Florida hires Dan Mullen as football coach

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida has hired Mississippi State's Dan Mullen as its next football coach, bringing back the guy who helped turned Tim Tebow into a star.

The Gators will announce the deal later Sunday, a person familiar with the search told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because Mullen had not told his team. Mullen is expected to address players in Starkville, Mississippi, before the hire becomes official.

Spurned by Chip Kelly and seemingly unwilling to risk waiting for UCF's Scott Frost to possibly do the same, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin turned to Mullen. Stricklin and Mullen worked together in Starkville from 2009 to 2016. Stricklin was Mississippi State's athletic director for seven of those years.

Mullen previously spent four years (2005-08) as Florida's offensive coordinator and won two national championships while guiding Tebow to the top of the school record books.

The Gators have mostly sputtered on offense since.

Stricklin vowed to make Florida fun again when he parted ways with coach Jim McElwain last month. For a week, it looked like Kelly might pacify a frustrated fan base. But Kelly chose UCLA over Florida on Saturday, and Stricklin was left to look elsewhere.

He made the safe choice, one that won't be wildly popular with the Florida faithful.

Stricklin issued the follow statement shortly after Mullen's hiring was announced:

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I introduce to you the University of Florida’s 27th head football coach, Dan Mullen. 

As we embarked on this coaching search a couple of weeks ago, there were key traits we were looking for in the new head coach, such as a strong work ethic and great competitiveness. We wanted to determine if he had the toughness and confidence to lead our young men and be the face of this program. Coach Mullen embodies these traits and is ready for the challenges ahead. 

I also wanted Florida football to be fun again. Fun for our fans, student-athletes, staff and this University. 

Dan Mullen certainly checks those boxes and so many more. He will put together an organized plan to compete for championships and make us all proud. 

The search was exhaustive, one that has included countless conversations with people in the college football industry and a thorough review of statistical and analytical data trends on numerous candidates. 

In the end, I strongly believe Dan is the most prepared candidate to have immediate and long-term success at the University of Florida. Coach Mullen is one of the best offensive minds in all of college football, and has an unbelievable track record in tutoring successful quarterbacks (such as Alex Smith, Chris Leak, Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott and Nick Fitzgerald.) 

Coach Mullen will do a tremendous job in developing accountability and toughness through a well-coordinated strength and conditioning program. Dan will work closely with the coaching staff, academic advising staff and administrative team to give every student athlete he coaches the opportunity to grow and excel at a high level athletically, academically and socially. 

Dan has obviously been a part of some of the greatest moments in Florida football history when he was the offensive coordinator for the Gators from 2005-08. Those teams won two national championships, two SEC Championships, featured the first sophomore Heisman Trophy winner and won 23 of 25 games in The Swamp. 

He built similar great moments at Mississippi State, leading them to a school-record, eight-consecutive bowl berths, and to the school’s first-ever number one ranking during a five-week stretch in 2014, which included the Bulldogs earning the No. 1 spot in the inaugural College Football playoff ranking. 

On a personal level, this was a challenging situation because I’m proud of the job Dan did at MSU, my alma mater. However, as the Gators’ Athletic Director, my sole responsibility is to make decisions that are best for the University of Florida, and that is why Dan Mullen is our new head football coach. 

Thanks for your continued support as we move into the next chapter of Florida football and for the loyalty and passion you have for Gator Athletics. 

Let’s go have some fun, and let’s Go Gators! 

Still, the 45-year-old Mullen has a resume that's hard to ignore. He has 13 years of experience in the rugged Southeastern Conference, knows Florida well, has recruited in the Sunshine State and led the Bulldogs to a bowl game for a school-record eight consecutive years. He is 5-2 in bowls.

He clearly overachieved at Mississippi State, which had lost at least eight games in seven of the eight seasons before Mullen's arrival.

Mullen spent nine years in Starkville, posting a 69-46 record that included a 33-39 mark in SEC play. He is second on the school's all-time coaching win list behind Jackie Sherrill.

Mullen is best known for developing quarterbacks. He played a substantial role in the college careers of Alex Smith (Utah), Tebow (Florida), Dak Prescott (Mississippi State) and current Mississippi State starter Nick Fitzgerald.

Mullen's best season was 2014, when the Prescott-led Bulldogs were the No. 1 team in the country for five straight weeks before losing to Alabama. Mississippi State also was the No. 1 team in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings.

Mullen inherits a Florida team that lacks a capable quarterback and has its worst scoring defense since 1946.

The Gators have depth issues across the board, lack offensive playmakers and were so thin defensively that a former walk-on linebacker played significant snaps.

Suspensions and injuries are partly to blame. But poor recruiting and a failure to develop youngsters - quarterback Feleipe Franks being a prime example - also played a role in the team going from two-time Eastern Division champion to missing a bowl game for the second time in 27 years.

Still, Florida remains one of the more attractive jobs in college football.

The Gators have a fervent fan base, have one of the nation's top operating budgets ($125 million in 2017-18) and have more than $100 million in facility upgrades planned, including breaking ground on a state-of-the-art structure to house the football program. Throw in being surrounded by some of the top recruiting strongholds in the country, and Florida seems poised for a quick fix.