Why I believe Dan Mullen is a top 5 coach in college football right now
Let me ask you a question.
In this scenario, you’re a Power 5 athletic director. Your job depends on nailing your college football head coach hire. Here’s the thing, though. You can hire anyone to take over your program on a 4-year contract. Money isn’t an issue, either. Nick Saban? Yours. Dabo Swinney? You got him.
Those guys are obvious choices, and understandably so. I won’t waste your time explaining why.
But if I’m an athletic director coming up with that list, there aren’t 5 names ahead of Dan Mullen. I believe he’s a top 5 coach in America right now.
Before you tell me why that’s bogus and that because Jimbo Fisher won a national title 6 years ago, he’s better than Mullen at his job right now, look at a stat like this.
Here’s the list of coaches who won New Year’s 6/BCS bowls in each of their first 2 seasons at a new school:
- Dan Mullen
That’s the list.
(Apologies if you saw me tweet this or if you saw it from the SEC Network social accounts, which had that stat roughly an hour after I did for some reason. You know, not that it matters.)
Think about that. That’s essentially 20 years of football and Mullen was the first coach to accomplish that feat.
Not mentioned in a stat like that was the fact that Mullen inherited a 4-7 team. Not mentioned in a stat like that is the fact that Mullen lost his starting quarterback in mid-September and turned to someone who hadn’t started a game of football in 7 years.
And you mean to tell me Mullen is 21-5 with 5 wins over ranked teams so far? Goodness, that’s impressive.
No, he hasn’t beaten Georgia yet. No, he hasn’t played for an SEC Championship yet. No, he hasn’t had a top 5 finish yet.
I get that. But context is important with these things.
Watch Florida and tell me that Mullen’s offense isn’t successful. With a struggling, inexperienced offensive line and a backup quarterback who isn’t a prototypical Mullen dual-threat guy, Florida had the No. 4 scoring offense in the SEC and No. 30 nationally. The Gators were 9-2 vs. Power 5 competition with an average margin of victory of 13.5 points, and those 2 losses came in down-to-the-wire games away from home against current top 5 teams. In 7 games vs. currently unranked Power 5 teams, Florida went 7-0 with an average margin of victory of 21.4 points.
I mention that because my biggest complaint about Florida under Jim McElwain and even in Year 1 of the Mullen era was that it played down to its competition far too much.
What Mullen did with this Florida team to win 11 games shouldn’t be brushed off. It showed exactly why he’s an elite coach right now. I’m not saying his résumé is as good as some of the other elite coaches. But the list of coaches who could have won 11 games amidst Florida’s circumstances is extremely short.
The interesting thing is that outside of the top 2 (Saban and Swinney), it’s pretty wide open now. With no more Urban Meyer or Chris Petersen and Fisher finishing without double-digit wins for the 3rd consecutive season, ranking coaches 3-6 is anybody’s guess. You’d probably have to put Kirby Smart ahead of Mullen for now because of the head-to-head advantage and the overall success of Georgia the past 3 years, and what Ed Orgeron is doing this year absolutely makes him an elite coach, as well.
But let’s play out another little scenario.
You have 1 game to win and you can pick any coach to be on your sideline. Talent is equal. I’m taking Mullen over Smart, Lincoln Riley and Fisher. I’m taking Mullen over any coach in the Big Ten and Pac-12, as well. I trust his ability to scheme receivers open and keep a defense off-balanced.
And look, I get the recruiting criticisms. I’ve made some of them. Mullen still isn’t landing the big-time skill player guys yet. His in-state ties are still a bit of a work in progress, and if Florida is going to win a national title, it feels like it’ll be because Mullen started landing 5-star recruits from the Sunshine State.
Still, the guy did land the No. 9 and No. 8 recruiting classes in his first 2 full cycles. Mullen is going to continue to improve in that area. I’m not a believer that we know his ceiling as a recruiter after just 2 full cycles at a big-time place like Florida. Ask Swinney about that (the 2020 class was Swinney’s first class that ranked in the top 5). Building those connections take time, and surely, winning cures all.
Mullen has now elevated 2 SEC programs, albeit in completely different fashion. He made MSU a steady Top 25 program in the SEC, and now, Florida is a steady New Year’s 6 team. Speaking of that, here’s the list of active coaches with 3 New Year’s 6 Bowl appearances in the Playoff era:
- Nick Saban, Alabama
- Dabo Swinney, Clemson
- Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
- Kirby Smart, Georgia
- Dan Mullen, Florida
- Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
- Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
- James Franklin, Penn State
The list of active coaches with multiple New Year’s 6 Bowl wins in the Playoff era shrinks to Saban, Swinney, Chryst, Orgeron, Franklin, Smart and Mullen. Top 5 coaches go to and win New Year’s 6 bowls on an annual basis. That’s what Mullen is becoming.
It’s because of what we’ve seen these first 2 years that makes me think that Mullen is elite right now. I realize I might be in the minority with that opinion, and that him winning an SEC title is what will solidify that for those doubting this notion.
But if you put me in that athletic director position with a blank check and a hire to make, there aren’t 5 coaches that I’m taking ahead of the one in Gainesville.
OK, you can have him. Deal done.
Look, anyone like Kirby “not so” Smart that wears a visor 1/2 an inch above their eyes isn’t winning any IQ contests. But the Bama Bangs haircut is very flattering. Does that guy own a mirror?
Yeah, that “no so smart” guy kinda owns Mullet so I’d pump the brakes on the insults until he actually beats him.
be careful talking about “pumping” the lizard licker – she may get all hot and bothered.
It must really suck when a guy that you describe as “not so smart” and incapable of winning an IQ test owns your team and owns your head coach.
All of college fandom agrees – Kirby is not nearly as bad a dancer as mullet is.
Speaking of visors and coaches, who do you think can throw a visor the furthest – Smart or the Ole Bourbon Coach?
Kirby holds a Master’s degree in Finance and made academic honor roll all 4 years at UGA while excelling on the football field. You?
I don’t get this line of criticism. Kirby is a great recruiter and a good coach. He has yet to win the big game against elite competition. Great coaches win those games.
Mullen is a great play caller and a good coach. The talent he inherited at UF was SIGNIFICANTLY worse than what Kirby had a UGA. However, UF is certainly trending in the right direction.
I’ll take the upward trend and leave the unmet expectations to UGA. And, for what it is worth, I have a B.S. (honor grad) and an M.S. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in Curriculum.
Wow, you have all that 2bits? Sounds like Mullet isn’t the only one that is trending upward then, all I can say is I certainly hope you haven’t wasted 11 years accomplishing nothing with all that elite ability…lol. Just effin with ya my friend. A very merry new one to you and yours. Great year for your lizards. Even greater for my pups. Looking forward to All Hallows’ Eve in Jxvlle already…
Hey LegHumper
I have 28 Associate degrees, 19 Undergraduate degrees, 11 Masters Degrees, a PhD, degree, a JD degree, a MD degree, a PharmD, a DDS degree, a DMD degree, a ThD degree, a DMin degree,
and, I have a thermometer that has 180 degrees.
I’ll take the Coach that beat an elite team his second season as a HC, has won Division Championships, won a Conference championship, wins recruiting titles AND beats slid show dan mullet like a rented mule.
Now that’s an upward trend!!!!!!!!
Just for the record, Kirby’s master’s is in physical education. The finance degree is his bachelor’s.
I would have guessed his Masters was in Reptilian Studies…
Love it!
Mullen is a good coach. No doubt about it. He may very well prove to be a top 5. I would say he is certainly close right now but I would want to see a championship or two… before giving him that crown.
Any kind of championship will do…
2020 state champs!
Lol…ain’t it great to have aspirations!
I hate that sumbeech but he is without a doubt a good coach.
Lol exactly.
As a UGA fan I hated Spurrier and Meyer, both smug, snarky smart aasses that beat up on UGA.
As a UGA fan I love mullet, a smug, snarky smart aass that is owned by UGA and Smart.
0-2 vs UGA in increasingly close games after inheriting a 4-7 squad. Is a two-pete all you need to be “owned” nowadays? If a two-pete is the same as being “owned”, then what did Spurrier do to UGA? I guess I’d call that Chattanooga Push Pop. Go grab the Urban Dictionary. Just remember that the best part of you ran down mama’s good leg.
“Just remember that the best part of you ran down mama’s good leg.”
Way to keep it classy.
The two hang-ups for Mullet – no championships and the fact that he hasn’t established himself as an elite recruiter.
Mullet’s claim to fame as a HC is what he supposedly did with the Miss St. program – elevated the program to new heights, did more with less. What did Mullet do at Miss St that Stoops hasn’t done at Kentucky?
