Who is Billy Napier? 5 things to know about the Louisiana coach

OXFORD — The Ole Miss coaching search is in full swing, and there are plenty of names swirling around as potential candidates to replace Matt Luke.

One such name is Louisiana coach Billy Napier. In his second year as the head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns, Napier has led his team to a 10-win season and a berth in the Sun Belt championship game.

But who is Billy Napier? Here are five things to know about the coach:

1. Billy Napier is well connected
Since 2006, Napier has spent nearly every season working alongside big-time coaches. Napier worked as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Clemson under Dabo Swinney at the outset of Swinney’s Clemson tenure and worked as an offensive analyst and wide receivers coach at Alabama under Nick Saban. He also worked at Arizona State under Todd Graham and at Colorado State under Jim McElwain, both of whom have led teams to Power 5 conference championship games.

2. Billy Napier has turned around Louisiana’s offense
In 2017, the year before Napier got to Louisiana, the Ragin’ Cajuns averaged 28.2 points per game and 5.78 yards per play. In Napier’s first season, he improved those numbers to 31.9 points per game and 6.59 yards per play. This season, Napier’s offense has averaged 38.8 points per game and 7.12 yards per play.

3. Louisiana coach has a knack for recruiting receivers
Even in Ole Miss’ darkest days, the Rebels were always able to recruit wide receivers like A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf. That matches well with Napier’s strengths. While working as the wide receivers coach and later offensive coordinator at Clemson, Napier helped bring in future NFL stars like Deandre Hopkins and Martavis Bryant. At Alabama, Napier was a primary recruiter for Jerry Jeudy, a projected first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

4. Billy Napier’s success is unprecedented
Louisiana’s 10 wins in 2019 is a school record. The Ragin’ Cajuns hadn’t even won eight games in a season since 1993, when the school won the Big West. The last time Louisiana won nine games in a season was in 1970 when the Ragin’ Cajuns were still a Division II program.

5. Billy Napier is a trendy candidate
Napier’s name has circulated as a potential candidate for bigger jobs for weeks. His name has popped up on message boards and Facebook groups whenever SEC jobs have opened up, whether it's Arkansas and Missouri.

SOURCE: Suss, Nick. "Who is Billy Napier? 5 things to know about the Louisiana coach." Mississippi Clarion Ledger, 5 December 2019,  https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2019/12/05/billy-napier-louisiana-ole-miss-coaching-search-arkansas-missouri/2618178001/

Contact Nick Suss at 601-408-2674 or nsuss@gannett.com. Follow @nicksuss on Twitter.