What’s going to happen when Florida takes on Missouri this weekend? Your guess is as good as mine.
As we’ll discuss, every statistical indicator suggests that the Gators should win this one fairly easily. Missouri may have the same record as Florida, but they’re not as good of a team.
Of course, I’m saying this about a Missouri team that just beat the South Carolina team that took Florida behind the woodshed. I’m also saying this about a Florida team that is 2-4 in its last six games, with the only wins coming over Vanderbilt and Samford.
And that’s the problem. Statistics can measure a lot, but they don’t measure heart or leadership. They don’t measure whether players actually want to be there. They don’t measure whether a defensive end is willing to hold the edge on a counter or whether a linebacker is willing to blow up a pulling guard in the hole.
Those things have been missing from this Gators team for a while.
Things looked really bleak when Samford took a 42-28 lead with slightly more than 3 minutes left in the first half against the Gators. But then Florida came storming back on a 42-10 run to win the game fairly easily. As the story goes, the players rallied in the locker room – seemingly before Dan Mullen and staff got to them – and pulled things together.
Is that wishful thinking because the opponent was Samford? Or did leaders finally have the opportunity to step up without Todd Grantham and John Hevesy in the room?
We can’t answer that question right now. But we’ll be able to answer the question after about one quarter on Saturday.
Lies, Lies and Statistics
I mentioned above that Florida is the superior team to Missouri, and I wasn’t being biased. This Tigers team really isn’t very good.
Gators fans may have scoffed at Florida struggling with Samford, but two of Missouri’s wins are over FCS Southeast Missouri State (59-28) and North Texas (48-35). You’d better believe that Dan Mullen would have heard from Florida fans with those scores over those teams.
The Tigers did have one-score losses to Kentucky and Boston College. But they also got blown out of the water by Texas A&M, Georgia and Tennessee. Prior to last week’s win over South Carolina, Missouri didn’t have a win Florida wouldn’t have gotten either.
When we look at point differential, Missouri has actually been outscored by its opponents by 44 points. That suggests that this is more of a 4-win team rather than the 5-5 where they currently sit. Conversely, Florida has outscored its opponents by 61 points, suggested they should be sitting at 6-4.
The difference is that Florida has been bottoming out, but it’s not like Missouri has been great recently, going 3-4 in its last seven.
Most games come down to quarterback here, and Florida again has a huge advantage.
Missouri starter Connor Bazelak has thrown for 2,310 yards at a 7.1 yards per attempt clip. Emory Jones is at 2,138 at 8.5 yards per attempt. But Baselak has -12 yards rushing on the season, compared to Jones’ 628.
The main criticism of Jones has been turnovers, and it’s a legitimate criticism. He has thrown 10 interceptions this season, compared to 18 touchdowns. But Bazelak also has 10 interceptions as well against 15 touchdowns.
Jones certainly padded his numbers last week against Samford. But even if you subtract that game from his ledger, his QB rating would still be higher than Bazelak. And if we’re subtracting cupcakes, then we certainly have to take away Bazelak’s 346-yard, 3 TD performance against FCS Southeast Missouri State away as well.
The reality is that regardless of what measure you use, Emory Jones grades out significantly better than Connor Bazelak, and the team with the better QB wins the game most of the time.
So how does Missouri win this one? There are two key stats to look at in that regard. The first is Emory Jones’ rushing statistics in every game this year.
Emory Jones’ rushing average and game results for Florida in 2021. (Will Miles/Read and Reaction)
See a pattern?
When Jones is able to be efficient running the ball (> 6 yards per attempt), Florida wins. When he is limited in his efficiency (< 4.8 yards per attempt), Florida struggles. Jones ran for 76 yards against Alabama, but it took 19 carries to do so. It was almost enough, but many of the short runs came early when the Florida offense was sputtering.
The good news is that Missouri’s defense ranks 120th against the run, giving up 5.6 yards per rush. Jones should be able to hit a couple of big runs to open up the passing game.
On the other side, Florida’s run defense has clearly been a weakness, surrendering 4.5 yards per rush this season (86th overall). That actually understates how bad the unit has been, as they didn’t surrender any games above 4.7 yards per rush in the first six games of the year, only to give up 7.1 to LSU, 5.8 to Georgia and 6.8 to South Carolina.
Things are clearly trending in the wrong direction.
As for Missouri, the headliner is clearly running back Tyler Badie, who has run 200 times for 1,247 yards (6.2 yards per attempt). But as with Jones, there is a clear trend for Missouri and Badie.
