Dan Mullen and his family spent nine years in Starkville while he led the Mississippi State program out of obscurity to national prominence.

Last week, though, he accepted the Florida Gators’ coaching position, leaving the Bulldogs after nearly a decade in Starkville.

However, Mississippi State will always be a special place for Mullen and his wife, Megan, and they took out a full-page ad in The Clarion Ledger on Sunday to thank fans for the support over the years.

The ad, which can be seen below, was a classy gesture from the Mullen family as they move on to Gainesville to lead the Gators:

https://twitter.com/MaggieH1026/status/937390096768217089

The full text of the letter can be found below:

To Bulldogs Everywhere and All Mississippians,

For the last nine years, Megan and I have committed ourselves, and given everything we have to the Mississippi State Football program. I feel confident we are leaving the program in a much better position than when we took over, and with a bright future.

We want to thank all the Bulldog fans everywhere for their support and belief in us, and helping us build the program to where it is today.

Thank you to the MSU administration and athletic administration for their unbelievable support in building the program into national
prominence.

We love every single one of the players that has been here and committed themselves to the program, and committed themselves to giving you a football team that you can be proud of both on and off the field.

For all the people that were so good to Canon and Breelyn, our Mississippi-born-and-raised children, your kindness could not have meant more.

We also thank many of you for so generously supporting our Mullen Family 36 Foundation, and helping each child in Mississippi have a better life and brighter future.

It has been an honor to call Mississippi home and be your Head Coach. We will always love Mississippi State University, our players, the fans, Starkvegas and the great people of Mississippi.

Thank you for an extraordinary nine years, filled with awesome memories.

Our Best Always,

Dan Mullen, Megan Mullen

Florida travels to Starkville on Sept. 29 next year. It’ll be interesting to see how Mullen is received by his former team, but the Bulldogs have no reason to hate their former coach after all he’s done for the program.