Florida

Florida is parting ways with Dan Mullen

Nov 21, 2021 • 1:15 pm

Following their overtime loss to Missouri last night, Florida has decided to part ways with Dan Mullen.

The news was initially shared by Matt Zenitz, and sources have confirmed with FootballScoop.

Zenitz adds that Mullen just informed the staff of the move.

The decision comes after a slump for the Gators, who sit with a disappointing 5-6 record with one game left in the season. They had lost four of their last five games, and that one shootout win in that stretch over Samford (FCS - AL) felt a lot more like a loss than a win.

Back in June, Mullen inked a contract extension following his third-straight New Years Six appearance. Here's a note on the extension from our article on it earlier this year.

"The Orlando Sentinel reported Tuesday that Mullen has signed a 3-year extension accompanied by a raise to $7.6 million per year through 2027, a $1.5 million raise from his current salary. The extension does not kick in until the 2022 campaign, but he's in line for $1.5 million in retention bonuses over the course of 2021."

"Florida would owe Mullen $12 million if he were fired without cause, while Mullen's buyout is $2 million."

Athletic director Scott Stricklin shared this afternoon that Mullen's contract has no duty to mitigate language in it, so he will receive a $6 million buyout within 60 days, and then $1 million annually for six years to total that $12 million figure.

After a 21-5 start in his first two seasons with the Gators, the ceiling looked high for the Mullen-led era. The 2020 season was a mix of offensive fireworks and frustrations on the defensive side of the ball where the Gators ultimately finished with an 8-4 mark.

Mullen was 34-15 overall with the Gators, with an SEC title game appearance in 2020and was considered their home run hire in 2018 after he led Mississippi State to unprecedented success. In 9 seasons in Starkville before arriving in Gainesville, Mullen went 69-46 with eight straight trips to bowl games.

Earlier this year, Mullen parted with with longtime colleague and offensive line coach John Hevesy as well as defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Some thought those moves would be enough for Mullen to buy some goodwill and get another year to prove himself, but the damage done seems to be too much to overcome.

After parting ways with those two coaches, the Gators needed a 70-point offensive explosion to beat FCS Samford, who managed to put up 52 points in the match up. At that point, the chatter in the profession around Mullen's future reached a fever pitch.

In their last 11 games against FBS competition, Mullen and the Gators were just 2-9. The only schools with a worse record than that versus similar competition were Vanderbilt, Arizona, and Kansas. Not exactly the type of company you want to keep at a place with e

The Gators last game of the year comes against rival Florida State. Both teams enter the game with a losing record for just the third time in their storied match up. The winner becomes bowl eligible, while the loser likely stays home for the holidays.

Special teams coordinator / running backs coach Greg Knox will serve as the team's interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Knox is a longtime friend of Mullen's and served in the same interim capacity for Mississippi State when Mullen left for Florida.

Onehe move marks the 13th FBS head coaching change before the conclusion of the season.

Stay tuned to The Scoop pfor the latest.