Dan Mullen defends Florida record in Finebaum interview, but the closing stretch numbers cut against him
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 7. A 2-9 record against Power 5 opponents in his final stretch at Florida undercut the defense Dan Mullen offered this week on ESPN's Paul Finebaum Show. Mullen, now the head coach at UNLV, told Finebaum the Gators have declined since his 2021 firing, a claim that carries weight in some areas but breaks apart on the results that ended his tenure.
Key takeaways
- Dan Mullen went 2-9 against Power 5 opponents from a 2020 home loss to LSU through his 2021 firing at Florida.
- Mullen defended his Florida tenure on ESPN's Paul Finebaum Show, saying the program has declined since he was fired in 2021.
- Mullen finished 34-15 at Florida, reached the SEC title game losing to Alabama by a couple of points, and went 4-7 against top-10 opponents.
- Athletic director Scott Stricklin forced Mullen to fire coordinators Todd Grantham and John Hevesy weeks before Mullen himself was dismissed.
- Mullen argued three of his four Florida seasons would have made a 12-team College Football Playoff under the current format.
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 7. A 2-9 record against Power 5 opponents in his final stretch at Florida undercut the defense Dan Mullen offered this week on ESPN's Paul Finebaum Show. Mullen, now the head coach at UNLV, told Finebaum the Gators have declined since his 2021 firing, a claim that carries weight in some areas but breaks apart on the results that ended his tenure.
What Mullen told Finebaum
Mullen told Finebaum that Florida's standard is championships, not wins, a bar he said he accepted from his first day in Gainesville. He reached the SEC title game with the Gators, losing to Alabama by a couple of points, and argued that three of his four seasons would have put Florida in a 12-team College Football Playoff under the current format. That argument holds on the record. Whether those appearances would have produced championships is harder to square: Mullen went 4-7 against top-10 opponents during his time at Florida.
Mullen closed his remarks with a pointed observation. "Probably hasn't gone as well there since I left, it doesn't seem like," he told Finebaum.
The sequence that cost him the job
The 2020 Florida offense ranked among the country's best, averaging nearly 40 points per game. Quarterback Kyle Trask, wide receiver Kadarius Toney, and tight end Kyle Pitts all became NFL draft picks. The defense ranked 83rd nationally and surrendered nearly 31 points per game. Mullen kept defensive coordinator Todd Grantham after that season.
A home loss to LSU during 2020 proved the turning point. Florida dropped the game as a nearly three-touchdown favorite. After cornerback Marco Wilson threw an LSU player's shoe downfield on a third-down play in a tied game, Mullen named him a team captain the following week for the SEC Championship against Alabama. From that loss through Mullen's firing in 2021, Florida went 2-9 against Power 5 programs.
Athletic director Scott Stricklin forced Mullen to dismiss Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy weeks before Mullen himself was let go.
Florida's coaching record and what followed
Florida has employed seven coaches since 1990. Every coach who did not win a national or SEC championship in Gainesville was fired. Mullen, who finished 34-15, was no exception. His replacement, Billy Napier, came from Louisiana and was later dismissed as well. Jon Sumrall is now the program's head coach and has not yet coached a game.
Mullen's last recruiting class was ranked outside the top 20 at the time of his dismissal, which would have been the program's worst-ranked class since services began tracking in the early 2000s. That group includes Jim McElwain and Ron Zook.