James Madison hires Billy Napier: Ex-Florida coach returns to Sun Belt to replace Bob Chesney with Dukes
Prior to his hiring at Florida, Napier enjoyed a successful stint coaching at Louisiana from 2019-21
Billy Napier is set to make his return to the Sun Belt Conference. James Madison is hiring Napier to fill the coaching vacancy left by Bob Chesney, sources confirmed to CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz.
Chesney will depart James Madison for UCLA whenever the Dukes' postseason run ends. James Madison is set to face off against Troy in the Sun Belt Championship Game on Friday, and the Dukes are also in College Football Playoff contention after they landed at No. 25 in that latest set of rankings.
It didn't take long for Napier to land another job after he was fired by Florida in October amid a 3-4 start to the 2025 season. Napier's Gators entered the year at No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll, and the expectation was that they would compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff after a solid close to the 2024 campaign and the return of several key contributors, including quarterback DJ Lagway and top offensive lineman Jake Slaughter.
But an early upset loss to South Florida knocked Florida out of the rankings entirely and precipitated an early three-game losing skid for the Gators. A stunning win against No. 9 Texas wasn't enough to save Napier, who left Gainesville after four seasons and a 22-23 overall record.
He won just one bowl game with the Gators and never finished above .500 in conference play.
Prior to his hiring at Florida, Napier spent four seasons as the coach at Louisiana from 2018-21. He's also served as an assistant at Clemson (2006-10), Colorado State (2012), Alabama (2013-16) and Arizona State (2017).
Napier is proven in Sun Belt
After taking huge swings on upside in each of its last two hiring cycles, James Madison is turning to a proven name to take it into its next era. No coach on the market comes with more high-level Sun Belt experience than Napier.
He was one of the Sun Belt's top coaches during his tenure at Louisiana. He led the Ragin' Cajuns to four-straight Sun Belt West division titles and won the conference two years in a row from 2020-21. Louisiana also finished ranked inside the top-20 of the AP poll in each of those seasons.
He won at least 10 games from 2019-21 and boasted a 22-2 Sun Belt record in that same span. The Ragin' Cajuns also made a bowl in each of his four years with the program. He was the first coach since 2011-14 to lead Louisiana to four consecutive bowl games.
Can Napier maintain James Madison's success?
James Madison has emerged as one of the Group of Five's premier programs since its move from the FCS to the FBS level in 2022. Though he was never able to compete for a Sun Belt title due to the NCAA's regulations for schools in a transitional period, former coach Curt Cignetti was crucial for establishing James Madison's run of dominance.
He guided the Dukes to an 8-3 record in their first year as an FBS institution and followed that up with an 11-1 showing in 2023. James Madison finished atop the Sun Belt East division and earned a bid to the Armed Forces Bowl since there weren't enough eligible teams that qualified for a bowl.
Cignetti parlayed that success into an opportunity at Indiana, where he has a 23-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers currently sit at No. 2 in the College Football Playoff Rankings and they're gearing up for a program-first appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game.
James Madison hired Chesney, a former coach at FCS Holy Cross, to replace Cignetti. Chesney followed a solid 9-4 effort from 2024 with his 11-1 record this season, including a sterling 8-0 showing in Sun Belt play. Like Cignetti, Chesney used his success at JMU to earn a shot at UCLA.
