After FSU won their fifth in a row over the Gators, Florida went out and hired what seemed to be their third option to be their next coach.
In the hours leading up to FSU‘s game against the rival Florida Gators, the news out of Gainesville was that Florida’s first choice to be their 13th head coach since the 1970 season (an average of three and a half years per catch, FYI) was going elsewhere as Chip Kelly chose UCLA over the Gators.
That news was followed by information that UCF head coach Scott Frost, thought to be the second option for the Gators, is now leaning toward taking the job at his alma mater, Nebraska. That left Florida looking for who would be the next man that actually wanted to come to Gainesville and lead the dumpster fire going on with that program.
Enter Dan Mullen, who is leaving fellow SEC program Mississippi State for a chance to return to the place he was offensive coordinator for four seasons under former head coach and national recognized jerk Urban Meyer.
So, on paper, there are plenty of people praising the move considering the fact that the Gators won two national titles while Mullen was leading their high scoring offense under NFL and minor league baseball failure Tim Tebow and other “leaders” like Aaron Hernandez and Percy Harvin.
Well, FSU fans should also be praising the move since it will keep the Gators one step behind everyone.
Mullen takes over a Florida program who had their second losing season in the last five seasons and has been dealing with an offense that can’t beat their way out of a paper bag. The argument that Mullen will revamp that unit would work – if it wasn’t the same argument used when the last offensive guru, Jim McElwain, was brought into Gainesville.
While coaching the Bulldogs, Mullen had a record above .500 in SEC play just once in nine seasons – during a 2014 season which was the only time Mississippi State had double digit wins when they advanced to the Orange Bowl, losing to Georgia Tech. All time, he went 69-46 and 33-39 in the SEC.
Next: FSU Football in-depth recap: vs. Florida
Anyone who thinks Mullen is going to drastically turn around the Gators and finally beat FSU is going to be waiting a long while. The fact of the matter is that Dan Mullen is not going to make Florida an instant championship contender – and will be shown to be overrated and living off the accomplishments of good players he just happened to coach.