Billy Napier from Florida uses the catchphrase “money fear”

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – New Florida coach Billy Napier had heard the phrase countless times, mostly while he was playing poker when he was younger.

“Fear with money doesn’t make money.”

Napier never expected it to be his catchphrase that would follow him from Lafayette, Louisiana to Gainesville.

“I’ll never live with that,” said Napier on Monday.

It all started just before halfway through the Louisiana-Lafayette home game against Ohio in mid-September. Napier’s Ragin ‘Cajuns were just seconds from the Ohio 1-yard line in the second quarter. With a 14-3 lead, Napier could easily have settled for a chip-shot field goal and a two-touchdown lead.

Instead, he decided to keep his offensive on the field, telling his assistants over the headset that “money is fear not money,” reiterating an ancient investment phrase that gained popularity in gambling circles and reached a wider audience than rapper Young Jeezy added his song “Scared Money” to him in 2009. Louisiana barely scored a goal.

Napier was then asked about his aggressive approach during a half-time interview and repeated the sentence on camera. It caught fire and has stayed with him ever since.

“The most important thing is that these decisions are very calculated,” said Napier. “We work closely with several analysis companies. We spent a lot of time in the off-season researching all of the different things that affect playing winning football and surely it’s one of the things that we’ve researched very carefully and is certainly part of our formula for success in order to to reach fourth place.

“I think I grew up playing card games, playing poker and all sorts of different types of poker. I’ve heard this a lot and all of a sudden it comes out of my mouth on national television.”

The quote quickly became all the rage in Lafayette and found its way onto t-shirts and sweatshirts.

And when Napier was hired in Florida a little over two months later, it was back in focus. Fans used it to express their support on social media. Quarterback Anthony Richardson used it to show his commitment to the new regime.

The phrase was shouted to Napier when he and his family got off the plane in Gainesville on Monday, and again when he got out of a van and did the “Gator chomp” outside Florida Field.

Although Napier seemed slightly embarrassed by all of the attention Scared Money was getting, he eventually decided to take it. He didn’t have much choice.

“Yeah, I think it’ll help me justify all the times I go in fourth place and don’t get it,” he joked. “That will do it.”

That part would be characteristic of him, said a former player.

“He’s a very aggressive guy,” said Michael Jacquet, who currently played two seasons for Napier. “I know everyone has heard, ‘Money doesn’t make money.’ That describes him in one. He’s really not afraid of anything. This is a man who doesn’t fear a team or a guy. He believes in the group that he has.

“It’s only best for Florida; you have certainly got them a good one. “

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