Based on achievements why is Orgeron not considered a Top-5 coach while Mullet is? Is Mullet a better recruiter than Orgeron?
What has Mullet done that Gus Malzahn hasn’t done – won multiple SEC Division titles, SEC championship, played for a NC? Is Mullet a better recruiter than Malzahn?
How long does mullet have to win a SECE Title, a SEC Championship, play-for/win a NC?
If recruiting continues to improve, the Gators will be a scary team to deal with.
Isn’t that the case for most college football programs?
True. But few are as close as the Gators are.
Navy, Penn St, Minnesota, Baylor, Oklahoma, FAU, Boise St, Air Force, Oregon, Utah, App St, Notre Dame, to name a few more than few…
Humper WTF you talking bout? Go take your meds
Hint…They all won 11 games. If their recruiting improves they’ll be scary…when you shake off that hangover do try to keep up my compadre!
? None of those teams play in the SEC East
I must have missed your SEC East disclosure…
My fault for not clarifying. I meant them being close in the SEC/maybe NC picture.
Although Oregon, Penn St and Oklahoma are good teams from your list.
I’m starting to think Dawgs fans don’t like that Gators….. something tells me that.
It’s a true love hate relationship…
Les Miles made LSU lovable and Ed O has taken it to another level, congrats on a spectacular year. Take home the prize!
Thank you good sir. I respect UGA a lot and congrats on the sugar bowl even if you guys didn’t wanna be there.
Not with Georgia obviously
LOL. Go home Connor, you’re drunk.
Mullet is married at the hip to 3rd and Grantham – a sure sign of greatness!!!
With bad ass vet tackles maybe we have a lot more success getting to the QB
Yall won by a td lol congrats
2nd yr btw what happened kirby first yr 2 td loss to butters
So it dont all happen immediately I’ll take 11 and 2 and the way this class i like it esp since we talent developers
Hey pls tell me Coley and your wr coach are both back
That English-As-Second-Language class you took – you should demand a refund
Let’s see if I can breatthis down for you in simple Mullet terms…Mullet was quoted after that riveting UVa victory as saying that going from 4 wins to 10…hard, 10 to 11…harder, 11 to 12…hardest.
Kirby went from 8 to 12 to 10 and then to 12 again. Please do the math for me and thank you for shopping at LeghumperU…
Orgeron is also now in the group with two NY6 bowl wins.
Orgeron vs mullet – more titles and championships, more Heisman Trophy winners , better recruiter, better at hiring/building an elite staff.
And better at kicking our a ss and not mouthing off as opposed to not and mouthy…Ed rocks
Man I love Ed Orgeron. He’s a guy that commands respect for the way he goes about things. Dan on the other hand… reminds me of a used car salesman. Which is strange because I’ve actually SEEN Coach O’s commercial selling… used cars.
Ed O has the CEO role locked down. Meaning he communicates his vision, motivates his players and delegates responsibility to his staff and doesn’t micro-manage them. He also moves in to close the big sale when needed for big recruits. It’s actually one of the hardest things for head coaches to perfect because their natural instinct is to get down in the weeds and think tactically instead of strategically.
Dude, Orgeron has done a good job. But let’s face it. He owe’s this whole year to the historical performance of Burrow. LSU would not have beat Alabama without Burrow. Not saying their WRs weren’t very good but Burrow made that whole team look better than they were.
I might give Burrow more credit if not how EdO handled his interim stints at USC and LSU. He was the right man for both jobs.
Closing with Xzavier Henderson Avantae Williams, and Lingard/Shorter in the portal
I’m happy af or even Gibbs at RB but that would be a bit of Surprose
Like Henry Parrish at RB too
Glad Mullen getting some love but top 10 yes top 5 not yet
He adapted very well this yr that’s for sure. No run game. 4 out of 5 OL gone. Basically the job he did was fantastic.
I swear no Frank’s injury that kid was riding the bench getting his degree and following that. Mullen tho made sure the kid was ready he lead us against Kentucky and went 11-2
Hell ya
Yeah the quarterback whisperer had done such a great job coaching up Franks. This year it was meet the new Franks, same as the old Franks.
He’s certainly a good coach and UF had a great year. Probably impossible to quantify if any coach is top 5 unless it is so obvious. As it is with Saban and Swinney.
I see nothing but uga fans commenting on this article…seriously obsessed with anything regarding florida. So flattering.
I must admit, bullying and punking the lizards is addictive. Kind of like watching a dwarf tossing contest, or bum fights.
I guess we could also do the same with UT, UK, Vandy, SCar etc but none of those programs have an Eddie Haskell as their HC.
Props on the 1950s reference.
Props for knowing it was “1950’s” reference.
Glad I could make your day.
I’m not gonna pretend like he isn’t a great coach for the style he employs, but I’d still put him behind Riley and Franklin. I think a good debate would be Mullen or Jimbo Fisher. I’m not sold on Jimbo being all that good…
Agreed on Jimbo. Without Jameis, he is a good coach, but not a great one.
I’d like to see what would happen to Riley if he had to play a SEC schedule every year. I think a lot of his success is due to playing at least 7 teams every year who don’t play defense.
I’m a big fan of Franklin. Still pissed that our old AD didn’t fire Muschamp after we lost to GA Southern so we could hire Franklin.
Happy New Year to all of the SDS posters!
Good points all around. And with Jimbo, it wasn’t just Jamies. All 22 starters on that team got drafted. It was maybe one of the best rosters talent wise ever assembled for a single year in college football history.
I never heard that about all 22 starters being drafted. That’s crazy – thanks for the info.
Not true. 11 players were drafted the same year as Jameis; 7 on offense and 4 on defense. 7 were drafted the previous year, in the draft that followed FSU’s NC; 3 on offense and 4 on defense. Still very good. Top 5 programs typically have 6 to 8 players drafted each year. 11 in one year is extremely rare.
Not all in the same year buddy. Look at the championship roster. All 22 starters got drafted , not all the same year, but they all got drafted either that year, the next or the next. They had 22 legit NFL players lining up every play.
Well buddy, I did cite two seasons, not a single season. It’s accurate to say that all 22 made it onto NFL rosters… but not that all 22 were drafted. I don’t recall which ones, but something like three or four guys were undrafted free agents.
There was also a 23rd, Aguayo, the kicker.
About six or seven of the 22 were first or second rounders.
I had no doubt before I even got down to the comment section, which fan base would have the most comments. Triggered much? It’s hilarious that so many Dawg fans think a couple wins head to head is the end all be all when deciding who’s better. I said it before and I’ll say it again. Larry Coker was 4-2 against Bobby Bowden. I don’t think there’s anyone in their right mind that would say Coker is the better coach because of that. You switch roles and hand Mullen UGA’s rosters and Smart the Gator rosters and Mullen wipes the floor with him. You’re out of your mind if you think otherwise.
Holding off the late charging mighty Cavaliers and pulling out a win – now that was inspiring!
Not many coaches could do that with UF’s roster.
Yeah. Not as impressive as a 26-14 win over… Baylor.
I mean 2 loss (only losses were close games to OU) Baylor was a top 10 team…4 loss UVA was 24th and lost by 100 to ClemPson.
Are you seriously trying to say Baylor isn’t a good team and that beating them in the Sugar Bowl (with UGA down 12 starters) isn’t impressive?
I will seriously say that Baylor has a decent offense and a very typical Big 12 defense. Not impressed with how they played Oklahoma.
Still a very good win all things considered. Not many teams could beat them down 12 starters.
NashvilleGayTurd
So UVA was a better team than Baylor, the UF/UVA game was a better game than the Sugar Bowl?????
You lizard lickers really are delusional.
But when it’s all said and done I get to say
24-17 Chumps
No. Baylor is much better than UVA, although UVA probably played their best game against Florida.
And you are a troubled child.
Couple points. Only one noted troll has even suggested that Smart was better. Rosters are part of the equation. Do you think Mullins is one of the Top 5 coaches in CFB?
Based on body of work today, absolutely not. Based on potential, hung jury
Only one has pointed it out on this article, but lets not act like it hasn’t been stated many times before. As far as x’s and o’s, yes I think he’s one of the top 5. Like the article stated, there aren’t many coaches in the game, let alone 5, that can take that roster with a weak o-line, no running game and a backup QB starting his first game in 7 years and go on to win 11 games. That’s before even factoring in multiple injuries/missed games for some of their best players throughout the season. Obviously Dawg fans will never give him credit for anything, but putting the hate aside, what he did this season was pretty impressive. You give him the talent of Bama, Clemson, or even UGA, then I think he’s in the playoff every year. As far as recruiting goes he’s a work in progress. He’s building the relationships and his classes are progressing each year with everyone predicting his next class to be his best. It took Swinney 10 years to get a top 5 class. It doesn’t happen overnight. Some coaches are obviously better at recruiting than coaching and that alone will win them a lot of games. Mullen has already proven he can win a lot of games with average recruiting. Logic would tell you he’ll do even better with the classes he’s now bringing in, which are better than he’s ever had.
