GAINESVILLE, Florida – Florida coach Dan Mullen finally acknowledged making some “unfortunate” comments last year, none of which scratched his head as he talked about – and bent – the packaging of the home stadium during a pandemic.
But Mullen did not apologize for staying calm after people close to Mullen told ESPN they believed he would entertain the NFL at some point.
“There are a lot of rumors, but I haven’t talked to anyone,” Mullen said during a Zoom interview session Tuesday, two days before the start of spring internships.
Mullen, 48, was specifically asked if he wants to finish in the pros, possibly after next season or later.
“I will approach it this way: I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what the future of college football will be and what it will look like in the future,” he said. “I love being here at the University of Florida. I think we have a great program. We have a big fan base, a great history, the opportunity to be a championship program every year.
“I think there are concerns with the coaches (in terms of) what the future of college football will look like. … I think there’s a lot of uncertainty that we’re trying to figure out right now to see what the future will hold.”
Between the growing transfer portal that forces coaches to continually recruit their own players and the undetermined challenges in terms of name, image and potential to gain resemblance, it’s easy to see why coaches may want to leave. The coronavirus pandemic also exposed college athletics to having a financial model capable of collapsing in no time.
Former Florida and Ohio state coach Urban Meyer left the broadcast booth to join the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, becoming the third college coach in so many years to make the move. Kliff Kingsbury moved from Texas Tech to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and Matt Rhule jumped from Baylor to the Carolina Panthers in 2020.
Mullen certainly has the credentials, either to turn the state of Mississippi into an occasional threat at the Southeastern conference or to help the Gators become a championship candidate again. His resume also includes a lot of work with NFL quarterbacks, including Alex Smith, Cam Newton, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott. Former Florida quarterback Kyle Trask will be MB’s next coach in the QB. Arkansas ’Feleipe Franks could also be a final pick.
Mullen has spent nearly three decades in the university ranks, including the last 16 years at the SEC headquarters.
His last was arguably the most difficult. He was denounced for comments about wanting to “pack the swamp” after a loss to Texas A&M and putting 90,000 fans in Florida Field during a public health crisis.
He also stumbled after losing to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, insisting that the last outing for the Florida team in 2020 actually came to the SEC title. The Gators were without their first four receivers and three defensive starters against the Sooners, and Mullen praised the effort of his “scout team players,” comments that were considered to overlook Oklahoma’s victory.
“There are probably times I’ve said things that, you know, maybe unfortunate, maybe they didn’t come out the right way, maybe they were interpreted differently,” Mullen said. “Always try to improve, always try to improve and look at it. I think one of the things you have to do is look back and reflect and say, ‘Hey, right now is that the right way to approach something?’ ‘”
Mullen had other interesting moments in 2020.
The SEC reprimanded him and fined him $ 25,000 after league officials decided he did more to inflame than extinguish a tense situation against Missouri that sparked a half-hearted fight on Halloween night. Mullen wore a Darth Vader suit to his post-game press conference, essentially welcoming the role of villain.
He found himself in the hottest water just before Christmas, when the NCAA said Mullen had been unable to “promote an atmosphere of compliance” for having had inadmissible contact with a Seattle recruit and allowing inadmissible contact with seven teams that stopped in Gainesville on their way to an event in Tampa.
The rapes landed in Florida on parole for the first time in 30 years.
The sanction because of the show also probably means no increase or expansion for Mullen, who is 29-9 years old since he replaced Jim McElwain after the 2017 season. He has three years left on a six-year, 36-year contract. $ 6 million making him the tenth highest paid coach in college football.
“Yeah, I don’t control that part, so I have to worry about what I control,” he said. “That may be at someone else’s press conference. That would be a good question for them.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.