Articles by Michael Gallagher

Sports

Fired Florida HC Billy Napier Resurfaces With Surprising College Football Team

Billy Napier’s tenure as Florida Gators head coach ended abruptly one day after the tea’s 23-21 win over Mississippi State nearly a month ago. The writing had been on the wall for the former two-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year for weeks after UF went on a three-game losing streak following its season-opening win over Long Island University. Napier’s Florida tenure will likely best be remembered for unreached potential. He went 11-14 in his first two seasons, and seemed to have turned a small corner after an 8-5 year in 2024. And he had who many considered a future Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback in former five-star quarterback D.J. Lagway. But Napier’s inability to turn consensus top-20 recruiting classes into a perennial threat in the SEC led to his firing after a 3-4 start this season. More Football: Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman Generating Major Buzz for NFL Coaching Job Head coach Billy Napier of the Florida Gators looks on after a game against the Texas Longhorns at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 04, 2025 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) More Football: Kirk Herbstreit Names No. 1 QB in 2026 NFL Draft With Zero Doubt Most believe Napier will land another college head-coaching opportunity at a smaller school given his success with Louisiana — he compiled a 40-12 record with two Sun Belt championships and two bowl wins — but in the meantime, Napier resurfaced on Tuesday at the practice of another SEC powerhouse. Napier was a special guest at the Georgia Bulldogs’ practice earlier this week, according to On3, and the timing seems a little convenient given Georgia plays the Texas Longhorns on Saturday — a team that Napier beat earlier this season. Despite the optics of the situation, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart defended why he had Napier out to one of his practices. “Billy’s a good friend of mine, we coached together (at Alabama) for years, I’ve known him (a long time),” Smart said Wednesday, via On3. “People don’t understand relationships between coaches. Coaches have a brotherhood and fraternity together. Head coach Billy Napier of the Florida Gators (R) talks to head coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs (L) before the start of a game at EverBank Stadium on October 28, 2023 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) More Football: Browns’ Kevin Stefanski Linked to New Head-Coaching Job “… His dad was really good friends with (Georgia offensive coordinator Mike) Bobo, and we all grew up in the state of Georgia with our fathers coaching high school football, were real respected people, and he’s been a friend for a long time. So he dropped by, but that was really it.” Smart and Napier coached together under legendary former head coach Nick Saban at Alabama. Napier took a job as an analyst with the Crimson Tide in 2011 when Smart was defensive coordinator, and he returned in 2013 as a wide receivers coach, working with Smart until 2016 before leaving to take an offensive coordinator job with Arizona State in 2017. More Football: Dark Horse Contender Emerges for Auburn Head-Coaching Vacancy

Sports

Baker Mayfield Puts Buccaneers Teammates on Notice After Patriots Loss

Heading into Week 10, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were considered by many to be a favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX in February. Unfortunately for the Bucs, they ran into an equally talented team on the rise from the AFC in the red-hot New England Patriots and MVP candidate Drake Maye. Though Tampa Bay put up 371 yards of total offense and quarterback Bake Mayfield had three touchdown passes, the Bucs were on the receiving end of a humbling defeat that showed while they’re among the NFC’s top teams, they still have plenty of room for improvement. More Football: NFL Reaches Punishment Decision on Aidan Hutchinson-JJ McCarthy Incident Baker Mayfield #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to the game against the New England Patriots at Raymond James Stadium on November 09, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) More Football: Giants Owner Talked Out of Drastic Head-Coaching Move: Report There’s not just one singular reason Tampa lost, but Mayfield made it clear after the game that he felt the blame fell on his offensive teammates, sending them a scathing message about the way they played on Sunday. “What I told the team, told the offense after the game, at some point when the stuff comes up during the week, whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about, and then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you,” Mayfield told reporters. “You’ve got to have the fear of that failure of messing up for your teammates when we talk about something — you’ve got to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed. In tight ball games like this, when you play good teams like the Patriots, little things will get you beat. “That was the case for us on offense today. Case in point, it starts with me. There were some throws there I’d like to have back, some completions…it starts with me, but everybody’s got to have pride about it too.” Baker Mayfield did NOT sound happy after the Bucs loss to New England:“You have to have some pride … the fear of messing up for your teammates when we talk about something, you have to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed.” pic.twitter.com/r3TDBYF6de— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) November 9, 2025 More Football: Jets Predicted to Dump QB Justin Fields for $230 Million Pro Bowler While Mayfield didn’t mention any players specifically, he did make it clear whatever set him off wouldn’t be tolerated going forward. Though Mayfield threw three touchdowns, fans couldn’t help but notice Tampa Bay’s offensive lull from the second drive of the game until midway through the third quarter. The Bucs scored a touchdown on their opening drive but had four punts and a field goal before scoring their next touchdown nearly two full periods after their first score. The Bucs pulled to within 21-16 and forced a turnover-on-downs heading into the fourth quarter. But they mustered two punts and a turnover-on-downs before scoring their final touchdown with just 33 seconds left. More Football: NFL Makes Punishment Decision on Broncos CB Who Injured Texans’ CJ Stroud