“playoffs every year”. So you think he would have beaten LSU with UGA’s players in the SECCG? Or Bama last year?
Joe…IF and that’s a BIG IF, Mullet had figured out on his own that Trask was a better option than Franks I’d probably agree with you…
Watching Mullet stumbledork around with Emory like Kirby did with Fields last year tells me all I need to know about what an elite coach he is…other than that, respect your opinion and HNY…
I actually do think he would’ve beaten Bama last year. UGA should’ve never given up that 4th quarter lead, which was a result of bad coaching. Seeing as Mullen put up a much better fight against LSU this year with Trask making his first ever road start in Death Valley at night and being an int in the end zone away from tying the game late in the 4th with 2 of his best defensive players injured, I have no doubt he would’ve put up a much better fight if he were coaching the Dawgs. If UGA would’ve played them the way the Gators did, then I believe the committee would’ve put them in the playoff over OU. They were still debating it even with as bad as they played.
Humper, Mullen wasn’t the first coach to sit Trask in favor of a mobile QB with a good arm. In fact 2 other head coaches did as well in Mac and his high school coach. We don’t really know the full circumstances that led to that decision, meaning what went on in practice. Some athletes are better gamers than practicers, just ask Allen Iverson. God only knows when Tom Brady would’ve gotten his chance had Bledsoe never gotten hurt. Does that mean Belichick was an idiot for not immediately recognizing his talent? HNY to you as well.
Joe Marks what’s the point of all this fantasy land talk? None of it can be proven or disproven. I’m getting really sick of the “we played LSU harder” talk. It’s silly. LSU got better as the year went on. Not to mention we played each other…and UGA won.
Hanging your hat on a more competitive loss to LSU is a complete fantasy and proves nothing.
BTW Joe, part of being an elite coach is being an elite recruiter…Mullets resume is certainly more like Mark Richts than Kirby’s is at this time…1 stat bears this out more than any other, 8-4 against top 10 teams…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Mullen has run off all of the players on the roster, why would we hand him ours? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Good one Joe! That’s awesome….. I can’t wait to see how Mullen trumps last offseason. This is going to be GREAT!
A young man named Brenton Cox would like a word
Weed?
Good point Joe. Though hypothetical, it really is a good comparison. Things look good in Gainesville and will be better next year.
After all…The Gators closed the talent gap — not by outrecruiting Georgia…
You’re not worried about all the loses at WR and Grenard and Zuniga? If y’all don’t find a running game I would think Uf takes a step back next season.
Pitts had the most receptions on the team and was only 8 yards behind Jefferson for most yards. Grimes was 4th. Copeland wasn’t far behind. Some of the seniors will be missed, but there’s a lot of talent left in that room, some of which hasn’t had a chance to shine yet. I doubt Toney leaves. They’ll be just fine on offense next season. Losing Greenard and Zuniga will hurt, but that’s the one thing people say every year when it comes to losing great D-linemen. I mean it’s been how do you replace Powell, Fowler, Floyd, Easley, Bryan, Polite etc etc and somehow they always do. There’s plenty of blue chip talent waiting in the wings that got a lot of experience this season with the injuries to both of those guys. Zuniga didn’t play much all season. I’m sure Cox will want to prove all the criticism from Dawg fans wrong. I don’t see this team taking a step back at all.
I hope you’re right about Cox…hate to see any kid with such talent get lost regardless of what team he plays for. The world could certainly use one less weed dealer on the streets…
Well, Mullen’s elite playcalling and ridiculously loaded WR room was effectively blitzed in the 1st half by our dumb-dumb Kirby, so I’m not sure where you’re going with this.
There are really only two coaches that are clearly elite, Saban and Swinney. Lots of guys are in the discussion for top 5, but I don’t think any others would be unanimous selections from any panel of “experts”. The discussion will linger until others clearly establish themselves.
12 years as a HBC
ZERO CFP appearances
ZERO SEC Division Championships
ZERO SEC Conference Championships
I couldn’t agree more, top 5. Florida should lock him down to a lifetime contract similar to the one he signed at HydrantPisserU…Grantham also…
What program did he spend 9 of those 12 years at, and which division was he playing in again when it was at its peak? I wonder how many division, conference, or national championships Smart would win at MSU as his first time head coaching job? Mullen did more in 9 years at MSU than any other coach ever dreamed of doing in 120+ years of football, but yeah he sucks cause he couldn’t do what no one will ever be able to do there. Makes total sense. Sounds like more of that Dawg fan logic to me. Sorry, but what he was able to accomplish there as a first time head coach just bolsters his resume for top 5 consideration.
Can’t answer that, I can tell you what he accomplished under the Saban shadow at Bama and I can tell you what Bama has accomplished since he left.
Jackie Sherrill went 61-44 his first 9 years at MS and won the division in his 8th, twice was 2nd and never finished worse than 4th until he finally had enough and tanked with violations the last 3 years. Mullet was what, 69-46 with one second and five 5th place finishes in 9 years…impressive…
Don’t you think just maybe the SEC West was a little tougher when Mullen was HC at MSU than it was when Jackie Sherrill was coaching. I dunno if there has ever been a more impressive division top to bottom ever.
Let me answer that this way…if the SEC East is so da mmd weak, WHY are they currently 3 and 0 in bowl games and the west is 3 and 2?
Weak is in the eye of the beholder…
I was comparing the SEC West of Sherrills day to the SEC West of Mullen’s day. You’re trying to equalize their accomplishments but the era was far far different. I am not bringing the SEC East into the discussion at all. The East and West were fairly even this year with the West having the clear champ
All I do know is Mullets last 2 years were 5-7 and 9-4. Moorehead went 8-4 and 6-6 the last 2, not seeing much difference. Year 3 and 4 we’ll actually start seeing Mullets seasoned recruits leading the way so I remai in let’s see mode before proclaiming elite 5 coach
Not surprising that’s “all you know”. Do you not see the trend of Moreheads team headed south? He was using Mullen’s recruits and was coming off a better year than UF. You just keep changing the subject but nobody in their right mind would say Moorhead or Sherrill are anywhere near his caliber of a coach
I said Sherrill was better, Morecranium sux…
Well you’re not in your right mind so that makes a ton of sense actually
Hey wait a minute…aww never mind. I resemble that remark…lol!
Never heard an opinion btw, help a Retard out won’t cha?
Mullet was quoted after that riveting UVa victory as saying that going from 4 wins to 10…hard, 10 to 11…harder, 11 to 12…hardest.
Kirby went from 8 to 12 to 10 and then to 12 again. Is it true Kirby is harder than Mullet?
I dunno what kinda fantasies you have about Kirby being hard. I’ll just leave you to that
Jackie Sherrill won a share of the West division in 1998 when Alabama was in its 3rd year of a Bowl Ban and down about 25 scholarships and LSU was Pre-Nick Saban. Imagine if Mullen’s MSU teams played in that SEC West lol he’d probably win it every year!
The SEC West was pretty abysmal from 1995-2000. Sherrill also only won 8 games over his final 3 seasons at MSU which was shortly after Saban’s arrival at LSU.
LOL! Yes, Mullen coached Miss State in the SEC West during a time when that division routinely produced one or more title worthy contenders.
The same division that has ended every Georgia title run under Kirby, and Georgia isn’t even in the division!! LMAO-ROFL-SMH #CantEscapeShadowOfOurConference!!-Forget about Natty aspirations…
He did take the school to “unprecedented success” during his time there. If, after Meyer and Spurrier, Mullen takes Florida to “unprecedented success”, most UF fans will happily accept this result.
This is the underlying truth that has Georgia fans clenching, and desperately arguing/crying for respect. Hence, more comments on Florida articles by UGA fans, (U_nspectacular G_reat A_thletes), than by actual UF fans.
Connor, you need to have a talk with your editor. Title should read “Why I believe Dan Mullen is a Top 5 Coach in Alachua County, Florida”. Still think that is a bit of a stretch… but whatever. This one is free, I’ll have to charge you next time.
Come on bro, give credit where credit is due.
