Dan Mullen explains decision to fire Todd Grantham, John Hevesy

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen addressed the firings of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy on Monday. The Gators, sitting with a 4-5 record through Week 10, are reeling from losses versus LSU, Georgia and South Carolina.

Florida beat reporters pressed Mullen on Monday about the timing of his decision.

“It was something that I was looking and saying, ‘Hey, I’m probably going to make changes at the end of the season,’ and I thought for the health of the program, for the health of everybody, let’s make that move now and get us headed in the direction,” Mullen said.

“I look at the way we played Saturday and some things that build up to it of we weren’t where we needed to be. Are you a better team than you were at the beginning of the year? We’re not better than we were earlier in the year.”

Still seeking bowl eligibility, the Gators host a middling Samford squad on Saturday before closing the season with games versus Missouri and Florida State.

Florida is eighth in the SEC in scoring offense and in scoring defense this season. The Gators started the year nearly beating Alabama in the Swamp.

Dan Mullen makes staff changes

The Gators parted ways with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and run-game coordinator/offensive line coach John Hevesy on Monday.

The staff changes require Dan Mullen to move some coaches around. The program shared that linebackers coach Christian Robinson will take over defensive play-calling duties. Also, Paul Pasqualoni, special assistant to the head coach, will take an on-field role for the remainder of the 2021 season.
 
Additionally, Michael Sollenne, who has been with the team since 2020 as a graduate assistant on the offense, will work with the OL for the rest of the year.
 
Robinson is in his fourth season with the Gators. Pasqualoni was a head coach at Syracuse and UConn, in addition to coaching at several stops in the NFL.

Since losing to Kentucky in upset fashion, Florida has dealt with issues on the recruiting trail. With six decommitments, including five from the 2022 class, the Gators have dropped to No. 20 in On3’s consensus team rankings.

Saturday’s loss brought Florida’s losing streak to three. Disappointing losses to Kentucky, LSU and South Carolina bring the Gators to 4-5, and 2-5 in the SEC. Florida now needs two wins over the final three games to become bowl eligible.