Dan Mullen explains how hard it was to leave Mississippi State and how excited he was for Florida job
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Florida Gators were turned down by Chip Kelly early in their coaching search, but eventually settled on former Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.
Mullen was a member of Urban Meyer’s coaching staff when the Gators won two national championships, and now he’s thrilled to be back in Gainesville as the head coach.
On Saturday morning’s College GameDay, Mullen said it was difficult to leave Mississippi State, but added that he knew he couldn’t pass up Florida.
“It was really hard because you have so many great memories, so many great friends,” he said. “I got the phone call from Scott Stricklin and he said ‘You’re the guy we want to hire.’”
Mullen added that after the conversation with Stricklin, his wife, Megan, knew that he was going to take the job.
“She said, ‘I might as well just go pack, because your face just lit up,’” he laughed.
Mullen has already endeared himself to Gator fans by being much more involved with fans than his predecessor, Jim McElwain.
Will he be able to find success on the field? That remains to be seen, but it’s a good time to be a Gator fan.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
