Now that Florida has officially parted ways with coach Jim McElwain, the Gators are on the clock when it comes to making a new hire.

One name that has been batted around as a top candidate is Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, who has plenty of connections to the Gators.

Not only did Mullen serve as the team’s offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer from 2005 to 2008, he also worked with current Florida AD Scott Stricklin in Starkville.

During Sunday night’s press conference, Stricklin said he had a good relationship with Mullen, but wouldn’t get too specific out of respect for Mississippi State.

“I want to be really careful, because I want to be respectful of their situation,” he said. “They’ve got a good season going. I enjoyed working with Dan and I think he would probably say the same. Dan can be direct and I can be direct and sometimes we had direct conversations, like you would anybody that you work with closely. He’s done a really nice job there, and as an alum of that school, I’m proud of the job he’s done at my alma mater.”

Stricklin’s comments about Mullen come at the tail end of the video below, as it was the last question he was asked during the press conference: