, NIL wasn't a thing until 2021 which is the last year he was at LL.... also thats the year the portal exploded. Maybe he learned something down in Florida that will help him but I wouldn't be hyped about the hire.

There’s a thread on Reddit where I said almost exactly this just because he was successful in the Belt 5 years ago, don’t immediately assume he will be again. Past performance does not equal future success

[MrCraig]

Proof these dudes are just... different. Florida has paid him $10 million of his $21 million buyout, then he's going to get $2.75 million for the next four years. Why, in the name of all that is good, would you go back into coaching immediately?!?!?! Go home! Travel! Play golf! Learn French! Why would you force yourself into the churn of recruiting and scheming and shaking hands with boosters and worrying about the portal and NIL???

[Bootsy]

That no good stinkin Furmie is gonna be at another purple school.

Who broke the news on this?

[bcoach]

Proof these dudes are just... different. Florida has paid him $10 million of his $21 million buyout, then he's going to get $2.75 million for the next four years. Why, in the name of all that is good, would you go back into coaching immediately?!?!?! Go home! Travel! Play golf! Learn French! Why would you force yourself into the churn of recruiting and scheming and shaking hands with boosters and worrying about the portal and NIL???

Because he is a coach and that is what they do. If you are trying to improve your rep why not JMU. Best team in the Sunbelt, most money in the belt or darn close to it. Great AD, and a strong fanbase. If offered my bet is he would take it. It would put him back in the P4 in 2 to 3 years.

[BambooRdApp]

So, you are telling me App.. St. will have a chance to beat Dollie Madison primarily due coaching decisions by the new head coach.

If Dollie gives Napier the resources he had at LaLa, he will be successful from an internal administration and staff perspective. NIL is a totally different idea and new world to navigate at a Group size school for him.

[Yosef10]

Napier to JMU doesn’t really worry me, as long as he continues to call the offense. Sun Belt coaches never really thought Napier was all that good with the X’s and O’s, it was the resources ULL provided that allowed him to build out his operation there and have success. No doubt JMU will give him those same resources if not more, but it was his stubbornness of not giving up play calling that got him fired in Gainesville.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

So this would make the 2nd time he coached at a Sun Belt school. The last time he went for 2 wasn't a good outcome for him.

[t4pizza]

This is great news for us, he is a bad coach. As long as he insist on calling the plays, we will always have a chance to win. The dude makes at least 1 and usually multiple bad calls each game that give the other team an opportunity to win. It only worked at ULL in a weakened belt with multiple coaching changes for us AND he had 19 analyst tracking our every play. This is JMUs worst hire in recent memory.

[AppOrange]

Well, since Fla gave him a boatload of money ot leave, maybe he spends some of that on key players and coaches as an investment for his future. Spend 5 million now, to make 50 in 4 years.

I agree his time in the belt was a much different time, but if there is a way to now work it . . .

[yosef69]

I hate this for us

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

There are two types of coaches entering the Sun Belt. Those on the way up and those on the way down.

[CharlotteApp05]

Ultimately we don’t know how this will work out…. But The folks worried about it are just because of the big name and experience.

I think this shows a bit of a crack in JMU because it is a deviation from their proven strategy of identifying talent at a lower level and having a lot of energy to keep moving up. Maybe it works, but I’m guessing this is a little bit of their fan base reacting to losing 3-4 coaches really quickly and wanting more stability, which we have seen before careful what you wish for.

[AppDub]

Doesn't scare me at all. Love this hire!

[EastHallApp]

You never know how the "on the way down" hires will go. Jerry Moore certainly did well here. Lane Kiffin fit that mold at FAU. RichRod at Jacksonville State. Dan Mullen just went 10-2 at UNLV.

OTOH, Butch Jones isn't exactly tearing it up at A-State. Terry Bowden never did all that much post-Auburn. Willie Taggart flopped at FAU.

Napier seems like a good hire to me. Still just 46 years old. Obviously still wants to compete. We shall see. Hopefully the people bashing the hire will be proven right.

[mike87]

So this would make the 2nd time he coached at a Sun Belt school. The last time he went for 2 wasn't a good outcome for him.

We should probably temper our "go for two" talk.