Ashour Peera, Florida's director of football logistics and NFL liaison under former head coach Billy Napier the last four seasons, on Thursday was announced as the next head coach at nearby Gainesville High School.
Peera replaces Ian Scott, a three-year Florida defensive lineman from 2000-2002 and former NFL player, in the role. Scott went 8-22 in three seasons as Gainesville's head coach and stepped down from the position in May.
"First and foremost, I want to thank God, my family, the GHS administration and everyone who has supported me throughout my coaching journey," Peera said in a Thursday statement, via Main Street Daily News. "I'm truly honored and excited to accept the opportunity to become the next head football coach at Gainesville High School."
A native of Chicago, Ill., Peera served as director of player engagement at Louisiana from 2019-21 under Napier. He also spent two seasons (2018 & 2019) as the director of recruiting for the University of Central Arkansas.
"It's a really unique position, I feel," Peera described his role at Florida in 2022. "It's kind of a jack-of-all-trades. I've been working with Coach [Napier] the last three seasons, either as a quality control coach, or I work in academics, work in recruiting, work in operations. So, I've kind of had a hand in all of our areas. Coming here, I'm just kind of doing more of the same, making sure everything's running smoothly. If there's a problem, I kind of jump on that."
Peera previously served as a head coach at East Ridge High School in Clermont, Fla., and Gateway High School in Aurora, Colo. He has a decade of experience as an assistant coach at various Florida high schools, including Vanguard High School and Forest High School in Ocala, South Lake High School in Groveland, and Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Miami.
Peera's first coaching role in Florida was at the University of Florida as a men's lacrosse coach. While coaching in Ocala, just south of Gainesville, Peera spent several years teaching at Belleview Elementary School.
Peera was not retained when Florida hired Jon Sumrall as the Gators' new head coach in late 2025, following Napier's dismissal last October and UF's 3-4 (2-2 Southeastern Conference) start to the season.
Of the 24 full-time head coaches in University of Florida history, dating back to Jack Forsythe (1906-08), Napier was one of six to finish his term with a losing record: 22-23.
Napier's .489 winning percentage represents the worst among that group of coaches since Raymond Wolf (.359) was fired after the 1949 season. No coach since Wolf had finished below .500, until Napier.
To pair with Napier's overall record at Florida, he went 12-16 (.428) against SEC opponents; 18-23 (.439) against FBS squads; 4-16 against ranked teams; 17-7 at home, 4-12 in true away games and 1-4 at neutral sites (including a 1-1 bowl game record).