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Florida parting ways with Dan Mullen

Matt Zenitzby:Matt Zenitz•11/21/21•

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DanMullen
Florida coach Dan Mullen was fired near the end of his fourth season with the Gators. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Dan Mullen era at Florida is over.

The Gators have fired Mullen, the school confirmed in a news release. There is a news conference set for 3 p.m. Sunday with athletic director Scott Stricklin.

Mullen, who was hired away from Mississippi State after the 2017 season to replace Jim McElwain, was 34-15 in four seasons with the Gators. After an 8-4 finish in 2020, which included an 8-2 start and a six-point loss to eventual national champion Alabama in the SEC championship game, the Gators are just 5-6 this season heading into the regular-season finale against rival Florida State. Running backs coach Greg Knox will be the interim coach.

Mullen’s buyout is $12 million.

Florida is just 2-9 in its past 11 games against Power 5 opponents, with the wins coming this season over Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Mullen fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy after an embarrassing 40-17 loss to South Carolina on November 6. He had coached with Hevesy for 20 years, dating to their time as assistants at Bowing Green under Urban Meyer.

In the two games since the firings, UF was 1-1, with a 70-52 win over FCS member Samford and a 24-23 overtime loss to Missouri on Saturday. Florida surrendered 42 first-half points to Samford, an under-.500 FCS team, the most points ever given up by the Gators in a half.

Mullen and his staff have also been criticized for their lackluster recruiting efforts at Florida. This is the first season in which the bulk of Florida’s starters are Mullen recruits, either from high school or via the transfer portal.

Athletic director Scott Stricklin, who gave Mullen a contract extension following the 2020 season, will be hiring Florida’s fourth coach since Urban Meyer left following the 2010 season. Will Muschamp lasted four seasons and was followed by McElwain and Mullen.

Stricklin was Mississippi State’s AD when Mullen was there. Mullen had been offensive coordinator at Florida from 2005-08 under Meyer, helping the Gators win national titles in 2006 and ’08.

Coincidentally, Knox served as Mississippi State’s interim coach for the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl after Mullen was hired by Florida.