With Mullen out as Florida head coach, search for replacement begins

Florida head coach Dan Mullen walks off the field after a loss to Georgia in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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Posted November 23, 2021 | By Joel Bronson
joel@ocalagazette.com

The Dan Mullen era at the University of Florida has officially come to an abrupt end.

Mullen was fired on Sunday and will not return to coach the rest of the 2021 season for the Gators.

Special teams coordinator and running backs coach Greg Knox will coach the team as they host Florida State on Saturday.

The Gators and Seminoles will kick off at noon on ESPN.

In a statement to boosters, athletic director Scott Stricklin assured supporters that while there is no strict timetable in place to find a new coach, leadership would move as quickly as possible to name a replacement.

“There is no timetable for our search, but we are going to move as quickly as possible,” Stricklin stated in the release. “We want to take the time we need to get the right coach who has high expectations and big aspirations that match the University of Florida.”

It was time for Mullen and the Gators to part ways. The last calendar year had been a disaster, with the Gators going 5-9 in their past 14 games.

Mullen appeared to be detached and disinterested, and once that occurs, it’s usually a quick fall towards disaster and departure.

Who’s next?

After the news of Mullen’s departure hit the news outlets, rumors of the next coach to lead the Gators began to circulate.

Whoever is hired as head coach in Gainesville must embrace the astronomical expectations of the boosters and fan base. Competing for SEC and national championships is the standard by which coaches at UF are measured.

• As of today, University of Louisiana head football coach Billy Napier appears to be the front-runner to replace Mullen. With Twitter actively tracking University Athletic Association jets and “insiders” saying the deal is all but signed, the rumors will continue to fly until the new hire is official. Here are some potential candidates along with one or two may fly under the radar.

 Billy Napier

Napier seems to be the early front runner. Many have pointed to a handful of players, coaches and recruits who began following Napier on social media in the past few days as an indicator of the imminent hire.

During his four years at the University of Louisiana, Napier has a 38-12 record with a Sun Belt Conference championship in 2020.

Napier served as Nick Saban’s wide receivers coach at Alabama from 2013-16 and before that spent the 2011 season with Alabama as an analyst. Coming from the Saban coaching tree should be a positive to UF supporters.

Napier is considered a tireless recruiter—quite the opposite of Mullen.

Many fans believe that Napier, who will turn 43 in 2022, is the young and energetic coach who can lead the Gators back to prominence.

Bob Stoops

The former defensive coordinator at Florida under Steve Spurrier seems to always get mentioned in a Gator football coaching search.

During his time as Oklahoma head coach (1999-2016), Stoops compiled a 190-48 record and won the national championship in 2000.

Stoops stepped away from coaching in 2016, handing over the Sooners program to current head football coach Lincoln Riley. Riley has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for the LSU head coaching position.

After a short stint as head coach of the XFL’s Dallas Renegades, Stoops became an analyst for FOX Sports college football coverage.

Stoops replaced Urban Meyer at FOX when Meyer accepted the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching position prior to the 2021 NFL season.

It may be wishful thinking to expect the 61-year-old Stoops to come out of retirement to coach again.

Lane Kiffin

Many in Gator Nation would love to see the “Lane Train” pull into Gainesville.

Lane Kiffin has turned the Ole Miss football program into a top-25 power this season as the team enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 9-2 record.

Kiffin has a history of jumping from one coaching job to the other.

After being fired by the Oakland Raiders in his second season as head coach, Kiffin accepted the head coaching job with the Tennessee Volunteers.

His tenure as Vols head coach lasted one season, as the Southern Cal Trojans came calling. Kiffin accepted and was the head coach there from 2010-2013.

Kiffin served as Alabama’s offensive coordinator for two seasons under Nick Saban before heading to Florida Atlantic as their head coach.

Kiffin accepted the head coaching position with FAU, going 26-13 in three seasons before leaving for Oxford, Mississippi.

A social media favorite among college football fans, Kiffin is witty and quick with a sly tweet on a regular basis.

Kiffin’s tendency to leave a job after a short stay may cause UF brass to think twice about bringing him to Gainesville.

Mike Leach

Is there a coach in the country that gets the most from his players quite like Mike Leach?

Leach is in his second season as Mississippi State head coach. After a 4-7 record in 2020, Leach and the Bulldogs are sitting at 7-4 going into the last weekend of the season.

Under Leach’s tutelage, sophomore quarterback Will Rogers has thrown for 4,113 yards in eleven games this season, with 34 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.

Leach runs the Air Raid offense, which is known for a fast paced, pass heavy system that features five wide receivers on most plays and a simple playbook.

Perennially, quarterbacks coached by Leach have gone on to record-breaking passing numbers. Gardner Minshew, who played quarterback for Leach at Washington State, was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2019 NFL draft after passing for 4,776 yards and 38 touchdowns during his only season under Leach.

While Leach is a long shot, some are intrigued by the coach’s history of producing astronomical offensive numbers and his penchant for raising the level of play in athletes with lower star ratings.

The Gator faithful love offense. They would get tons of offense with Leach.

One intriguing tidbit: Steve Spurrier, Jr. is the current wide receivers coach at Mississippi State.

Steve Spurrier

Why not the “Head Ball Coach”?

Who knows Florida Gators football better than Spurrier, who won a Heisman Trophy as a Gator quarterback in 1966 and guided the team to its first national title as the head football coach in 1996?

Age plays a factor in the decision, with Spurrier turning 76 in 2022. But who better to guide the program through this transition than the creator of the Fun-n-Gun?

The return of Spurrier would obviously not be the long-term solution. But when a potential coaching candidate already has an office inside the football facility, the move would be simple.