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ESPN’s Matt Barrie revisits Florida’s ‘stunning’ move to part with Dan Mullen
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ESPN’s Matt Barrie went on The Paul Finebaum Show on Tuesday and shed a little light on how Florida has fallen and how Dan Mullen, his fellow college football analyst on ESPN, might have been let go a little too soon in favor of Billy Napier.
“I’ve always been one of those people that think schools react too quick, unless it’s just an absolute unmitigated disaster that you can’t get yourself out of,” said Barrie. “With the firing of a head coach, you had better know that the person who you’re getting is better than the one you’re getting rid of.”
Mullen was fired after a 4-year run in Gainesville in which he went 34-15, although his final season in 2021 was a disaster, as the Gators went 6-7 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. Mullen didn’t even make it to the end of that season, getting fired before the final regular-season game.
Napier was brought in, and it hasn’t gone well to say the least, with Florida finishing under .500 overall in 2022 and 2023 and going 3-5 in the SEC in both seasons. This year, UF has sleepwalked to a 2-2 record (1-1 in the SEC) as it gets ready to host UCF at The Swamp on Saturday night.
“Is there some bias, probably a little,” admitted Barrie, who now works side-by-side with Mullen. “But the thing with Mullen, it’s a simple fact, is that the guy went to and won three New Year’s Six games in a row his first three years. (They) hit that adversity in year four and they got rid of him.”
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
