Austin Armstrong leaves Florida for Houston: Will Billy Napier use departure to improve Gators offense?

Football

1

Image Credit: Alex de la Osa / UAA

While the Florida Gators turned their fortunes drastically on the field in 2024, the coaching staff as a whole remained imperfect as constructed. Head coach Billy Napier now has a third opportunity to get it right following the departure of co-defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, who accepted the solo job with the Houston Cougars on Friday.

Napier brought in the then-30-year-old Armstrong as defensive coordinator entering Year 2 of his run at Florida after Patrick Toney, who was originally on the staff in that role, left for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. The hiring of Armstrong, who was just weeks into a role as Alabama linebackers coach with no prior Power Four coaching experience at the time, was seen as a reach despite a wide-held belief in Armstrong’s significant upside as a young play caller.

The Gators defense cratered ranking 69th in total defense (382.3 yards), 75th in scoring defense (27.6 points), 70th in passing defense (226.7), 79th in rushing defense (155.6), 102nd in red zone defense (0.875), 92nd in sacks (1.83), 104th in tackles for loss (4.8) and 129th in turnovers gained (7). Among those were some of the lowest marks in modern program history.

Armstrong, on a three-year deal worth $3.6 million, was so poor in his role that Napier hired over him bringing in Ron Roberts as “executive head coach defense” and co-defensive coordinator. The veteran assistant, who was the architect of the defensive style Florida had been running, had experience coaching under Napier at Louisiana (2018-19) and recent stints leading defenses at Baylor (2020-22) and Auburn (2023).

Roberts, 57, signed a two-year deal paying him $750,000 last season and $950,000 in 2025. In other words, Napier paid Armstrong’s boss less money originally to mentor but ultimately perform his subordinate’s job.

When hiring Roberts initially, Napier realized change was needed and made an appropriate decision. Three games into the season, he did so again by appearing to swap their places in the game-day hierarchy — Roberts moved into the booth and ostensibly became the defensive play caller, while Armstrong returned to the sideline assuming a lesser role. Napier refused to admit publicly that the play calling role had changed, though players have said as much privately.

Overall, the Gators’ year-end defensive rankings — points and yardage allowed — did not improve much in 2024; however, those numbers were weighted down significantly by the first three games of the season — when Armstrong was still calling plays — and a lopsided performance at Texas in which half of the starting roster was injured, including freshman quarterback DJ Lagway and the entire secondary.

Anyone who watched or followed Florida football over the latter two thirds of the season saw a defensive unit that was not only improved but, in some cases, became among the most dominant in the nation.

Florida jumping from 92nd to to 7th in team sacks (3.17), 102nd to 12th in red zone defense (0.737), 129th to 16th in turnovers gained (22) and 104th to 24th in tackles for loss (6.8) are just a few clear indicators that the defense is headed in the right direction under Roberts’ stewardship.

Roberts, who has been in football longer than Armstrong has been alive, just finished his 33rd year in coaching; he also serves as the team’s inside linebackers coach. Armstrong did not even have a positional title in 2024.

The open position on the Gators’ roster — a high-paying one at that — creates all sorts of possibilities for Napier, who has made significant changes to his staff over each of the last two offseasons. Before the 2024 campaign, he replaced three defensive assistants, hired two new strength & conditioning coaches (the first replacement hire departed) and added a more talented and experienced special teams off-field assistant that helped turn around that unit as well.

What remains left is for Napier to put the finishing touches on an offense that, for the last three years, has been a play caller away from performing better. Napier has insisted on calling offensive plays while simultaneously trying to manage games and his roster for three years at Florida. It has not worked — an inevitable truth many of his offensive-minded peers realized over the last decade. Those peers have hired their own offensive coordinators, while still weighing in throughout games, by and large seeing immense success when doing so.

With a coordinator-level staff opening and no additional defensive coordinator needed, Napier again has that same opportunity at his feet.

Rob Sale remains listed as co-offensive coordinator, but despite being paid $1 million annually, he is largely a chief offensive line coach ahead of assistant Jonathan Decoster. Russ Callaway was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach with a salary of $550,000, but most believe that move was largely made to placate fans and boosters who were bothered by Napier calling plays and Sale originally holding the entire title himself. (Unless one wants to believe that Callaway, 35, went from off-field assistant without FBS on-field coaching experience to managing offensive plays in two years.)

Napier has refused to acknowledge who calls offensive plays simply saying that Callaway and Sale are heavily involved in the game-planning process. By all accounts, Napier is still calling the plays.

Just as last season was a chance to make a necessary change to his defensive structure, Napier now has an opportunity to do the same offensively.

Sale is not a true offensive coordinator, and given his salary, he and Decoster are leaving a lot to be desired when it comes to recruiting offensive linemen. That said, the coaching of Florida’ offensive line has largely been tremendous with significant improvements made to a unit that lost major talent last offseason.

Callaway deserves his role on staff, but it’s tough to suggest the possibility of the Gators adding someone like UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion would not be a massive upgrade in the chief play calling role. Not only from the standpoint of innovation but as it would also allow Napier to spend more time concentrating on game management and decision making — areas in which he can still improve markedly.

(Ironically enough, Marion himself should now be completely available given the Rebels just hired former Florida head coach Dan Mullen to the same role this week.)

Whether Napier makes such a move remains to be seen, but with Armstrong’s departure, the door is certainly wide open.