Report: UL Head Coach Billy Napier Has Spoken With South Carolina

A report was published on Tuesday that stated that Louisiana Ragin' Cajun head football coach Billy Napier had recently spoken with South Carolina about its head coaching vacancy.

Josh Kendall of The Athletic (subscription required to read the entire article) reported that Napier had spoken to South Carolina school officials by phone about the opening.

Kendal says in the article that Napier, along with Army head coach Jeff Monken and Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze have all spoken to South Carolina officials by phone, while Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell has already met with school officials in person.

Last week, FootballScoop listed Napier as one of five early candidates for the position, which became vacant following the dismissal of former South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp, one day after the Gamecocks fell to the Ole Miss Rebels, 59-42, back on November 14, which dropped them to 2-5 on the season.

The Gamecocks have since lost to Missouri, 17-10, to fall to 2-6 this season.

Napier has done a fabulous job as head coach at Louisiana for the last three seasons, guiding the program to an overall record of 25-11, including an 11-3 record last year, setting a single-season school record for wins, as well as a 7-1 mark and a current top 25 ranking (#23 in AP Poll) this year.

The Cajuns have already clinched the Sun Belt Conference Western Division, guaranteeing them a spot in the league's title game for the third-consecutive season.

Louisiana returns to action on Saturday, November 28 when they travel to Monroe, Louisiana to face the ULM Warhawks in a Sun Belt Conference tilt.

Kickoff time is set for 2 o'clock.

As for the interest in Napier by South Carolina; we told you last week it is to be expected.

As long as the Cajuns continue to have success, Napier's name is going to be mentioned in coaching searches. It happened last year with the Mississippi St. opening and is already apparently happening this year.

Again, the only surprise would be if South Carolina weren't interested in Napier.