The Florida Gators were a mess in 2017, and those struggles cost coach Jim McElwain his job.

The Gators then hired former Florida OC Dan Mullen, and he turned the program around quickly. With a dominant win in Saturday’s Peach Bowl, the Gators finish the year with a 10-3 record.

Following the game, Mullen thanked Florida’s seniors for believing in him and buying into his program when he took the reins (transcript via ASAPSports.com):

A lot of them, this was the last time they put those pads on, and they get to walk off the field as champions today. They get to walk off, says it right here, it says champions. And I know everybody, when they talk about it, that’s what makes the bowl system so special is the educational aspect of getting to come spend a week here in Atlanta, come build as a team, see things you haven’t gotten to see, and that opportunity to finish your football career as champion is pretty special.

I want to thank all those seniors, also, for believing in me. I told our guys, the sooner everybody bought in, the sooner we’ll start winning. It’s evident. It started with the seniors. Those guys believed from day one. Nobody questioned, nobody resisted, everybody tried to do whatever we asked them to do. And you see, and I told everybody, you know, today we wanted to peak today. That’s what you want to do, peak on the final game of the season. You’re always getting better. We want to continue to improve.

The seniors (and players who declare for the 2019 NFL Draft early) will be missed, but Mullen has this team heading in the right direction.