I've no clue if he is the guy or not, but since his name is thrown around a lot I read this article from SI on him. Seems he likes to do things the "Alabama Way". Some interesting excerpts are below.
Billy Napier saw firsthand how the methods of Nick Saban turned Alabama into a powerhouse. Now he's bringing a smaller-scale version of that model to Louisiana and extending his late father's legacy as a head coach.
Napier took this job on the promise that he could expand the football staff, a vision stemming from his five seasons on Nick Saban’s staff that he discussed with athletic director Bryan Maggard during the hiring process.
Napier sold Maggard on the same Process that Saban implemented in Tuscaloosa, a system that Napier saw roar into action in 2011, the first season (and title) he experienced as an offensive analyst within the Alabama machine. Napier was so astounded by the amount of football personnel bustling about.
“There is a method to the madness,” says Louisiana offensive coordinator Rob Sale, who worked for six years as a support staff member for Saban. “Everything, when you walk into this building, has the Alabama backbone. How we do our film breakdown, summer scouting reports, academic point structure, offseason program … everything is the same. We’re going to win here.”
Maggard proudly details how Louisiana’s non-football coaching staff has grown by about 75%: two strength coaches, a handful of strength interns, three nutrionists and more than a dozen others who juggle duties in multiple departments, from recruiting to quality control. The athletic department’s snack budget went from zero to $1.5 million. The football program’s assistant coach salary pool increased by 40% to $2 million.
Napier says about 85% of what he is implementing in Lafayette is in the image of Saban’s program, but he has put his own twist on some items.
“If you haven’t been around it, it’s hard to explain,” Napier says, which explains why Saban disciples are everywhere on Louisiana’s new staff: Hocke, Katie Turner (director of on-campus recruiting), Andrew Burkett (recruiting researcher and evaluator), D.J. Looney (assistant offensive line coach) and William Peagler (director of player personnel and quality control) all at some point worked either under Saban at Alabama or under Saban protégé Kirby Smart at Georgia.
“I can see it already making an impact here,” Napier says. “The key is having a plan to use all these people. All these things are at the root of creating a comprehensive advantage. This is a ruthless, cutthroat thing, college football. It’s fun.”
Napier is his own quarterbacks coach, and he’ll call the plays at Louisiana, “because it’s as close as I can get to playing again,” he says with a smile. When he took over Arizona State’s offense last season, Napier created an abridged version of Alabama’s elaborate system, a one-back spread offense with pro alignments that can operate at varying speeds. The offense’s run game is mostly derived from longtime Alabama assistant Joe Pendry, and its play-action passing game comes from Lane Kiffin’s offense. The scheme includes some Air Raid from his stint in 2017 under former Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham, and he borrowed Jim McElwain’s tactics for instructing and teaching passers, something on display during this quarterback meeting.
One of Napier’s first tasks at Louisiana is to create a thriving walk-on program. More bodies will afford him the chance to practice like Saban does, using what he calls “two-spotting,” splitting the team into four squads (first- through third-strings, plus rookies) and holding two scrimmages simultaneously on adjacent fields. Two-spotting is as important to the Alabama Way as the ever-growing support staff. “We are a rep-based organization. Instead of just 22 guys getting reps and others standing on the sideline, 44 guys are getting reps,” Hocke says. “It’s not just the effect of one practice or one week. It’s the cumulative effect of a year or three to five years.”
Billy Napier saw firsthand how the methods of Nick Saban turned Alabama into a powerhouse. Now he's bringing a smaller-scale version of that model to Louisiana and extending his late father's legacy as a head coach.
Napier took this job on the promise that he could expand the football staff, a vision stemming from his five seasons on Nick Saban’s staff that he discussed with athletic director Bryan Maggard during the hiring process.
Napier sold Maggard on the same Process that Saban implemented in Tuscaloosa, a system that Napier saw roar into action in 2011, the first season (and title) he experienced as an offensive analyst within the Alabama machine. Napier was so astounded by the amount of football personnel bustling about.
“There is a method to the madness,” says Louisiana offensive coordinator Rob Sale, who worked for six years as a support staff member for Saban. “Everything, when you walk into this building, has the Alabama backbone. How we do our film breakdown, summer scouting reports, academic point structure, offseason program … everything is the same. We’re going to win here.”
Maggard proudly details how Louisiana’s non-football coaching staff has grown by about 75%: two strength coaches, a handful of strength interns, three nutrionists and more than a dozen others who juggle duties in multiple departments, from recruiting to quality control. The athletic department’s snack budget went from zero to $1.5 million. The football program’s assistant coach salary pool increased by 40% to $2 million.
Napier says about 85% of what he is implementing in Lafayette is in the image of Saban’s program, but he has put his own twist on some items.
“If you haven’t been around it, it’s hard to explain,” Napier says, which explains why Saban disciples are everywhere on Louisiana’s new staff: Hocke, Katie Turner (director of on-campus recruiting), Andrew Burkett (recruiting researcher and evaluator), D.J. Looney (assistant offensive line coach) and William Peagler (director of player personnel and quality control) all at some point worked either under Saban at Alabama or under Saban protégé Kirby Smart at Georgia.
“I can see it already making an impact here,” Napier says. “The key is having a plan to use all these people. All these things are at the root of creating a comprehensive advantage. This is a ruthless, cutthroat thing, college football. It’s fun.”
Napier is his own quarterbacks coach, and he’ll call the plays at Louisiana, “because it’s as close as I can get to playing again,” he says with a smile. When he took over Arizona State’s offense last season, Napier created an abridged version of Alabama’s elaborate system, a one-back spread offense with pro alignments that can operate at varying speeds. The offense’s run game is mostly derived from longtime Alabama assistant Joe Pendry, and its play-action passing game comes from Lane Kiffin’s offense. The scheme includes some Air Raid from his stint in 2017 under former Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham, and he borrowed Jim McElwain’s tactics for instructing and teaching passers, something on display during this quarterback meeting.
One of Napier’s first tasks at Louisiana is to create a thriving walk-on program. More bodies will afford him the chance to practice like Saban does, using what he calls “two-spotting,” splitting the team into four squads (first- through third-strings, plus rookies) and holding two scrimmages simultaneously on adjacent fields. Two-spotting is as important to the Alabama Way as the ever-growing support staff. “We are a rep-based organization. Instead of just 22 guys getting reps and others standing on the sideline, 44 guys are getting reps,” Hocke says. “It’s not just the effect of one practice or one week. It’s the cumulative effect of a year or three to five years.”
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