Getty Image / Doug Benc
The Florida Gators open their 2023 season against #14 ranked Utah, a program connected to UF through former head coach Urban Meyer, and Billy Napier might already be on the hot seat after revealing his favorite musician alongside other SEC coaches.
A question that Brett McMurphy of the Action Network has been asking every head coach in College Football prior to the season is who their favorite musician is. Deion Sanders refused to answer the question, the only Pac-12 coach to refuse to answer, and all of the SEC coaches revealed their favorite musicians to McMurphy.
He shared the results on Twitter/X on Sunday. Billy Napier revealed his favorite musician to be one of the most low energy bands in history:
- (Alabama) Nick Saban: The Rolling Stones
- (Arkansas) Sam Pittman: Aerosmith
- (Auburn) Hugh Freeze: Eric Church
- (Florida) Billy Napier: Coldplay
- (Georgia) Kirby Smart: Luke Bryan
- (Kentucky) Mark Stoops: Toby Keith
- (LSU) Brian Kelly: Bruce Springsteen
- (Mississippi State) Zach Arnett: Led Zeppelin
- (Missouri) Eliah Drinkwitz: Eric Church
- (Ole Miss) Lane Kiffin: Taylor Swift
- (South Carolina) Shane Beamer: Darius Rucker
- (Tennessee) Josh Heupel: Mumford & Sons
- (Texas A&M) Jimbo Fisher: George Strait
- (Vanderbilt) Clark Lea: Caamp
First impressions:
1. Ole Miss is going to have a breakout year. Lane Kiffin is embracing modernity, he’s a man of the times, and he’s living his authentic life. Taylor Swift is the biggest artist on earth right now and there’s no reason to shy away from her greatness.
2. Eric Church is the only musician to appear twice on this list of SEC Coaches Favorite Musicians. I’m a bit surprised that not a single SEC coach named Luke Combs as their favorite, or Morgan Wallen. They are the two hottest musicians in Country Music right now.
3. Billy Napier needs to drink a Red Bull. Coldplay is notorious for being so low energy that it puts people to sleep. That’s not the kind of energy fans and boosters in The Swamp are looking for. Someone needs to get that man a triple shot of espresso ASAP and show him some real music.
For those curious what the Pac-12 coaches stated their favorite musicians to be:
(Arizona) Jedd Fisch: Morgan Wallen
(Arizona State) Kenny Dillingham: Train
(Cal) Justin Wilcox: Bruce Springsteen
(Colorado) Deion Sanders: Would not answer
(Oregon) Dan Lanning: Mumford & Sons
(Oregon State) Jonathan Smith: Eric Church
(Stanford) Troy Taylor: Mat Kearney
(UCLA) Chip Kelly: Mumford & Sons
(USC) Lincoln Riley: Kenny Chesney
(Utah) Kyle Whittingham: The Rolling Stones
(Washington) Kalen DeBoer: Journey
(Washington State) Jacob Dickert: Luke Combs
Other notable coaches who revealed their favorite musicians are Mike Norvell of Florida State (Bob Marley), Dabo Swinny at Clemson (Garth Brooks), Jim Harbaugh at Michigan (Alanis Morissette), Ryan Day at Ohio State (Morgan Wallen), and James Franklin at Penn State (Jay-Z).
Hopefully, some of the other coaches in the land will see what is happening in Gainesville with Billy Napier and Coldplay and they’ll take pity on the Gators, for the sake of the fans. And for the haters out there wondering, yes, I did graduate from FSU. And yes, I have zero problem with Coldplay. I too like to take naps at concerts.