Florida fires coach Dan Mullen in fourth season as Gators kick off a year after winning SEC East

Florida fired coach Dan Mullen on Sunday after the Gators lost 2-6 in the SEC game, their worst conference winning percentage in a season since 1979. Program Notice that they will part ways with Mullen and re-executive coach Greg Knox will serve as interim Gators coach. A press conference with Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

It was a dramatic fall for Mullen, who led Florida to the SEC Championship Game and a third consecutive appearance in the six-bowl New Year’s Eve last season. However, the Gators have lost 4 games in a row to rivals FBS and 2-9 to Power Five teams since the last 3 games of the 2020 season. Florida is almost upset then-No. 1 Alabama at The Swamp in September but have lost in a row at Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina and Missouri with a tough 34-7 defeat in the annual Florida-Georgia game. The Gators’ only win since early October was 70-52 against Samford, a game in which Florida had scored 42 points in the first half… against the FCS team 4-5 at the time.

Mullen had plenty of pitch to Florida when he took over in 2018. He led Mississippi State to the best run in show history from 2009-17 with the Bulldogs winning 69-49 with eight consecutive appearances. Mullen was also hired “home” as the Gators’ star offensive coordinator under coach Urban Meyer, who spearheaded a transcendent offense that helped win two championships. the program’s final national competition in 2006 and 2008.

Florida won 22-5 (11-5 SEC) in Mullen’s first two seasons with a pair of wins in the New Year’s Six Bow game. The Gators together made a record breach in 2020 that kept them going College football The playoffs were deep into last season as they unraveled a nasty loss to LSU and a narrow defeat at the hands of Alabama in the SEC title game. Florida was then defeated by Oklahoma 55-20 in a Cotton Bowl match, a match that could serve as a forerunner of what’s to come this season as UF features some of their star players. myself for many different reasons.