Mullen Has Florida Headed in Right Direction

Regardless of the outcome of last night’s game in Baton Rouge, Dan Mullen’s tenure at Florida so far has been nothing but positive.

Riding a 10-game winning streak going to LSU after beating Auburn last week at The Swamp, Florida was undefeated through their first six games in 2019 for the fourth time since 2006 and only the 10th time in school history.

And Mullen is at the center of the Gators resurgence.

“It’s cool and great to get this program back to where it should be,” quarterback Kyle Trask said this week. “All of the outside noise comes with the success we’re having.”

That outside noise is in the form of being ranked and as Mullen noted, playing the biggest games of the week.

“We were the biggest game in the country last week and we’re the biggest game in the country this week again,” Mullen said. “That’s what makes you want to play at Florida so you can play in the biggest games each week.”

When Florida went looking for a coach to replace Jim McElwain, Mullen was the easy choice. He had won at Mississippi State and Scott Stricklin, the Athletic Director at Florida, had been his boss in Starkville.

But he wasn’t the popular choice.

During his first tenure as offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer, Mullen wasn’t the most likeable guy in Gainesville. Brash, and off-putting, he had a way of letting everybody know he was smarter than they were in any conversation.

I even asked him about that when he was introduced as the Gators head coach in November of 2017. I noted the difference between Starkville and Gainesville and asked if he was ready for the expectations that came from Gator Nation. He knew what I was asking and while lauding Mississippi State and Bulldogs fans, he said he had learned a lot about being a head coach in the SEC after being away from Gainesville for nine years.

And he has.

Glib and confident, Mullen embraces all that goes along with being the Florida Gators Head Coach. He interacts with fans and has been unfailingly pleasant during his media time. He even starts most press conferences with “How’s everybody doin’?”

None of that would matter if he hadn’t won sixteen of his first 19 games. And the Gators have done that in all kinds of different ways. They’ve played good defense, they’ve gotten things done on special teams and their offense has had its bright spots.

“The biggest factor is we win the game,” Mullen said when asked about what kind of identity he’d like the Gators to have. “Three to two, 49-48, I don’t care, we’re winning.”

But Mullen says whatever is working, he’ll go with it. It doesn’t matter that he’s supposed to be a “quarterback whisperer” and an offensive guru.

“We want to play great defense,” he added. “We look at the program as a whole. I’m not into the numbers, just so we can claim we’re some magical offense. We look at our roster, our players, each game dictates what you’re going to do.”

At Florida, the offensive and defensive staff rooms are right next to each other. That’s on purpose. When the offensive game plan is coming together, they’ll stick their head in the defensive room to see how they’d defend what Mullen and company have cooked up. And vice-versa.

Losing Felipe Franks to an injury pushed Kyle Trask into the starting role, something Mullen was confident would work out. That’s because Trask had showed Mullen every day in practice what he’s capable of on the field.

“I hate the word ‘gamer,” Mullen said this week talking about Trask taking his game from practice to the stadium. “’Hey it’s going to be different when I get in the game.’ I want to see it every day in practice. When the lights come on it is different. To me, how you respond in those situations is important. The guy I saw is somebody who’s a good decision maker, an accurate passer.“

If Florida is going to compete with Alabama and Georgia in the National Championship picture, it might take a couple years of recruiting under Mullen. He’s always recruiting, because that’s what it takes. He’s talking to recruits, meeting them on their official visits. He was shaking hands and hugging recruits after the Auburn game at Florida Field, selling the program.

When asked about LSU’s claim as the school where great defensive backs come from, Mullen showed his knowledge of Gator history, defended his team, and slipped in some recruiting dialog all in one answer.

“We’ve got good defensive backs on our roster right now,” Mullen said. “But going back, that’s always been where we’ve had good players here at Florida. It’s not just the last five to ten years. Great players that have gone onto great careers in the NFL. They’re continuing that tradition here. There are a lot of great players in America who want to come here and continue that tradition here at Florida.”

It’s only the middle of his second season in Gainesville, but Mullen looks like he knows what it’s going to take to appease the Gator Nation. There will be bumps along the way, but if Florida can get back to past glory, Mullen looks like the guy who can get them there.