Tyler Badie’s rushing yards and yards per rush compared to the game result for Missouri in 2021. (Will Miles/Read and Reaction)
Again, there is a pattern. Not only is Badie way more efficient in Missouri wins, but he’s averaging 192.8 yards per game in wins compared to 56.6 yards per game in losses. But that makes sense considering Bazelak has bene underwhelming. Missouri needs a huge game from Badie to compete.
So that’s why I said in the opening that we’d know in the first quarter who’s going to win this one.
Florida hasn’t stopped anybody on the ground recently and Missouri needs Badie to run wild to win. Missouri hasn’t stopped anybody on the ground all year and Florida needs Emory Jones to be efficient running the ball to get the offense going.
Just check rushing yardage and yards per attempt after the first quarter. That’s who’s going to win the game.
Film Study
What’s the best way to stop Emory Jones from running the ball efficiently? Well, it turns out it may be to force him to throw it, especially early.
Florida started off the game against South Carolina with 10 straight throws. This play is a big reason why.
This is essentially a cover-zero defense. The safety is in the middle of the field, but he’s only about 9-10 yards from the line of scrimmage. Jones fakes with a rocker step which holds that safety, meaning there are three defensive backs for three receivers.
This is a decent throw by Jones. Shorter beat his man by 5 yards and it could be a touchdown, but I don’t blame him for throwing it a little bit short because the big play is more important than the touchdown.
Why would you do this if you’re South Carolina? Well, there are two reasons that you see on film in that particular game. The first is a pretty simple thing that has been showing up every since the Kentucky game.
This is a read-option play. Jones is supposed to read the defensive end and decide whether to give the ball to Nay’Quan Wright or keep it. If the defensive end (highlighted) crashes, Jones keeps the ball. If he hesitates, Jones hands the ball off.
The end here crashes hard, but Jones hands the ball off anyway. There is a ton of space for Jones to run were he to keep the ball. Instead, Florida is facing second-and-13 after a tackle for loss.
I want you to look at what’s in front of Wright had the defensive end not crashed. He would have had at a minimum a 5-yard gain. The play was blocked perfectly. But you can’t do anything if you’re running sideways and the defensive end crashes, except trust that the QB is going to keep the ball.
The other reason that South Carolina loaded the box early is more subtle, but I think also significant given Jones’ limitations.
After messing up the first down play, Jones clearly wants to make up for it. He actually does here, completing a 61-yard pass to Marcus Burke. But this is the wrong read and the wrong throw.
The reason I say this is the wrong read is that South Carolina drops deep almost immediately upon the snap. Just look at all the empty space for Nay’Quan Wright had Jones decided to go to his check down.
Now, it’s hard to criticize a 61-yard completion, but it was throw into triple coverage. Yes, Burke was open. Yes, it was complete. But these aren’t high percentage plays, especially when you have a 100 percent chance of picking up the first down if you just dump the ball off.
I really believe that South Carolina decided early on they were going to try and bait Florida into throwing deep, trusting that once Jones started looking for those throws, he wouldn’t hit a high enough percentage to make them pay. They also knew that sometimes he makes a decision to hand off the ball to his running back regardless of what the defensive end does.
The result is that they were able to put Florida into multiple situations where they were behind the chains. On the throw to Burke, Florida was able to come through. But over the course of the game, those “hero plays” dried up and Florida couldn’t sustain anything on offense.
Takeaway
As depressing as it was to write that section, the reality is that Jones has the ability to torch an opponent if he can select the right play. That’s the beauty of a Dan Mullen offense. If run correctly, the defense will always lose.
Of course, running the offense right has been a challenge this year for Jones, particularly on the road. He has a Yards Above Replacement of 2.43 at home, but that drops to 0.44 on the road. His QB rating is 173.1 at home (with only 4 INTs) while it drops to 133.5 (with 6 INTs) on the road.
But I can write all I want about what’s happened this year, but the reality is that this one is on the Gators. They are the better team, but they have to come out and actually show it.
If they want Dan Mullen to stick around next year, they’re going to come out playing hard from the jump. And if some of the players took a step forward in the leadership department, that’s exactly what we should expect to see.
Of course, it could be that there wasn’t any advancement in leadership and it was just Samford. I’m not sure what to believe, but Vegas believes in the Gators, installing them as 9.5 point favorites.
I think I agree. Missouri just isn’t very good. Florida likely hit rock bottom at halftime against Samford. This isn’t a great Gators team, but it is better than it has shown the past month.