Prior to the 2019 season I wouldn’t have said that mullet was a Top-5 NCAA CFP HC in the State of Florida.
But now, after eking out a win over Diaz, with Kiffin gone, with Taggert gone – Mullet is Top-5 in the State of Florida.
Observe
Writing an article promoting mullet as a Top-5 coach – lots of clicks, lots of comments from multiple fans bases, rebuttals, defensive posturing, insults, sarcasm, much butthurt, off topic comments etc.
Same article states as fact that Kirby Smart is a Top-5 coach – crickets
8-4 vs top 10, nuff said
Orgeron has won 10 of his last 11 against top 10 opponents.
Been a magical year so far.
Orgeron is really rounding out to be an elite coach and it’s because he was willing to make changes. Pride is the downfall of too many coaches. People still remember Coach O for his failures in the past but those failures made him a better coach because it taught him that he isn’t perfect and sometimes it’s better to listen to others in the room. And even though I can’t understand half of what he says, he could get me to run through a brick wall.
Which is why I would certainly put Ed ahead of Mullet based on current body of work…
In 2020
Orgeron is clearly one of the Top-5 coaches in college but football.
… in college football.
There’s nothing funnier than seeing Dawg fans laugh at Mullen being a top coach but are quick to jump on the Orgeron train. Do Dawg fans or anyone for that matter really believe that if Orgeron lost Burrow in the 3rd game of the season and had to start a Qb that hadn’t started in 7 years, behind an o-line that couldn’t run block and had no rushing offense, that he’d still go on to win 11 or more games? It’s quite hilarious watching Dawg fans blatantly go out of their way to not give credit where credit is due.
Credit where credit due? Mullets choice was Franks and would have rode that train to an 8-4 record…Ed O didn’t lose Burrow so we’ll never know. Kirby made it to the CFP finals with his backup QB
Dang, Mullen’s genius offensive mind sure is struggling to develop o-line recruits. Kirby had a Joe Moore finalist line in his 2nd year with a converted d-lineman at center and zero 5 stars.
Whine about the problems that Mullen has created for himself all you want. He’s clearly a bright offensive mind and the word is that he can develop QBs alright. No one is saying he’s a terrible coach by any stretch. But let’s not crown him in the top 5 unless he does something better than 2nd place in his own division. He’s not in the same universe as Orgeron right now. Nobody really is. Also, the “backup” QB “problem” is ridiculous. From the looks of it, Trask should have been starting all along. Heck for a stretch there he looked like the 3rd best QB in the SEC. The fact that he was 2nd string is as much an indictment on Mullen as anything else. Also the fact that Mullen can’t recruit the OL is also on him. I’m not gonna praise him for his inability to overcome the problems he made for himself.
Coach Smart is certainly not Top 5 at this point. But, only has 4 years of data.
Was UGA a top-5 program prior to Smart’s arrival? (hint, no)
Is UGA a top-5 program now (hint, RESOUNDING YES)
Is Kirby Smart a Top-5 GOAT head coach?
No
Over the last 4 years has Kirby Smart been one of the Top-5 coaches? ABSOLUTELY.
It’s just impossible to say. On the one hand, he built the 2017 and 2018 teams (for the most part) and got them in position for great things. Noted. But, his in game decisions cost them dearly. His propensity to play the games close to the vest has to change. Even last night they shut it down in the 2nd half. Gotta stop doing that.
They shut it down??
Were you watching the same game I was? Fromm got sacked back to back, and D-rob actually not dropping a TD catch, shutting it down would have been handing it off to White up the middle for 2 yards 3 times and punting. Huge Coley critic here but I thought he tried admirably to open it up in light of all the oLine changes. Fromm under threw a couple of sure TDs but watching Perkins I couldn’t help but think how lethal this team would be with another WR talent like him and a TE like Washington…help is on the way…
I don’t want to argue and throw cold water on a great game. I hope Smart is there for 100 years. He just needs to stop sitting on leads and counting on his defense.
Good teams adjust, Baylor was a good team. Kirby readjusted in time. Cheers JTF
DumbsOfWar, first there is no such article about Kirby. If there were such an article there wouldn’t be any or maybe very few insults and obnoxiousness or even much interest from the UF fanbase.
Big difference from you and your fellow Georgia Morons
Cause there wouldn’t be a dang thing you could say to refute it.
Crackhead NumeroUno
THIS article lists Smart #4 behind active coaches with a NC – Saban, Swiney and Fisher.
Look up the term INFERENCE.
The fact that all you offer as a rebuttal is some inane comment about there being “no such article” proves my point.
Mullen is a solid coach, I’ll give you that much. Florida won’t decide it. There are too many people living in the State, therefore recruits. Mississippi State was close to Texas with again a big recruit base. Send him to North Dakota, or Wyoming and see how he does.
Didn’t Wyoming beat Mizzou? Sorry, had to say it.
Mississippi State doesn’t have any sort of recruiting base in Texas. Nobody voluntarily goes to North Dakota or Wyoming to coach football when they have real options.
Mullet is indeed a solid coach. Solid coaches last longer than not so solids but that doesn’t make them top 5, is Mark Richt top 5?
No he is not but Kirby is the second coming of Richt, except with a worse haircut
Haircut…And 3 straight SEC East divisions, kinda like Spurrier and Nick
Would love to see your factual evidence that accurately compares and projects Kirby with Richt, moron.
If Kirby is Richt 2.0 then Mullen is MacElwain 2.0… oh wait MacElwain actually figured out how to stumble backwards into the SECCG when he wasn’t posing nude with sharks.
Leghumper, lil Kirby, mattyj et Al
Now you know why I annointed him “crackhead” long ago. Was that assessment unfair????
Funny you fools act so surprised, there have been several articles comparing Richt’s and Kirby’s results at the same point in their careers and they are very similar. Except that Kirby has had much better talent. Less with more again
12 wins > 11 wins
SECE champs > 2nd place
Top 4 finish > top 10
24 > 17
Kirby > Mullet
Lanning > 3rd&Grantham
More with more
Why not judge coaches on their records in their biggest games and not their overall record. I believe the better coaches win their biggest games more times than not. Padding your overall record with wins against inferior competition counts in the record books but doesn’t really tell the whole story. Before I’d consider him anything beyond a very good SEC coach, he has to win the East at least 3 times. The 1st one makes a statement. The 2nd one proves the 1st one was no fluke, the 3rd one says I’m better than you without question. Can you be nationally elite without ruling your division let alone your conference? Too early for elite status for Mullin. Until Smart rules the conference, too early for him too with the elite coach status. You can have an elite season without being an elite coach. There must be some measure of high level consistency to approach elite status.
1. When in God’s name will we get to see this “Mullen prototype” QB? Was it not Franks? Is it Jones? Is it Richardson?
2. It might be too early to cast the die on Smart vs Mullen (I mostly say that to avoid jinxing and potential embarrassment), but the clock is certainly ticking.
3. Accumulating talent is part of the responsibilities of a head coach, not just calling offensive plays. Saban and Dabo are the best, and Kirby isn’t half-bad. Orgeron is improving at a disturbing pace. Riley gets his guys as well.
4. Everyone acts like Mullen’s elite offensive playcalling is what makes him such a special on-field coach, but the fact is that you have to play defense as well, and right now Mullen doesn’t appear to be making great strides in that direction.
5. This all being said, Mullen is definitely a high-level head coach, and can certainly be up for debate for the 5-7 range of top head coaches. Right now it’s Dabo and Saban and then everybody else.
Wait a minute, it took Dabo 10 years to finally get a top 5 class this year. For the first 9 years of his tenure he struggled to get in the top 10, and now he’s at the same level as Saban and “the best” after 1 top 5 class? Please explain that one. Mullen has back to back top 10 classes in his first 2 seasons and yet gets criticized for his recruiting. Makes total sense. I’d say the Gators play pretty great defense when they’re healthy. Newsflash, Mullen has only been with the program for 2 seasons and Mac wasn’t exactly recruiting at an elite level to build a ton of depth. To think Mullen can just step in and plug 2 and 3 star players in for injured starters on defense and not miss a beat, is a little delusional. Mullen’s elite play-calling and ability to get the most out of his players is the only reason this team has won 21 games in 2 seasons and is the exact definition of an elite coach. Dawg fans are hilarious, they will do anything they can to downplay Mullen’s abilities even if what they say makes no sense.
His “elite” playcalling looked like a dumpster fire against Miami, nearly lost to Kentucky TWICE, and was held to under 20 by that dumb-dumb Kirby.
Nearly?
This isn’t horseshoes. Winning is all that matters.
