James Madison is working to finalize a deal to hire former Florida coach Billy Napier as its next head coach, according to On3’s Pete Nakos and Chris Low. On3 previously reported Napier as a name to watch in JMU’s coaching search.

Napier went 22-23 during his three-plus years in Gainesville prior to his departure this past season. His hiring at James Madison would mark a return to the Sun Belt Conference, where he previously coached at Louisiana before Florida hired him.

During his time with the Ragin’ Cajuns, Napier went 40-12 overall and 20-5 in Sun Belt play. The program won two conference titles and appeared in the league championship game every year of his tenure from 2018-21.

Napier would replace Bob Chesney as James Madison’s head coach. Chesney is expected to become the next head coach at UCLA following an impressive two-year run with the Dukes. He has the program in the Sun Belt Championship game after an 11-1 record during the regular season, including a perfect 8-0 mark in conference action.

JMU also came in at No. 25 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings. That means the Dukes could find a way into the 12-team bracket, depending on how some key conference championship games go throughout the weekend.

More on Billy Napier’s coaching background

A former Furman quarterback, Billy Napier got his coaching start at Clemson as a graduate assistant from 2003-04 before heading to SC State as quarterbacks coach in 2005. He returned to Clemson from 2006-10, starting out as tight ends coach and becoming offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach from 2009-10.

From there, Napier joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama as an analyst in 2011 and was Colorado State’s assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach in 2012. He headed back to Tuscaloosa from 2013-16 as wide receivers coach and served as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017. That’s when Louisiana hired him.

Napier’s tenure at Florida began with a 6-7 record in 2022 before the Gators missed a bowl game in 2023 at 5-7. Hot seat chatter heated up in 2024, but UF rallied late in the year to finish 8-5 with multiple marquee victories, giving Napier another season. The program planned to invest more money into the roster, as well.

However, early season losses in 2025 eventually sparked Napier’s departure from Florida. That officially came after a victory over Mississippi State ahead of the bye week, and UF finished the year with a 3-8 overall record.