Florida (-9.5) wins, 38-24.
Picks this season: 6-3 straight up, 4-5 ATS
Jim McElwain
Missouri wins 42-20.
Lane Train 2022 CHOO! CHOO!
Samford setting scoring records at the Swap says it all.
Lane Kiffin 1-0 vs Jimbo
Dan Mullen 1-0 at making excuses that a stadium filled at 25-35% capacity was too loud at college station (more like the 11 & 1/3rd Man than 12th Man)
Dan Mullen is also 1-0 for dancing after barely beating 4 win fcs behemoth Samford.
Lane not satisfied with mere wins, Dancin Dan celebrates close losses and fcs wins.
Scott Stricklin, you know what to do.
ALL ABOARD THE LANE TRAIN!!! CHOO! CHOO!
Lane Kiffin to LANEsville 2022!
Mullen Failed
This will be a Missouri blow out victory. Will that be enough for boosters and admin to get rid of this Clown fraud of a coach?
When you have former players (Joey Ivie) publicly accusing the coach of trying to lose on purpose, you know that the coach is a failure.
Whether or not that allegation is true is irrelevant. Either Mullen is intentionally trying to get fired to collect the buyout or he’s so incompetent that it appears like he’s trying to intentionally lose.
Either way, he needs to get fired pronto so this program can move forward.
MEL TUCKER TRAIN 2022! CHOO! CHOO!
So it looks like Mel Tucker will be off the table. It’s a shame but there are plenty of upgrades out there of Dopey Dan.
I’m still going to root for Mel though. Maybe after Stricklin cans Dopey Dan, Mullen can come to Sparty to be Mel’s OC!
That would be a win-win for a Gator/Mel Tucker fan like myself.
Fire Dan Mullen!
All Aboard the Mel Tucker Train! CHOO! CHOO!
We are f—-ed!!!
Yuuup.
Dan will finish the year, hopefully the admin and boosters aren’t going to discern if Dan is “The Guy” based on how he performs against a 5-5 Missouri Team and a 4-6 (possibly 4-7 after this weekend) FSU team.
This staff and team and coach is a total disaster!
Fire Dan Mullen
Dan is a fraud. He’s been exposed. Trask saved his tenure here. If Franks didn’t get hurt, we would’ve lost to Kentucky in 2019, lost to Auburn, and likely lost to Missouri and South Carolina. Heck, we were lucky to barely beat Manny Diaz and Miami in his first game ever. Dan, who has coached for over a decade, struggled against a terrible Miami team.
So without Trask we would’ve lost several times, let’s say Kentucky, Auburn , and South Carolina.
Add those 3 losses to the 2 actual losses and we go 7-5.
Dan Mullen is getting paid $7.6 mil a year to go 7-5 (oh yeah, he went 8-4 one season with generational talent at qb, TE, and WR —-Trask, pitts, Toney)
This guy gets paid over a million a game to beat Vandy, and random cupcakes like Towson, FAU, USF, and Colorado State.
Fire this fraud NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cup “Haf” Full
Bad year bad situation. On the other hand, we have an opportunity to cut dead weight this year and start fresh. The recruiting class is dead and the staff is gutted, might as well just cut Dan loose too.
I know, rebuilding sucks, but the cup is “Haf”-ley full.
Yup, that’s right. Jeff Hafley is a great young coach: smart and humble (unlike our current coach who is not as smart as he thinks he is nor is he humble at all). Yes Hafley is often the smartest guy in the room but he wants everyone around him to feel like they’re the smartest in the room. A real leader and visionary. Really young and has hands on experience building championship programs.
It’s pretty clear that the cup of the Gator Football program is not half empty as it seems to be right now. Rather this is an opportunity to purge the losing culture this regime has created and bring in a fresh young and up and coming coach: Jeff Hafley.
In other words, Gator Football is a cup Haf-Full
Jim McElwain
I got Central Michigan bowl eligible already for only $2 mil a year. Pretty neat, huh? And yet, Dan Mullen, who is getting paid nearly 4X what I’m making is struggling to make a bowl game. At least my excuse for losing to LSU and Wd Orgeron this year was that I’m coaching with MAC talent. Plus LSU still was playing all their starters and first stringers when we went there. I have as many wins in 2 years vs Ed O as Dan, no losses to Missouri, no losses to Kentucky, and a winning 2-1 record vs Georgia.
Miss me yet?
FIRE UP CHIPS!
Lane Train 2022 CHOO! CHOO!