The Miami game was a very unique situation. And the Gators did still win. The dumpster fire, to the extent that there was one, was on the defensive side of the ball with poor tackling and poor judgment (dumb penalties). But they still won.
We’ll see if Kirby continues to beat Mullen.
Winning is all that matters when it comes to determining the value of a team. How you win or lose absolutely maters when defining a coach.
If winning is all that matters, then how come you say the gap is closing between UGA and UF (not saying it isn’t) based on a shrinking margin of victory in the WLOCP?
Poor tackling and judgment sounds like a coaching issue.
You saw him in Dak Prescott and Tebow before him.
Emory Jones and Richardson are a lot closer than Franks or Trask to that prototype
A good coach would be able to win with anyone at QB. You’re not special just because you happened to be the coach for Tebow and Prescott, guys that would have been just fine with any other guy calling the plays.
It’s funny that no matter who Mullen coaches they are always a guy who will make plays. Alex Smith, Tebow, Prescott, Fitzgerald of 2 years ago, Trask. You guys just can’t give the QB whisperer his due.
He’s had a few good QBs that would have been fine without him. Other than that he’s got a lot of years with mediocre QBs.
Please name them. I even left out Chris Leak. He’s coached more good QBs than mediocre ones that’s for sure.
Mullen is a fine QB coach, but calling him a top 5 CFB head coach off that is like me saying Kirby is top 5 because of the defensive players he coached at Alabama.
Well I wouldn’t say that’s why Kirby is top five but I would factor it in. He was a big part of Alabama’s dominance and had made UGAs defense elite
I was only going to bat for his QB coaching prowess in this thread which is remarkable. Perhaps the best overall current track record
I’ll give Mullet his due, he’s goung to make one helluva OC one of these days…
He already did. Got a couple of Natty’s to prove it
We could talk about Mullet not even being the 2nd best HBC at MSU…Allen Mckeen 1 Sherrill 2…
We did. You didn’t make any good points
Chizik won a NC and I doubt you will find a single person that considers him Elite…. I don’t know what you would use to determine someone being considered elite but I would imagine sustained success would be a part of it…
Everyone is going to put their own parameters on this. Even the term sustained success is pretty arbitrary. How long is sustained and what defines success? Right now, we have Saban and Swinney that are elite. That’s the list. Filling out the rest of the top five is just a, who do you like best sort of thing.
Not mentioned in the article is that Mullen ran 15-18 scholarship players short all year. Teams can have 85 and Florida ran with 67-70. The fact he won 11 games with that small a roster while taking Georgia and LSU to the wire is nothing short of remarkable. Looking forward to how much better UF will be with a full complement of players.
Is that the same logic you used to get through school? “Nothing short of remarkable” that you were able to get all B’s and C’s with less than 100 percent of your brain cells due to being dropped on your head.
Oh, so not an intelligent response. Not surprised. Stop being a homer goon. An 11 win season at a P5 school with a smaller roster than every other P5 school is remarkable. Maybe not as remarkable as you convincing your cousin to sleep with you but remarkable nonetheless. You look stupid. Hush.
Stop calling Trask a “backup quarterback”. He’s a starting quarterback. “Backup quarterbacks” don’t have the 3rd highest QB Rating in the SEC (behind two Heismann contenders). “Backup quarterbacks” don’t have the 13th highest QB Rating in college football. You journalists need to let go of the cliches and start asking “Why was a starting quarterback sitting on the bench?”
CORRECTION: Trask is not 13th in NCAA QB Rating, he’s 12th.
@TheScribe, I am a Dawgs fan and when I saw Trask play those several games after Franks was injured, I had the same question as you regarding why Trask was on the bench. I wonder if he was really bad in practice all of these years and that’s why Franks was the starter but in the GAMES, he was better than anything I have seen from Franks. I’m still shocked Franks was the starter.
@KBP I think part of the reason is that coaches just love guys with canon arms. Spurrier loved Doug Johnson’s bazooka arm and stuck with him to no avail. I think Mullen made the same mistake with Franks’ arm. Yes, when Trask went in for Franks at Kentucky and started throwing darts to receivers I was shocked – “Where has this guy been?” LOL.
He was a top 5 coach even back when he was at state. It was unreal where he took that team..
Not even to Jackie Sherrill levels,that’s where…
He did as well as Sherrill in a lot less time but keep up the Georgia Moron narrative
Easy now palley…did someone butthurt you today? Lol. Where’s my congrats Leghumper to your Leghumpers for that huge statement win last night btw?
Reading comprehension: you were not called a Georgia Moron, only that you had spouted their narrative
Cool, glad you got the apology part out of the way…now about that congrats for our statement win last night?
@LeghumperU against a Baylor team that struggled against Iowa State, Texas Tech, and TCU? Congrats…
Nice job barely (or not even?) covering the spread against a team that lost their conference championship by nearly 50 and was ranked 24th coming in to the bowl game.
Good gracious! Look at all of the UGA posters talking trash! Have at it boys. I know most of you have waited your entire life to do so and for the older fans, it’s been a long time, huh? If not for Mac and Chump, y’all would still be whimpering in the corner, licking your…well…you know. Gator fans, think of being trapped in a cave for 30 plus years and finally being let out into the light. That’s UGA fans and their not sure how to act. Some have been there once but most, not at all. Give them some leeway and let em bark and growl. They’re just getting their digs in while they can, scared to death that cave with a UF door is coming back.
I’d like to argue with that but there’s a lot of truth here, it’s that what have you done for me lately adage. Enjoy the tongue lashings until Mullet and 3rdnGrantham actually win something… I know I’ll enjoy giving them!
Ha! Really hoping we don’t become cave dwellers!
What’s with Emory Jones? Seems like in tight games Mullen doesn’t let him throw in critical passing situations. In the Orange Bowl, an unexpectedly tight game, Jones came in and ran the first two plays of a series, and facing 3rd down and 6 or so, I thought we’d get to see him throw, but Trask went in to throw for the 1st down. Looks to me like Mullen is not fully comfortable with Jones. Why? Both Trask and Jones have had the same amount of time under Mullen. Is it a “still learning” issue?
Emory Jones is getting the Justin Fields at Georgia treatment (don’t trust him to throw the ball in big games, but hope he breaks a big run although the defense and fans know what’s coming) and for Jones’ development as a QB, that’s not good. If he has NFL aspirations, he should transfer to a school that will commit to him as the starter because game reps matter more than practice reps.
Happy 2020 SDS posters and SEC fans.
New year same old story, a Gator article and the Georgia Moron triumvirate is the first to respond with their usual obnoxiousness and ignorant, delusional drivel.
You could have just said you disagreed with the author without the insults and name calling and moved on. But of course that’s not who you are. Any mention of the Gators and Mullen brings out all the usual Moron suspects, ArmyPup, DumbsOfWar, Corch, DumbDawg78, DaJerk and others. The sick obsession continues.
So you tell us how we could have better handled our discussion by not insulting and calling names…by insulting abd calling us names…lol, alllllrighty then…you still drinking from New Years Eve or what?
Just reacting to the situation, not initiating. There’s a difference
Kinda like reacting to 9-11 terrorists from KSA and AfghaniPakiland by blowing Iraq off the map? Lol
New year same old story, hypocrite name caller continues to cry about rival fans while complaining about “insults”. Shocking
DumbDawg78 you still don’t get it. No hypocrisy and no crying, just telling it like it is,
Truth hurts
All I hear is wah wah wah boo hoo hoo
We just like to show up on your articles and remind you that you are beneath us. Still.
Ouch. Just telling it like it is though. Truth hurts…right CO?
Arrogance and stupidity all in one, good job
Arrogance yes because it’s arrogance EARNED. Don’t forget the box scores have been in our favor, not yours. Stupidity, no. Because we Georgia fans can actually read the box scores and they say that you can’t beat us. So you revert to ad homenim because there is NOTHING you can point to on the football field that shows your superiority over UGA.
Matty shows more stupidity. Saying UF can’t beat UGA is stupid, saying UF has lost 3 in a row to UGA is fact and not the same.
“Earned” arrogance after a 3 year run is premature, not really earned and just shows more stupidity on your part.
So what you really have is earned stupidity and misplaced, premature arrogance
3 year of dominance in every aspect of the game is well worth the arrogance. For someone that like to call people stupid you don’t show a shred of intelligence. I took a $hit that was smarter than you.
Matty displayed a lot of stupidity in these posts but you are perennially dumb
Seriously lol??? Is this suppose to be a joke because no one is buying it (except Florida fans).
