Dan Mullen out as Florida football coach
Florida was ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP poll this season but have been on a downturn
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida fired football coach Dan Mullen on Sunday hours after the Gators lost in overtime to Missouri, athletic director Scott Stricklin said.
The Gators dropped to 5-6 overall and 2-6 in SEC play after the 24-23 loss. Mullen noted at the end it was the team’s "seventh straight loss in one-possession games." Missouri entered the game with the nation’s 118th-ranked defense, with the Gators’ offense scoring 92 points in the last two games.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dan Mullen before the Orange Bowl game against Virginia in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Dec. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
But it appeared to be bigger than that for Florida. Mullen’s team was ranked as high as 10th this season and started promising even with the two-point loss to Alabama in their third game. But since then, the team lost to Kentucky, LSU and Georgia and they were trounced by South Carolina.
Greg Knox, the team's special teams coordinator/running backs coach, will be the interim head coach.
Outkick’s Clay Travis noted in his Starting 11 column earlier Sunday that Florida was 2-8 in their last 10 games against Power 5 Conference opponents. Florida is one of three teams that aren’t bowl eligible (LSU and Vanderbilt are the others).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dan Mullen during a timeout against Georgia on Nov. 7, 2020, in Jacksonville, Florida. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
DAN MULLEN’S SEAT IS FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES, AFTER FLORIDA LOSES TO MISSOURI IN OT
The multiple 10-win seasons and a three-year contract extension he signed just six months ago weren’t enough to save his job.
Dan Mullen reacts during the Sept. 26, 2020, game against Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Thomas Graning)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mullen took over as Florida's head coach in 2018 after nine years at Mississippi State. He was 34-15 with the Gators and 2-1 in bowl games but couldn't elevate the team into College Football Playoff contention.
It’s unclear what happens next for Florida, which still has solid quarterbacks in Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson. The team just needs to beat Florida State to become bowl eligible but, at this point, that appears to be a tall order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.