ALL ABOARD THE LANE TRAIN BABY!
CHOO! CHOO! #cometotheswamp!
Ok, in all seriousness, I think IF we make a move, Kiffin is the only guy available that has the credentials and experience. Sure, I’d have liked to see him one more year at ole miss to have some more data, but right now, he’s “the guy”.
Can not believe I have almost the same opinion as GNFP on Kiffin.
Good god it would irritate the hell outa Tennessee fans if Kiffin is successful here… maybe we try it just for that reason alone!
And if we don’t hire him… LSU likely will.
ALL ABOARD THE LANE TRAIN!!! CHOO! CHOO!
Lane Kiffin to LANEsville 2022!
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
Seriously. This is the worst team I’ve seen since the 2017 team. I actually think the 2017 team was worse than Muschamp’s 2013 team because that team had an elite defense and really fell apart because of injuries. The 2017 team just sucked. This team sucks worse. At least the 2017 team beat the life out of the cupcake it faced late in the year (Beat UAB 36-7) and didn’t struggle against them like this team did vs Samford. At least that team also had Eddie P, so our kicking was good. This team is putrid on defense, mediocre-to-bad on offense, and has special needs on special teams. Our punting unit is not even good. Why is Greg Knox still on the staff? He just doesn’t like to run our best RB, DP, and is just turrible. Turrible.
It’s humorous that you think that a “comeback” win against that 4-6 Samford team indicates that this team will turn it around.
It will not.
I predict, with Emory, Missouri wins 49-10. The 10 will come in late in the 4th when Dan finally has no choice but to put AR in to score a last min touchdown.
Missouri 49
Florida 10
Easy money, take Missouri straight up at your local sports book.
You heard it here first.
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
FYI that 2017 UAB team that Randy Shannon interim HC crushed 36-7 was an 8-5 team. This team, with the $7.6 Million Dollar “Dan”, almost lost to a 4-6 Samford.
Yikes.
Lateral Move
“Florida likely hit rock bottom at halftime against Samford.”
Until this weekend in Co, Mo @ 4pm EST
Fire Dan Mullen
Any person with functional eyesight can see that AR is better than EJ. Hell, even a totally blind person could hear the crowd’s reaction when AR plays versus when EJ plays, and could tell who is the better quarterback. Dan is a dimwit and he needs to be canned now!!!
Woodward & LSU Making BIG Dog POWER PLAYS
While Scott Stricklin and Dan Mullen are playing with their belly button lint.
Changes need to be made asap.
Lane Train 2022 CHOO! CHOO!
This program needs a spark, much like it did at the end of the McElwain Era. Scott Stricklin had a chance to reinvigorate the fan base, but he whiffed, settling with his 3rd choice: Dull Sullen Mullen. He needed an exciting hire and got about as unexciting of a hire as there could possibly be.
These past few weeks have been CRYSTAL CLEAR reminders of why Dopey Dancin Dan was the 3rd choice: he is nothing but a 3rd rate offensive coordinator, with an offensive philosophy that peaked in 2014, masquerading as a head coach. The reasons why this tenure has failed have been written about and discussed as infinitum.
So now, Scott Stricklin, you have another chance to make a hire that will excite the fan base and bring hope back to Hogstown. Much needed hope with the UGA Death Star that Kirby is building in Athens.
Please, no more bargain bin oddities like MacElwain, and no more “safe” and “low risk” malcontents like Mediocre Mullen. There’s really one guy in the college ranks who can bring excitement and passion back the Gainesville, the Swamp, and to Gator Nation.
That man, is none other than, Lane Kiffin.
ALL ABOARD THE LANE TRAIN!!! CHOO! CHOO!
Lane Kiffin to LANEsville 2022!
FREEZE PLEEZE!
FREEZE Warning: Gainesville,FL 2022.
No, this isn’t some discourse of politics and climate change, I’m talking about a different type of FREEZE.
Yes, that FREEZE.
The Man, The Myth, The Legend.
“Give me Liberty or Give Me Death” – George Washington
Give me Liberty’s coach or this will be the program’s Death.
Freeze owned Mullen, recruited like a SAVAGE! And is a great gameday coach.
Undefeated against Kirby, and beat Saban 2 years in a row (nearly did it 3 too!).
What’s Dan’s record vs Saban??? 0-14? 0-15????
Ooooh but he only lost by 6 last year and only 2 this year. Maybe next year he’ll only lose to Saban by 1.
Dan should stick to running Marathons where “being close” to the winners is an accomplishment.