With comments like that If you change your avatar from Hawg to Dawg you’ll get more positive feedback from GatorbaitorU and Bama fans…
1. Saban
2. Sweeny
3. Riley
4. Kirby
5. Franklin
6. Coach O
7. Chryst
8. Whittingham
9. G. Patterson
10. Jimbo
.
.
25. Gundy
.
.
.
.
.
56. Kelly
.
.
.
.
69. Mullet
Why Riley over Smart?
Are you giving Riley credit for 2 Heisman trophy winners? I subtract because Riley can’t go undefeated in the Big 12 and win a CFP game.
Ehhh… it’s a toss up. Kirby is a great defensive coach, Riley offense. Both could use help on the other side of the ball. But I see your point especially since Kirby won H2H. How about 3a-3b?
I agree, who’s best among Riley and Smart is a toss-up.
Coaching 2 Heisman winners in such a short tenure is significant.
Riley will definitely be offered an NFL HC position sooner than Kirby; if ever for Kirby.
Kirby’s ability to recruit makes his value much higher in CFB than the NFL. I think he’ll stay at UGA for a long time unless he has some kind of massive relapse or continues to come up short. Personally I think it’s just a matter of time before he breaks through and I think he can maintain once he gets over the hump.
LOL another example why you’re DumbDawg
Cool story toughguy
It’s hilarious to see all the Georgia trolls who didn’t even read the article
Literally in the article: “ No, he hasn’t beaten Georgia yet. No, he hasn’t played for an SEC Championship yet. No, he hasn’t had a top 5 finish yet.”
Georgia fans: “bUt mULLen hAsNt bEaTeN gEoRgIa aRe yOu dRuNk?”
Arrogance
It’s like you saying “I’m not a virgin. No, I haven’t had sex yet, but I’m not a virgin.” When you say something stupid and contradictory, people are gonna show up and tell you that you’re stupid.
One word expains it all
delusional
But nothing in the article is contradictory. Technically it’s an opinion based topic anyways. There is no set criteria of bring a top 5 coach but the writer makes a fair case for Mullen
I guess it’s the fair part I’m missing lol…did I say 12 years hbc…zero division or conference
You just keep ignoring the fact that Mullen was coaching at (forgive me MSU fans) an absolute bottom feeder of a team that has never won anything. Nick Saban isn’t going to win championships at that school. Not to mention he coached there during a period when the West was a stronger division than any full conference. Similarly, Stoops looks to be an excellent coach. The problem is, he coaches at Kentucky.
But Jackie Sherrill coached there as well and won a division with two 2nd’s and zero 5ths in his first 9 years…guess its true, ignorance is blissful, I’m a happy guy
We aren’t taking about Sherrill but if you want to argue about him being top five during his tenure I won’t stop you. I would also bring up, as I have elsewhere, that the SEC West was not dominant during his coaching period. During Mullen’s tenure at Miss State, the SEC West was an absolute monster like we may not see again. You haven’t responded about that elsewhere so I doubt you’ll do it here. Just keep moving the goal post to a completely different field.
Dabo has done pretty well at a small rural college in upstate SC, how different can that be vs rural Miss? Just messing with ya!
Ok…imho Mullet has accomplished ZERO to be considered top 5 at this time…12 seasons, zero anything…if by chance he claims his first SEC crown two years after Kirby earned his first then yes I would consider him a top 5 contender. How’s that?
Yes Clemson is exactly the same as Miss State… eyeroll… I would just consider that another backhanded dirty compliment that you’re so fond of giving. If you say Mullen has won and accomplished nothing, I’ll say Kirby has done the same. If wins and ny6 bowls don’t matter to you, measely Conference championships (and “appearances”) don’t matter to me. Both coaches are even at 0 for Natty’s and UGA has won “nothing” since before I was born.
Lighten up francis…ClemGooberU was clearly said in jest and you know it. If your opinion is Mullet is top 5 who am I to disagree…opinions are subjective. No facts required, just discussion points. Have a great evening grad12
Hey now, almost my entire last post is satire. You know, when arguing with you it seems that you change the subject, bring up coaches from 20 years ago, give underhanded compliments and then tell me to calm down after being the one to ratchet it up. This is similar to arguments I have with the opposite gender. Usually I get makeups ex after such an encounter. You’re leaving me feeling empty tonight.
Lol, check with Kirby. He’s won 12 games twice in the last 3 years which means he’s much harder than Mullet …
I think you mispelled aRrOGanCe
mullet is not a top 5 coach because he hasn’t won any form of a title or championship in his tenures as a head coach.
mullet’s recruiting is barely Top 10 and UF is the flagship University in the top #2/#3 State for D1 recruits.
Kirby Smart had been a HC for 4 Seasons and 2 former assistants are already Power 5 head coaches. His 2019 first-year DC was a Frank Broyles Award finalist.
mullet hired 3rd and Grantham.
I forgot the WLOCP is the Super Bowl for Georgia fans.
Georgia gets on a tiny win streak and the fans troll and troll and troll. If Florida wins I won’t bat an eye, it’s just our expectation to beat Georgia, albeit the expectations were not met for 3 years.
Have fun with your little brother syndrome, that’s why you’re going all over the comment sections on every Florida article
Wow, that’s some serious butthurt
Nah, I’d rather have stage 4 cancer than be a Georgia fan. Always great to be a Florida Gator, win or lose. Not at all concerned with Georgia as the typical Georgia sports fashion will set in, be good for a 4-5 year period, win no titles, and then fall off.
Oh btw, Kirby Smart still has a worse record than Mark Richt through his first equivalent number of games, and Kirby has much better players. Moral of the story: Georgia football right now is nothing special. Have fun clinging to Kirby’s one SEC title
Kirby owns Mullet. Have fun clinging to Mullen’s 0 SEC titles.
Let’s see if you keep that same energy in the long run, though I forget Georgia fans sometimes can’t see that far
Sure buddy. The future looks pretty bright for UGA if you ask me. Depth keeps improving and Kirby continues to put us in position to be contenders year after year. Uf’s playoff hopes have ended in October. If I were an outsider looking in it would be hard for me to say Uf is close to UGA right now.
FYI the stage 4 cancer comment is pretty ridiculous. I’m assuming you haven’t ever been around someone dying of cancer. Not really something to joke about but your a florida fan so I guess it makes sense.
Georgia is already about as talented as they could possibly be, and Kirby hasn’t done anything more than win a division with one other competitive team in it. Keep saying your future is bright but you’ll be back to 8-4 status once the recruits realize Kirby can’t do anything with them.
I’ve seen a good bit of outsiders say Florida is rising and closing in on Georgia, some saying next year is the year Florida tops Georgia. FYI you say Florida isn’t close when the game was a 7-point final in what was Florida’s worst played game of the season
FYI 2:
I’m aware cancer is a touchy topic, but it illustrates how little Id ever want to be a Georgia fan. I live in Georgia and most of them are very poorly mannered from a fan standpoint
“You’ll be back to 8-4 status once the recruits realize Kirby can’t do anything with them” lol keep dreaming. We’re going to put at least 7-8 guys in he league this year with 3 probable 1st rounders and one top 5 pick.
My aunt died of cancer. I’d be a Cleveland Browns fan before I slowly starved to death.
You might’ve missed the point, when I said 8-4 status I meant a couple years in the future, not next year. If Kirby can’t take you back to the CFP within the next 2 or 3 years it’ll be one of the biggest wastes of talent ever and recruits will take note
And sorry to hear that about your aunt
Georgia where 5 stars go to waste or the transfer portal and where they always do less with more
We won 12 games.
Uf won 11.
We won our division.
Uf…. didn’t.
We’re going to finish in the top 4.
Sounds like we’re doing more with more. Dumba$$
And 24-17
You still don’t get it. I’m talking about in the future, not what happened this year. Georgia is as talented as they could be and they’re static. Has the roster to easily win a national title but don’t do anything more than win a 2-team division. Clemson won two titles without a single top 5 class. Kirby is a really good recruiter but an average coach. Like I said, if Georgia doesn’t get back to the playoff within the next 2-3 years then that’ll be 4 years of top 5 talent completely wastes and recruits will take note.
Meanwhile in Gainesville, Florida has gotten better each season under Mullen and is right on Georgia’s heels. Even with a roster that’s not as deep.
Incoming another 24-17 comment
DumbDawg you keep proving the point that beating UF is Georgia”s “super bowl”. You keep doing less with more because you keep losing to less talented teams and fail to win that elusive, and for you mythical, NC.
Jack, forgive DumbDawg78 he is well, dumb, and doesn’t get the point
Y’all are talking about the “future”??? like how y’all all said we would lose to Uf this year or that Uf would win the east???? Forgive me if I don’t take your Nostradumba$$ predictions seriously.
