Florida names Billy Gonzales interim head football coach

Longtime assistant coach Billy Gonzales, who has won three national championship rings as an assistant coach, was named interim head football coach at the University of Florida on Sunday after Billy Napier was fired.

Gonzales joins Miami’s Mario Cristobal, Duke’s Manny Diaz and Baylor’s Dave Aranda as Latino head football coaches at Power 4 schools.

“Coach Gonzales has been a valued member of our program for many years, including being a part of multiple championship teams,” Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. “He is a Gator through and through.”

Open date move

Florida beat Mississippi State 23-21 on Saturday to improve to 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the SEC. The Gators pulled off a major upset against Texas just three weeks ago. They lost to Texas A&M 34-17 a week before beating Mississippi State.

Considering he was fired after a victory, Napier’s fate appeared to have been set after losing to Texas A&M.

“Making this decision during the open date provides our team valuable time to regroup, refocus, and prepare for the challenges ahead,” Stricklin said. “The timing also allows us to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and well-informed search for our next head coach. We remain fully committed to utilizing every resource available to identify the right leader to guide Gators Football into the future.”

Billy Gonzales, 54, was a wide receiver at Colorado State in the 1990s. He began his coaching career at MacMurray in 1994. Then he served as a graduate assistant for two years at Kent State, where he received his master’s degree at sports administration.

In 2023, he returned to Gainesville as wide receivers coach for his third stint on the Florida coaching staff. He also served as co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach from 2018-2021.

Multiple stints in Gainesville

Gonzales, who has been an assistant coach at Florida for four different head coaches, joined the Gators’ staff for his first stint as wide receivers coach in 2005. Along the way, he helped Florida win a pair of national championships in 2006 and 2008. He also helped LSU win the 2012 national championship.

He added the title of recruiting coordinator in 2008. Then in 2010, Gonzales joined the LSU coaching staff as wide receivers coach-passing coordinator. Billy Gonzales has served as offensive coordinator at Florida, Illinois and Mississippi State.

“His deep understanding of our culture, our student-athletes, and what it means to represent the University of Florida makes him well-suited to lead our team,” Stricklin said of Gonzales.