Florida coach Dan Mullen has been a godsend for the Gators since they hired him back in 2018. He boasts a 29-9 record in Gainesville with three straight New Year’s Six appearances and two wins.
But college football job security can be a fickle thing. Coaches who were once secure can quickly find themselves in danger, and likewise, coaches who were barely hanging on by a thread can become stars. With that in mind, exactly how secure is Dan Mullen‘s seat?
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Well, he’s obviously not going anywhere anytime soon, at least if Florida has anything to say about it. Given the state the program was in when he inherited it, the team would have to take a precipitous downward turn for Mullen to be in any real danger. The biggest threat to his employment at UF is the NFL, who seems to at least feign interest in Mullen each offseason.
In his hot seat determination for all 130 FBS coaches, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd gave Mullen a score of one, which indicates that the Florida coach is “safe and secure.” The scale ranges from zero (“untouchable”) to five (“win or be fired”).
The “safe and secure” zone comprises a plurality of FBS coaches, with 52 in the section. Twenty-two earned scores of zero, while just three earned scores of five. However, six additional coaches received a score of four, which indicates that the coach must “start improving now.”
After beginning the 2010s in a state of flux following the departure of coach Urban Meyer, the program seems to have found some stability in Mullen. And though the fourth-year coach still has a lot to prove about his team’s ability to compete for national titles, Florida will try to keep him around for as long as possible after he was extended through the 2026 season.
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