Dabo Swinney coaching tree: Ranking every coach to come from Swinney’s management

Billy Napier was great at Louisiana, but had a challenging first season at Florida

Lo and behold! We have found our first successful branch stemming off the Swinney coaching tree. The craziest part is Billy Napier was the least successful or as well-thought-of assistant who eventually became a college head coach off Swinney’s staff. After failing as Swinney’s offensive coordinator in 2010, Napier became arguably the first Nick Saban rehabilitation success story.

Napier went to Tuscaloosa for the first time as an analyst in 2011 before briefly serving on Jim McElwain’s Colorado State staff in 2012. He returned to Alabama in 2013, where he served as the Crimson Tide’s wide receivers coach from 2013 to 2016. After that, Napier went on to become the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns head coach where he had such a phenomenal four-year run in Lafayette.

Napier went 40-12 overall and 27-5 in conference play in his four years leading the Ragin’ Cajuns. He won back-to-back Sun Belt titles in 2020 and 2021 with back-to-back, top-25 finishes. He also had three 10-win seasons in Lafayette. While he only went 6-7 in his first year at Florida last season, he still had the Gators bowling, notching his first signature victory there home vs. Utah.

Things could change in a few years, but it’s going to be hard to say that Napier is not a good coach.

For more College Football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.