James Madison hires fired Florida coach Billy Napier to take over for Bob Chesney

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — James Madison has hired former Florida coach Billy Napier to replace Bob Chesney, who is leaving for UCLA but would coach the Dukes in the College Football Playoff if they make the 12-team field.

Napier, who was 22-23 in four seasons at Florida, was fired Oct. 19. Chesney, who coached JMU to a 12-1 record and Sun Belt Conference championship, was officially announced as UCLA’s new coach on Saturday.

The Dukes, No. 19 in The Associated Press poll and No. 25 in the CFP rankings, will find out Sunday if they are in the playoff.

“We are humbled and honored to accept this incredible opportunity to be the head football coach at the James Madison University,” Napier said in a statement. “I’ve been blown away with the alignment & vision at JMU. There is dynamic leadership in this administration. Our team, staff and entire organization will work daily to promote a program with integrity and class that will be a source of pride for all of us. More importantly, we will build a culture that is centered around making an impact on our players as people, as students and on the field as elite athletes.”

JMU is in only its fourth season in the Bowl Subdivision and has a combined record of 40-10 under Curt Cignetti and Chesney. The Dukes are in line for a third straight bowl if they don’t make the playoff.

“We embrace the expectations and are excited about the challenge ahead,” Napier said. “We will assemble a special group of people and immediately get to work building a great program.”

Napier was one of the top up-and-coming coaches as he led Louisiana-Lafayette to a 40-12 record from 2018-21 with four appearances in the Sun Belt title game.

His move to the Southeastern Conference was humbling. He had two straight losing seasons with Florida before going 8-5 in 2024. The Gators were 3-4 when Napier was fired. He finished 12-16 in SEC games and 5-17 against ranked opponents, including 0-14 away from home.

Napier is 62-35 as head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette and Florida, and he will be expected to continue the Dukes’ run of dominance under Chesney, who was 21-5 in two seasons.

“We strive for excellence and maximum success every day and understand that this type of coaching transition can be the price for that success,” athletic director Matt Roan said. “The challenge and opportunity is to reload and keep taking steps to ‘level up’ the trajectory of the JMU football program, and we are confident that we’ve done that with the hiring of Coach Napier.”

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