Paul Finebaum: The Dan Mullen narrative must end

Just about a year ago, Dan Mullen led the Florida Gators to an SEC Championship game berth, where they ultimately fell short of Alabama 52-46. The Gators looked like an improved last year, winning the SEC East and ultimately making it to the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma.

In 2021, however, Mullen — who, by some accounts, had Florida trending in the right direction — is on the hot seat; that is, despite coaching the Gators to a 33-14 overall record in four years at the helm; despite going 2-1 in bowl games, winning a Peach and Cotton Bowl; and despite a June extension that saw Mullen’s contract lengthened through the 2026 season.

Florida has a myriad of bad losses this season, but its most recent loss came in 40-17 fashion to a bottom-dwelling South Carolina Gamecocks program, still in its first season of a complete rebuild under head coach Shane Beamer. With the loss, Mullen and the Gators moved to a 4-5 overall record, just months after a No. 13 ranking in the preseason AP poll and climbing as high as No. 10.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum thinks Mullen is in trouble at Florida, and he suggests that the public stops using the narrative that Mullen is a good coach.

“It’s a serious problem,” Finebaum said of Florida on The ESPN College Football Podcast. “Everyone’s heard the numbers since the LSU game last year, what Dan Mullen has done against Power Five schools. It’s really embarrassing. I think we have to quit prefacing every conversation by saying, ‘Dan Mullen is an extraordinary coach,’ and ‘Dan Mullen is this’ — that doesn’t matter anymore.”

Finebaum has been critical of Mullen for quite some time on the popular ESPN podcast, and he even said two weeks ago that he has no faith in the Mullen-led Florida Gators.

“He’s at the University of Florida, and this program has capsized. It has now,” Finebaum said, describing Mullen’s situation bluntly. “Yes, I know there’s losses now against Alabama and Georgia, but those aren’t the losses that we’re talking about right now. We’re talking about losing to Kentucky, which is also going the wrong direction; we’re talking about the LSU loss; but we’re really talking about this loss.”

Mullen’s mishandling of the quarterbacking situation in particular has been a popular talking point in his criticisms. Senior Emory Jones, the opening-day starter, has been shaky, and freshman Anthony Richardson has shown promise when healthy. But Mullen has been inconsistent in his selection of the quarterbacks, making it difficult for either to find a rhythm. Richardson was only available as an emergency quarterback Saturday due to injury, so Jones in his absence completed 17-of-30 passing attempts for 258 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. All the while, Jones added a fumble to his two-turnover day.

Florida’s rushing attack tallied an abysmal 82 yards on 26 carries, and due to a depleted quarterback room, South Carolina had to start last-resort quarterback Jason Brown, a transfer from St. Francis, an FCS school in Pennsylvania. Despite making the biggest start of his career, Brown had no problems executing against Mullen’s defense. He completed 14 of his 24 passing attempts for 175 passing yarsd and two touchdowns; meanwhile, the Gamecocks’ rushers picked apart Mullen’s front seven with ease, rushing for a combined 284 yards.

Mullen has very little time to salvage the Florida Gators’ season, though it shouldn’t be too difficult to win out with three games against Samford, Missouri and Florida State. The only question, however, is whether his job can be salvaged, too.