Football is not for you Dan.
We need a new man with a plan. And that man, is closer than we think.
Give me Liberty’s Coach or give me Dan (aka Death of Florida Football)
HUGH FREEZE PLEEZE!!!
Rex Ryan?
What would y’all think about Rex Ryan as head coach of the Gators next year?
Think about it.
Jeffrey Rizzo
The depressing part about this article was that we knew Emory had trouble reading defenses in the passing game, but I don’t think anyone expected him to be as bad as he is in the read-option game. And it has been that way since the beginning of the year. The passing game was only going to be made simple for him if we got the running game going. And that was only going to happen if he was very good in the read-option game and made the running game extremely prolific. He has been bad in reading things in the running game and the passing game. Not sure why after four years in the system he can’t read the defensive end crashing and whether to give it or to pull it. He’s mediocre in the read-option running game and he’s mediocre in the passing game, and I think that’s why you see so many speed options and quarterback power runs because Mullen doesn’t trust him to make the right reads in the read-option running game. I didn’t expect him to be Kyle Trask in the passing game, but I expected him to execute read-option reads with a lot more proficiency and a lot better decision making.
Relentless Effort
Georgia player Adam’s charged with r*pe.
The entire Georgia team, including Kirby, should be charged with r*pe after the beat down that they administered on the Gators.
Will, are you going to give Dan Mullen a “Kirby” Award for Florida’s performance against South Carolina or Samford? Or will you wait for the inevitable beat down in Missouri to give him that award?
Fred gibbons
Will,
Great analysis re: what the Stoops brothers developed to handle Mullen’s offense. UK under MS has further enhanced the scheme and others have followed…..KT et al saved CDM from disaster 2 years ago through last season because the offense evolved into a pass first scheme. There is no doubt the gators will continue to see versions of this until CDM adapts.
It will be interesting to see if the locker room leadership effect Carrie’s over from the 2nd half of the Stamford game. The players are saying all the right things to the media, but “actions speak louder than words.” Hopefully they will let their helmets do the talking!
My 2 cents on CDM is he has not shown himself to be capable or competent to lead a thoroughbred program. At best he is an OC in the NFL, at worst a HBC at a program that does not. Championship history and tradition, and where relationships don’t matter – either with the media or fans or regional high school coaches. Therefore, is there a better, viable candidate?
Go gators!
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
“Therefore, is there a better, viable candidate?”
At this point, bringing back Jim McElwain would be better than Mullen.
No, I don’t want Mac back. Point being, is there are plenty of better, viable candidates to replace Mullen
Glass "Haf"-ley Full
Hafley is big on throwing the ball around. He believes in speed. Before BC he was at Ohio State with that ridiculous corps of receivers. He would recruit the FL athletes on D because that is his specialty. We’d be DBU again. And on offense he would do what he was doing at BC last year, throwing the ball well. Now his stud QB, preseason 3rd team All-ACC I believe, is out injured and he has relied on a tough ground game and a solid defense to get BC to a solid year.
In other words, he fits:
Likes speed – Check
Spread offense – Check
Defense is fast & physical – Check
NFL ties – Check
Big time P5 program experience – Check
Ability to adapt when roster changes – Check
Recruiting ability – Check
Is Florida football a glass half-empty or a glass “Haf”-ley full?
Jeff Hafley for Florida HC 2022
Roland
Agree, Missouri will load the box and dare Emory to throw. Emory to Gamble is becoming a comfortable answer to the loaded box. Defense, it’s missing heft at linebacker. throw an extra big body on the line and dare Missouri to pass may work in this game.
Hate to disappoint the negative hate Mullen gang. A Gator win will make me very happy.
We are f—-ed!!!
“A Gator win will make me very happy.”
Well, prepare to be very not happy after this weekend then.
Can Emory Jones lead the Gators to a win over Missouri?
No he cannot.
Fire Dan Mullen
If you are a true Gator fan you NEED to be rooting for a Gator LOSS this weekend at Mizzou.
This is a dead program as long as Dan Mullen is here and a big blowout loss will expedite his exit.
Relentless Effort
Dan Mullen managed to go 8-4 in a 10 game season
Don Mullet
Missouri’s running back Tyler Badie is going to do disturbing things to this defense that people would make people do inappropriate and s3xually explicit things while watching it if the video were uploaded to an “OnlyFans” account.
Emory will likely throw the ball more times than Gardener Minshew did for Mike Leach as Wazzou, but with a completion rate lower than Charleston Southern’s odds of beating Georgia between the Hedges this weekend.
