As Bob Chesney exits the James Madison program for UCLA, one the top jobs in the Group of 5 has come open, and a former Alabama assistant may be the next man up.
According to On3, former Alabama assistant and Florida head coach Billy Napier is being zeroed in on as the next head coach at James Madison. Napier has also been attached to the Tulane opening, which came about as Jon Sumrall replaced Napier at UF.
Despite Napier’s struggles at Florida, the former Alabama assistant has had success at the G5 level, pulling off a successful four-year run at Louisiana stringing together three-straight seasons of ten wins or more. Napier’s overall record at Louisiana was 40-12 with back-to-back conference titles in his final two seasons.
Napier could not repeat that same success at Florida with the Gators, going 22-23 before being fired midway through the 2025 season. After two seasons of below .500 ball, Florda battled back amid Napier-firing rumors in 2024 to win the Gasparilla Bowl to cap off an 8-5 season.
James Madison takes on Troy in the Sun Belt Championship game on Friday at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
