The University of Florida fired its head coach, Billy Napier, on Sunday, announcing the wide receivers coach, Billy Gonzales, as the interim head coach. This decision was made after they went to 3-4. Florida’s AD Scott Stricklin announced that it’s a “results-driven business,” and Napier “ultimately did not translate” into the level of success that the program expected on the field. This brought an end to Napier’s four seasons with the Gators, where he had a 22-23 record. Moments after Napier got fired, ex-Florida Coach Urban Meyer revealed that he got an unexpected call from Gainesville, asking for help.

On October 22, 2025, during the latest episode of The Triple Option, Urban Meyer revealed that he got an unexpected call on Sunday from Billy Gonzales, who whispered, “You know, I’m the interim coach now at Florida.” Meyer and Gonzales have known each other for a very long time. Their relationship lasted since 1990 at Colorado State, where Gonzales played as a wide receiver under Meyer’s coaching. In 2001, they reunited at Bowling Green, where Gonzales joined as a receivers coach under Meyer. The new interim coach also worked with Meyer at Utah in 2004 and at Florida from 2005 to 2009.

Being Meyer’s right hand throughout his football career, Gonzales asked his ex-coach for help with the upcoming staff meeting and team meeting. Shocked to learn about the coaching development in Gainesville, Meyer simply advised the interim coach to not take a shot at the previous coach. 

Meyer advised him, “Don’t you dare take a shot at the previous thing, and stay completely away from that.”

Gonzales has been in Florida under three different coaches, Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen, and Billy Napier. Meyer told him that the coaching changes can be stressful, as players could ruin their draft stock either by screwing around or not getting coached. He told him, “You have to be loyal to those dudes that wear the helmet and the shoulder pads.”

He said that even the second, third, and fourth-round prospects also need to be coached hard for the next six weeks of the regular season. The former Gators’ head coach alerted him, saying that everything is on videotape, and it’s the evidence of whether he had coached the players every game. Gonzales also addressed his talk with Urban Meyer and the valuable advice he gave him, moving forward.

Billy Gonzales to Save Florida Gators

The Florida Gators are 3-4. However, interim HC Gonzales is looking forward to getting the best possible finish for the season. The first change under the interim coach came from the coaching roles. Since Napier left, the QB coach, Ryan O’Hara, will call the play. On the other hand, the RB coach Jabbar Juluje and OL coach Rob Sale will share the responsibilities of the team’s run game.

“Like I said, I know it’s not a perfect situation,” Gonzales said. “But nothing in life is. But one thing that I do know for sure is that these players are resilient. They’re tough. They’re competitors. And they don’t have quit anywhere in their DNA… If we can continue to help them grow as men, the athletes’ always going to rise to the top.”

The Florida Gators, under the new interim coach, are set for their first big challenge this Saturday. They are set to face their rival, No.5 Georgia Bulldogs, in the SEC conference match-up. Their opponents are coming with a 6-1 record, with a three-week winning streak. In the head-to-head record, Georgia stays dominant with 56-44-2 record. We need to wait and watch how well the Gators can handle their first game under the new coaching staff.