Prominent CFB Analysts List Napier As Candidate For New SEC Job

With another premiere job in college football opening up after Florida head coach Dan Mullen was fired on Sunday, Louisiana head coach Billy Napier is a name being mentioned for the coaching vacancy.

Napier has done a phenomenal job of building Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns into a winner and consistent contender in the Sun Belt Conference. His streak of three consecutive 10-win seasons at the helm of Louisiana has national sports writers wondering if he's the next big name to make the jump from a group of 5 program to a power 5 program.

It was reported that Napier turned down multiple SEC coaching opportunities last year, including Auburn and Mississippi State to stay with the Cajuns for the 2021 season.

Now, Louisiana is 10-1 with a school-record 10 straight wins and a ticket to host the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 4. Because of this, Napier's name is only becoming more popular, and this upcoming coaching search includes many of the top programs in college football.

The list of schools that will be looking for a new head coach includes LSU, USC, Florida, and Virginia Tech among others.

After Mullen was officially fired from Florida, ESPN's college football writer Adam Rittenberg brought up Napier's name in the Gators coaching search.

Rittenberg wasn't the only one either. CBS sports writer Dennis Dodd included Napier's name near the top of the list to fill what he views as one of the nation's most attractive college football coaching jobs.

Napier continues to be a rising star among coaching circles, and many are recognizing his talents after seeing that Louisiana has turned into one of the top group of 5 programs in the country. However, he has proved that he is willing to stay with the Cajuns if the job being offered to him isn't attractive enough.

Napier is known to love what he's working with at Louisiana, but it's worth noting that his name is already starting to come up in these coaching searches. Will he turn them down like he did with multiple other SEC opportunities already? That question will take time to answer.

Louisiana fans just have to enjoy Napier's success with the program he built for as long as it lasts. With one game left in the regular season before the Conference Championship Game and a eventual bowl invite, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will look to cap off another historic season with Napier leading the way.