“Has the roster to easily win a national title”
Bama has more talent than UGA. They didn’t win the NC this year or last year. Does that mean Bama is doing “Less with more”? You two idiots are hilarious.
Sorry DumbDawg78 but Nostradumba$$ is a name I borrowed from BamaTime referring to your fellow Georgia Moron Corch. You need to come up with your own name, you can’t steal this one.
Try to show some originality and use that puny brain of yours
Nick Saban has a full hand of National Championship rings. Kirby Smart has 1 SEC championship. Saban can afford a year like this because he’s already proved himself. Kirby has had 1 playoff season, and the last players from that team are about to be seniors. You can’t use bama not winning as a way out for Georgia falling short of expectations every year
Nostradumba$$ has been on Twitter for years. The fact you think you came up with it shows how stupid you really are.
You want some cheese with that whine?
Amazing. Article about Florida’s head coach appears just this morning and has over 170 comments, mostly from Georgia fans.
So, Leghumper, congrats on the huge statement victory last night over… Baylor. For what it’s worth, I was pulling for the Dawgs. Couldn’t stand the thought of a top SEC team losing to Baylor.
As for this idea that Meyer and Spurrier “were jerks too, but beat Georgia,” making them somehow preferable to Mullen in Georgia fans’ minds… that right there is some revisionist history, my friends. I’ve been around awhile and nobody’s ever been hated by Georgia fans more than Steve Spurrier. I have a functioning memory. It’s not even close. And honestly, nothing Mullen has ever said is even remotely as snarky as some of the things the Ol’ Ball Coach said.
On this business of Smart “owning” Mullen, check back when they’ve coached more than two or three games against each other and Mullen has been in his new job for more than two seasons with a rebuilding offensive line.
The comments about Orgeron are interesting from a couple standpoints. First, compare Orgeron at Ole Miss to Mullen at MSU. Second, compare Orgeron’s season this year with Joe Burrow to Gene Chizik’s NC season with Cam Newton. Not a lot of buzz out there about the eliteness of Gene Chizik. Next year without Joe Burrow will be a major test for Orgeron. Too soon to tell with that Ed too.
On this great question of the eliteness of Mullen, a few thoughts.
1. I agree that it’s too soon to know. But his first two years at Florida, given the circumstances, are pretty amazing. It isn’t just play calling and scheming around weaknesses. It’s culture change, strength and conditioning improvement and yes, improvements in recruiting.
2. You can’t compare Mullen’s time at Mississippi state to Jackie Sherrill’s. The latter faced an utterly different competitive landscape in the 1991-2003 SEC West than Mullen did in the last decade. Also, with respect to Sherrill comparisons, well, let’s just say Mullen’s never been charged with any recruiting violations and leave it at that.
3. You can fix recruiting if you’re at a school like Florida. And the most interesting fact from Connor’s article: “The 2020 class was (Dabo) Swinney’s first class that ranked in the top 5.” The year Clemson won its first of the recent NCs, it had (I think) the 9th ranked roster in the 247 team talent composite. So “catching” Georgia in recruiting is a non-issue as long as Florida’s classes are in the top 10.
2009: 36th
2010: 27th
2011: 10th
2012: 20th
2013: 15th
2014: 16th
2015: 9th
2016: 11th
2017: 16th
2018: 7th
2019: 10th
Mullen’s current class (his second) ranks higher than Swinney’s first nine classes. And as I’ve often said before, Mullen didn’t have the initial relationship advantages, upon arriving at Florida, that Smart had when he left Alabama for Georgia. But all the indicators are positive:
* Winning matters and the Gators are winning again.
* Mullen & Co. are entering their fourth year of relationship building with Florida high school coaches and prospects (the 2021 class currently ranks fourth nationally).
* Florida’s resurgence coincides with losing and uncertainty about the future at Miami and FSU, improving the chances to retain more of the 45 or so elite players that graduate from Florida high schools each year.
* Florida has staffed up its recruiting operation dramatically this year.
* The new $85 million football operations center breaks ground this year.
* 3 NCs and 3 Heismans don’t hurt.
Thanks for pulling for us, feels like dirty cheating doesn’t it? All kidding aside thanks for classy congrats MusicCityG8r…back at ya.
Dabo has consistently recruited a Joe Burrow and Julio Jones type year after year…and I’ll be the first to say he knows how to coach up talent…Mullet (and Kirby on the offensive side) has yet to excel in that arena so far.
I certainly can compare Sherrill and Mullet on the same sliding scale Gatorbaitor fans like to compare Richt and Kirby on…
I for one have never professed anything but utter disregard for Urban and his rogue sperm Mullet…very little difference in the characters. As for Spurrier he will always be in my top 5 goats PLUS he had a way of being humorously entertaining while talking smack and ripping your heart out, son of Urban just comes across as goofy like that annoying talkative neighbor with the high grass and weeds in his yard acting like a subject matter expert on fertilizer…
Couldn’t help but chuckle about your 4th ranked 21 class…those 7 recruits puts y’all what? 1st in the SEC barely ahead of UA, AU, LSU and Ga’s 3 and 2 recruits each…riveting! Lol
As for that sparkling 2018 class, Seems I recall what was it, like 7 of them never made it to the starting line…but anyhoot here’s the bottom line, and this goofy clickbait article was a prime example…perhaps Mullet should actually accomplish something meaningful before he attempts to unseat squeaky Dabo as whiny mouth of the south…imho. He may be a spurrier one day, may be top 5 one day…but for now he’s just the better than average coach who thought Felipe Franks was the man…and luckily had a 7 year nonstarter turn him into an 11 game winner instead of the 8 he was trying to win…
Leghumper, I never doubted your hatred, although Meyer and Mullen are in fact different. Meyer is a say and do anything to win kinda guy. Mullen isn’t (neither is Saban, so that’s not a knock on Mullen).
Most Georgia fans I know –and I know several– despise Spurrier, but I understand your unique perspective. Respect him, but hate him too.
If you do insist on sticking with your comparison of Sherrill and Mullen at MSU… Sherrill averaged 5.8 wins per season. Mullen averaged 7.7 wins per season. Sherrill’s winning percentage was 49.3%. Mullen’s winning percentage was 63.8%. And Mullen achieved his results in a tougher version of the SEC West.
Good point about Dabo. Rankings don’t tell the whole story.
Mullen did sort of coach up this 3-star guy named Dak Prescott. And three or four others I won’t bother to mention.
I didn’t include the 2018 class above, but I believe it was 4, not 7, who were either asked to leave, transferred, or didn’t enroll. A fifth should enroll this fall.
Obviously there will be a lot of change for 2021. The point isn’t that it’s some world-beating class. The point is that it’s competitive in the early going and not a case of Florida playing catch up because of coaching changes and new relationships.
The knock on Mullen for starting Trask over Franks is silly. Franks had a higher completion ratio through the last four games of last year than Trask did this year. And we don’t know what we don’t know about how they each practiced. Why didn’t Smart start Fromm over Eason at the start of 2017? Why didn’t Saban start Tua over Hurts at the start of 2017? Why didn’t Fields get more playing time in 2018? I know all the canned answers to these questions, but the point is that fans don’t see the whole picture.
I agree it’s too soon to be annointing Mullen. But I’m very pleased with what I see so far.
Sherrill averaged 7 wins his first 9 seasons at CowBellHellU but fair enough…trust me when I say this, if you’re pleased then so am I my brotha…happy 2020 compadre…nice talk…
Connor we already know you have a thing for Mullen. Problem is he has to compete against Smart for the division title every year.
Smart is going to win more often, because he is a better coach. But at least you can still make the comparisons on why Mullen is still a better coach than Smart, despite his losing head to head record. You know, the close losses, and not having as much talent and all…
Doggies caught the Gators at a good time, coming out of the coach Boom and McElwain black holes at the same time they hired Smart. Fact of the matter is Gators are trending up, doing more with less, while the Doggies are trending flat, underachieving year after year in spite of a deep stock of blue chips. Maybe Smart is not so smart.
BTW, please convince ol’ Dink and Dunk to come back for his senior year – I love the way he’s trending.
Hope he obliges you. Dink to Perkins, dunk to Blalock dink dunk to 6’8” 5 star TE Darnell and then dunk dink to Perkins again. Enjoy the show…
Are you guys watching the All American game this evening? Sounds like a future LeghumperU party to me…will admit tho, Dexter looks impressive
MtnGator, So, Georgia’s trending flat. Is that why Georgia has the No.3 recruiting class ( with a real chance to finish No.1 ) while Florida has the No. 8 ( 6 – SEC )class?
