NCAAF

James Madison to hire Billy Napier as head coach

As James Madison is set to play for the Sun Belt championship tonight, Napier is primed to return to the conference. From 2018-2021, the former Florida head coach guided Louisiana to two league titles, compiling a 40-12 mark overall with the Rajin’ Cajuns. Things didn’t work out for Napier in Gainesville, but his work with Louisiana was impressive. That alone makes him a good fit for this job.

After being hired by Florida, Napier was tasked with turning around a struggling power in a premier conference. His responsibilities with the Dukes will be different, as Napier simply needs to keep the ball rolling in Harrisonburg. The work of Curt Cignetti and Bob Chesney won’t be easy to replicate, but it’ll also be hard to undo. James Madison is a great non-power conference job, and Napier is the right man for it.

Grade: A-

UAB to hire Alex Mortensen as head coach

UAB was dead in the water for much of Trent Dilfer’s tenure, prompting the dismissal of the Blazers’ previous head coach. Mortensen was thrust in as the replacement, with minimal expectations.

Immediately, Mortensen helped reverse UAB’s fortunes, upsetting a ranked Memphis team in his head-coaching debut. The Blazers finished 2-4 under his watch, but he rejuvenated the sleeping program. For the American Conference doormat, that was enough to earn Mortensen the full-time gig.

This is a fun story, but Mortensen has a lot of work ahead of him. The American is on the upswing as a league, and UAB will get crushed if it doesn’t inject better resources into the program. Upsets are fun, but they aren’t sustainable. Still, this is an inspiring hire, and inspiring is a heck of a lot better than Dilfer — risky and boring.

Grade: B+