Skip to main content

Former Gators, Jaguars Coach Urban Meyer Reacts to Dan Mullen Firing

The former Florida Gators head football coach was asked about the ousting of Dan Mullen at Florida following his game on Sunday.
Former Gators, Jaguars Coach Urban Meyer Reacts to Dan Mullen Firing
Former Gators, Jaguars Coach Urban Meyer Reacts to Dan Mullen Firing

After getting trounced by the San Francisco 49ers 30-10 on Sunday, Jaguars and former Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was asked about UF parting ways with head coach Dan Mullen during his post-game press conference.

"He's one of my close friends," said Meyer. "He's a guy that was with me 15-plus years. I didn't see that one coming. I know the expectations in Florida. I lived it. It is a premier place. Dan and Megan are dear friends. I'm sure Shelley talked to Megan. So I'll call him tonight. It's a tough profession."

Meyer coached with Mullen during his time at Notre Dame, Bowling Green, Utah and at Florida from 1999-08. Mullen served as Meyer's offensive coordinator while at Florida from 05-08, winning two National Championships with the program. Now, Mullen is on the open market, free to coach elsewhere.

There has been some speculation from talking heads that Mullen could eventually join Meyer with the Jaguars sometime down the road, but that isn't even on the team's radar at the moment, in the midst of yet another losing season.

The Jaguars are currently 2-8 and look to be headed towards yet another top-5 pick under Meyer during the former Florida head coach's first year in the NFL.

During his pre-spring press conference, Mullen was asked about the Jaguars' head coach, earning an NFL gig for the first time in his career.

"I think Urban’s a great football coach," Mullen said in March. "Obviously a really, really good head coach and he surrounds himself with great people. I know some of the guys as friends and some I don’t. Let’s see how that works.

"I think you can look at a lot of different coaches in a lot of different areas. There’s a lot that have gone from college to the NFL and been extremely successful and some that haven’t."

Now, Meyer will be the one to see if he can stand the test of time through adversity, something Mullen was unable to do during this season of Gators football.

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations


Published
Demetrius Harvey
DEMETRIUS HARVEY

Demetrius Harvey is a beat writer covering the Florida Gators, including football, basketball and recruiting. He currently serves as the deputy editor of Sports Illustrated - AllGators. Demetrius also covers the Jacksonville Jaguars for Vox Media. Follow Demetrius on Twitter at @Demetrius82.

Share on XFollow Demetrius82