Doing more with less – looks like that will have to continue to be a Florida fans rally cry…
12-2 isn’t underachieving.
“Maybe Smart is not so smart” Real original.
You mean the “dink and dunk” that has beaten you the past 3 years?? LOL
Did you just copy and paste this from last year? It sounds really familiar.
Smart has won more often because he has better talent and yet the gap is closing because Mullen is a better coach and is improving the talent level
And is improving the talent level against all teams not named Bama, LSU, LeghumperU…no charge for this revision one edit, me palley!
CO, the gap is not closing. Georgia is about to become the only team to sign 3 top three classes in as many years. Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio St can’t say that.
Georgia also has a chance to sign the No.1 class. That would make it two out of three.
Florida’s 14, 9 and No.8 classes are not closing the gap…
OK Tim more proof that Georgia does less with more, 2 out of 3 #1 classes and yet no NC while those 3 teams you mention that “can’t say that” all have recent NCs while you, 1980. It’s not that hard to understand
Keep telling yourself that CO. Pathetic
“Georgia only wins because they’re better than us” nice argument genius
Better talent DumbDawg, but not for long
OK buddy. At this rate you’ll catch up to us in about 2050
ITS OFFICIAL…5 star 6’8” 84” wingspan TE Darnell Washington is a LEGHUMPER!!!
Doing less with MUCH more now Kirby…go Dawgs!
I actually agree. The most I can come up with to make an argument for ahead of Mullen are: Saban and Dabo obviously, and then maybe Coach O, Kirby Smart (just not in the last 5 minutes of a game), and Matt Rhule. I’d group Mullen in the same tier with those last three guys, though.
Not only do I think Florida wins the SEC next year, but I actually think Florida will be the team of the decade in the 2020s from the SEC. I’d be surprised if they don’t win at least 4 SEC titles in the decade and a national championship or two.
LSU could make a claim that they will be the team of the new decade, but I need to see what they do without Joe Burrow next year. Alabama will still be at or near the top, but I think people have finally started catching up to them, and there’s no way Nick Saban is still coaching at the end of this new decade, is there? Georgia will keep recruiting at a high level, but Kirby has to figure out how to get his team to close out championship games for them to become the dominant team in the conference.
1981
The glorious year.
Singler!
If Mullen is top 5, and he is not, then where does that leave Kirby Smart? I’m thinking he must be the clear cut No.3, behind only Swinney and Saban..
All this fuss over a coach who came from Miss St with a 33-39 SEC record. Has never won against Kirby Smart, and has not even a Division title to his name.
Y’all just keep toting that water. It’s like having another Malzahn, on the East schedule, but this one isn’t as good…
You know, I feel sorry for Georgia fans. So close, yet no cigar.
And now it looks like things are starting to shift back to the status quo of the last 40 years. It must just be super frustrating to have all those shiny recruiting classes but no national championships.
Well, Smart is 2-0 against Mullen’s Gators. There is that.
What makes you think UGA is regressing?
You feel sorry for us??? LOL classic
It’s like apologizing for hitting our fist with your face.
Georgia where 5 stars go to waste or the transfer portal, and where they always, always do less with more
Except against Florida where we win in every conceivable way.
More wins
More talent
Better rankings
Better coaching
More more more!
Florida: where recruits sign and then head straight to JUCO.
Georgia. 2 Heismans (1942, 1980). 1 meaningless national championship in 1942. 1 real one in 1980. But 3 wins in last 3 years over Florida! Yay! Dominance!
Florida. 3 Heismans (1966, 1996, 2007). 3 national championships (1996, 2006, 2008). 3 to 1 winning edge (21-9) over Georgia over last three decades.
Live in the present. It’s better.
Again with this selective history. Florida should change it’s official established date to 1990.
Georgia should try to play to its potential. And Georgia trolls should stick to their own articles. Why do you even care what’s going on with poor little old Florida?
Dang, Florida sure was an irrelevant program until the 90s. Not one natty from 1906 to 1995? That’s nearly a century.
True. A century we’re no longer in and therefore significantly less relevant than the last 20 years.
Well, we’re no longer in the 2000s or 2010s, so maybe you should forget about those. To the future!
Fair enough. To the future!
Nash, there is no magical status quo or supernatural college football forces that push teams into their “rightful place”. It’s lazy thinking to seriously assert that 1) there’s a natural order and 2) Florida’s position in it is at the top. Nothing is guaranteed and Florida, under Mullen, is going to have to create success not rely on mythical notions of greatness. Next year is 100% the beginning of the era in which Mullen needs to put up or shut up. No more excuses about rehabilitating the program’s culture or improving recruiting or any other idea of rebuilding or rebounding. The 2020 season will feature mostly Mullen’s recruits and three years worth of time for his schemes and philosophies to marinate. If he doesn’t at least go to the SEC championship, then there will be serious doubt about all the grand proclamations of how great he is and Florida’s assumed position in the SEC East hierarchy. While I cannot see into the future, my best guess is that Georgia isn’t regressing, that Smart is a better coach than Florida fans have convinced themselves, that Florida is not done losing to Georgia, and that Georgia under Smart is ultimately just getting started. Also, be real, if Florida owned a 3-game winning streak over Georgia right now, you’d be smearing it in all of our faces and using it as the basis to make more well-founded declarations about Florida’s preordained superiority.
Well, Boxster, any thoughts of a “natural order” on my part are kidding, which I suspect you know. Obviously, there is no preordained natural order in college football. Or anywhere else, for that matter. If there were, we wouldn’t need to play the games, would we?
And yes, there would no doubt be Gator fans trolling Georgia if Florida were on a winning streak against the Dawgs. But no, I personally would not be trolling Georgia, only because I try not to troll, which I define as comments that are merely gloating or insults and offer no meaningful facts or ideas. I usually only get into “Oh Yeah?” mode in comments on Florida articles in response to trolling or bombastic comments from fans of other programs.
As for next year being some sort of “put up or shut up” magical turning point, maybe it will be and maybe it won’t. Smart’s been at Georgia two years longer than Mullen’s been at Florida. Smart took over a 10-3 team. Mullen took over a 4-7 team. I won’t rehash the recruiting advantages Smart was able to exploit in coming from Alabama. But it is not unfair to say that Smart at Georgia has a head start on Mullen at Florida.
Of course Smart is a good coach, and an excellent recruiter. To his credit, I think he has built a program equipped for sustained success. Is he “better” than Mullen? He has a winning record against him right now. Will that last? I honestly don’t have a clue. Frankly, neither does anybody else.
Mullen has made remarkable progress in just two years but whether next year will be “the year” is hard to say. Contrary to popular belief, there won’t be any drop off next year at the skill positions. With Xzavier Henderson (who just committed as I write this) and Jaquavion Fraziars coming in, I think we may even be better. I think Florida will have finally restored its line of scrimmage depth on both sides of the ball by the start of next season, but we still have question marks at safety and we’re replacing a senior leader at middle linebacker. We are also currently 7 players short of 85 on roster scholarships headcount, which is tough to make up under NCAA calendar year counter rules.
As I’ve written in other comments, I don’t buy the “talent gap” idea as a pure matter of roster talent rankings, so long as both teams have top 10 rosters. Would I rather have more talent “on paper” than less? Sure. But if a team has three years of consistent top 10 classes and good roster balance, with depth at every position, it can beat teams with higher “on paper” recruiting rankings so long as it has a good quarterback and excellent coaching. Prime example? Clemson, which only had its first top 5 class this year.
There’s also the issue of player evaluation and development. Some 3-stars become 5-stars with college diet and strength training. Some 5-stars don’t pan out, or at least don’t play to their evaluations.
So yes, I am optimistic that the 2020 Florida-Georgia game could go either way and that Florida should have the depth to compete for an SEC Championship by next year. But will the world end if Florida doesn’t beat Georgia in 2020? No. In the minds of most Florida fans, Mullen is already way ahead of schedule going into his third year.
I agree with everything you said. I don’t necessarily think 2020 is “the year” for Florida nor do I think any firm judgement about Mullen can be based alone on how 2020 pans out. However, it is the beginning of the period in which Mullen should begin to deliver on the promise of taking Florida to greater heights than 10 wins and 2nd in the SEC East. No argument whatsoever that Mullen has Florida ahead of schedule, though. I also don’t think Smart is “better” than Mullen; they have different skillsets that impact their respective programs uniquely. Florida fans are fully justified in being optimistic. The 2020’s are shaping up to be another epic decade of the Georgia-Florida rivalry.