Billy Napier visits Georgia football practice ahead of game vs Texas

As Georgia continues its College Football Playoff push, the Bulldogs received a visit from an enemy on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Well, a former enemy, at least.

Ahead of its Week 12 matchup against No. 10 Texas, Georgia welcomed former Florida coach Billy Napier to its practice, with Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart confirming it on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

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Napier was fired by the Gators on Oct. 19, seven games into his fourth season at the school and two weeks before Florida was set to take on the No. 5 Bulldogs in their annual rivalry game in Jacksonville, Florida.

Despite being on opposite sides of a heated rivalry for the past several years, Napier and Georgia coach Kirby Smart have a close relationship. The two worked together as assistant coaches under Nick Saban at Alabama for four seasons and have remained in touch over the years.

“Billy’s a good friend of mine,” Smart said Wednesday. “We’ve coached together for years. I’ve known him. People don’t understand relationships and coaches. Coaches have a brotherhood and fraternity together. And his dad was good friends with my dad. His dad was really good friends with coach (George) Bobo (father of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo). We all grew up in the state of Georgia with our fathers coaching high school football, well-respected people. He’s been a friend for a long time so he dropped by, yeah, but that was really it.”

Napier’s stop by Athens could be more than just a friendly visit to say hello to an old friend.

One of Napier’s final games as the Florida coach was a 29-21 victory on Oct. 4 against the same Texas team Georgia will face on Saturday. It’s the Longhorns’ only loss since the start of September and could offer some insight on how to beat a talent-laden team that appears to be rounding into form.

It’s not the first time a former coach from a rival school has been by Smart’s program. In March 2023, former Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins was spotted at a Georgia practice, about six months after he was fired by the Yellow Jackets.