Dan Mullen Fired, as He Should Have Been
GAINESVILLE - The inevitable. Florida Head Football Coach Dan Mullen has been axed after a 5-6 start to the 2021 season, and the Florida Gators will search for a new steward to run its program.
Overall, Coach Mullen produced a 34-15 record in Gainesville, but only a 21-13 Southeastern Conference record. That’s just not good enough for a program with such lofty expectations.
There are many things to consider for why Mullen was fired, but there’s also no question the following three were certainly a part of it.
- Florida squandered opportunities against archrival Georgia this year. The Gators out gained Georgia 355 to 354, produced 20 first downs as compared to Georgia’s 18, and still lost 34-7. Even the turnover margin was 3-3. That final score is the definition of puzzling.
- The Anthony Richardson fiasco. The talented but inexperienced young quarterback averaged 9.4 yards per carry, had a laser for an arm which helped him to pass for 474 yards and five touchdowns in limited action. He still threw five interceptions, however, and perhaps that would be a source of consternation for Florida officials, as would Richardson barely playing in the last three games. How did Florida fail to bring Richardson along any faster than it did?
- The defense struggled. For much of this year, “Fire Grantham” became a theme around Florida faithful. As in, fire Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham. While that did transpire after the loss to South Carolina by the score of 40-17, it was too little too late. Florida possessed far too much talent to give up 52 points to Samford last Saturday. The Gators should not have allowed 49 points to an LSU team that fired Head Coach Ed Orgeron soon after that victory for the Tigers either. Yes, even after beating Florida, LSU fired Coach Orgeron. That’s how bad it’s been in Baton Rouge, La. Then again, it’s possibly been worse in Gainesville, Fla.?
Where does Florida go from here? The coaching options could take many twists and turns, but a definitive answer depends on what one believed Florida officials planned to do after firing Coach Mullen. That’s assuming they possessed a concrete plan of course. Are they going to pony up the cash and pay someone like Ole Miss Head Coach Lane Kiffin 10 million per year?
The list of top-notch coaching candidates does not appear to be long, and it’s been that way all season long. Anyone could project, but that’s all it’s been this season anyway. Projection.
Bottom line, Florida fired Head Coach Dan Mullen today. That’s a done deal. Now, the coaching takes center stage in Gainesville.
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