Unlike a championship-winning team, OSU, a mid-carder Florida Gators, ain’t suffering from a coaching outflow at all. After capping off the season with a four-game winning streak, the Florida head coach looks to turn the script in a brand new season. He went 11-14 in his first two seasons and watched an elite recruiting class dwindle in the final weeks. But this time, it seems Napier at least doesn’t have to worry about finding a new architect of the defensive line as coach Gerald Chapman doubles down his commitment to the for another year and that too, passing over a lucrative LSU offer. But why so? Is Napier’s defense really that dependable archetype, or is there some other story underneath?

Chatman has been a can’t-miss target for the Tigers’ open defensive line coach position, and the interest was highly mutual, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. Chatman had strong past ties with LSU, as he served as the  Tigers’ interim defensive line coach in the spring of 2023 and as an analyst in 2021. Then what made him back out on Brian Kelly’s offer?

LSU insider Matt Moscona had an reflective answer: ”Number one Gerald Chapman’s still a young coach, he’s got four children seven and under, so you’re talking about a guy that still has a young family and throughout his relatively young coaching career has never been at one place more than two years, so this is very likely a situation where two things are at Play number one stability matters for his family.’‘ Chatman’s career has really been a collection of multiple short flicks here and there so far. He kicked off his coaching career as a defensive graduate assistant at Ball State for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. spent the 2014 campaign as the defensive line coach and assistant recruiting coordinator at Butler University.

In 2015, he worked with the Green Bay Packers, assisting with the defensive line and linebacker units before he took it to Elon University as a DL coach for the next year. A Tennessee State stint closely followed (2o17 to 2018). Gerald then jumped ship to the Cincinnati Bengals and eventually at LSU. He spent the shortest run of his career with the Green Wave before signing with the Gators. So, it’s not rocket science to understand a strong desire for some rest to breathe.

”The other is money. Now, Gerald Chapman this year at Florida made just over $500,000.  I’m looking for the exact number here, his salary was five digits. I thought it was here in any event Chapman was making in the fives at Florida and was in line for a slight raise at LSU but as I understand that one of the real sticking points here was his buyout he had a buyout as I was told today over $300,000,” Moscona continued adding points.

Now, affording this much money for a position coach can really be a headache for Florida. Especially in this era of high octane recruiting competition, the importance of money saving is a no brainer. So, it wouldn’t help Napier at all. But if you look at it from Chapman’s side, it wouldn’t be an issue. The last yet the most important tea here is, ”Bruce Felman announced that LSU and Gerald Chapman couldn’t agree so Chapman’s going to stay at Florida. They’ll give him a contract extension, and he’ll stay in Gainesville, so now LSU has to turn its attention elsewhere. 

To add to his Chatman woes, Kelly is facing a mass exodus, triggering Bo Davis’ exit and vice versa. Major recruits who had personal relationships with Davis will look to switch ships and leave LSU. While not getting Chatman on the board might come off as a blow to Kelly, Billy Napier is open enough to let his staff explore their options.

Billy Napier is cool with Gerald Chatman getting attention from the outside programs 

In just one year at Florida, Chatman improved the defensive line unit in almost every statistical category. On top of recording 17 more sacks and 28 more tackles-for-loss than the year before, the Gators defense grabbed a ninth rank in the nation in red zone defense, 11th in sacks per game, and finished with 36 more pressures on the season. So, it’s wuite clear why he gets the hype, not only in college but also from the NFL.

The fun fact is Billy Napier doesn’t take it to the heart, Rather, he thinks it’s cool for his standout DL coach to explore his options out there as it only denotes how good they are as a product of his team. ”We just signed Gerald to a new deal just a couple weeks ago,” Napier said. “Gerald interviewed for the Bears job. Look, I always encourage our guys if they get a chance to interview to interview. Some may think I’m crazy, but I just think it’s just good for him from an experience perspective,’‘ the Gators HC told ON3 a few weeks back.

It will be interesting to see how Chatman’s Florida decision bides for the rest of his tenure with the Gators.