Dan will make up some weird reason why AR can’t play (e.g. “his knee got the flu”) and D. Pierce will only get one touch, and that will be fielding a punt return on special teams.
Missouri 62
Florida 13
Da []_[] is back!
Don’t worry Gator fans, Mullen will have a great new DC next year…. Miami’s own Manny Diaz!
We’ll give him to you… no charge!
Dancin’ Dan Mullen
Hey guys, want to see me do the Macarena?
Or maybe I’ll do Gangnam Style in the locker room while dressed up as Darth Vader?
Aren’t you glad that Stricklin pays me $7.6 million a year to get destroyed by good teams, lose to mediocre teams, and dance like a mad man while celebrating close victories over bad fcs level teams?
After Bama, this was no longer the 2021 team.
Like the seccg and cotton bowl in 2020, Mullen quit after playing Bama again this year. Seems like Mullen likes to play Bama, just come up short and then quit. So really this team is 2-1 and Dan Mullen has earned his $7.6 mil a year.
Thanks Scott Stricklin!!!!
After Bama, this was no longer the 2021 team.
The last game the 2021 team played was vs Bama at the Swamp on Sept 17, 2021.
This team is just the backups and scout team that’s been playing since Tennessee. Not the real 2021 team.
Like the seccg and cotton bowl in 2020, Mullen quit after playing Bama again this year. Seems like Mullen likes to play Bama, just come up short and then quit. So really this team is 2-1 and Dan Mullen has earned his $7.6 mil a year.
Thanks Scott Stricklin!!!!
Dan Is Out if Touch and Over His head in Gainesville
Disney Dan is going to make AR transfer with his Mickey Mouse Seniority System of playing upperclassmen even if the younger players are more talented.
Dan literally viewed going from Mississippi State to Florida as a “Lateral Move” since he runs this program in Gainesville the EXACT same way he did in Starkville.
The sooner that he is fired, the better.
Jimbo Fisher
Just wanted to drop by and say that I hope y’all keep Dan. At least until next year when them Gators come down to College Station.
I might need a “bounce back” win to stay off the hot seat and justify the $9.5 million a year I’m raking in at Aggyland to lose 3-5 games a year.
Dan is always good for a sure win, so PLEASE keep Dan Mullen one more season so I can pad my record with an easy win next year.
Thanks.
GIG ‘EM!
Fire Dan Mullen
the defense, believe it or not, is not the problem.
DAN MULLEN IS THE PROBLEM!!
Mullen Failed
I am done watching missed tackles.
I am done with someone not going through all their reads.
I am done with an RB coach not giving the best RB the ball a lot.
I am done with 3rd and Grantham playing 7 yards off the ball on a 3rd and 4 then blitzing from that far away.
I am done with a head coach that won’t take responsibility for coaching the players up, but relying on stats to prove how good his team is.
Only one stat counts hint hint its WINS!
Fire Grantham, Mullen, AND Sticklin!
One thing gives me hope that Mullen is gone.
I think the administration would have come out with a vote of confidence for Mullen if they already made the decision to keep him just to attempt to quiet the noise about his future. I don’t see how they would let him flail in the wind which would negatively impact the already poor recruiting class if that decision has already been made. There have been so many stories about how Mullen should be fired after this year from national and local reporters for the administration to be so quiet right now.
I also don’t want to believe that the administration is so short sighted that they have to wait for games against a 5-5 Mizzou and 4-6 FSU to make this big of a decision. If it’s that close then fire him because you don’t have enough faith in him anyways. This should never be the case and it would tell me that the entire administration is incompetent if that’s really the situation.
This all adds up to Mullen being gone as soon as the FSU game is over.
Relentless Effort
FYI Feliepe Franks threw his first NFL pass today.
It was an interception.
The “QB Whisperer” taught young Feliepe well.
No wonder why he can’t recruit any elite 5 Star qb’s to play for him.
Jim McElwain
Dan only won with my players. If you guys only gave me another 2-3 years we’d been in the playoffs with Trask and then Matt Corral (who Dan chased off for Emory Jones).
Oh well.
At least I got CMU bowl eligible with 7 wins and 2 games to go. My program is heading in the right direction each year, is Florida?
FIRE UP CHIPS!
Bring back Mac
Mac is killing it in the MAC.
Mac had assembled the #1 ranked recruiting class during the season he got let go. Once he got let go, that class went away for us and we got Mullen’s level of recruiting and the talent level has steadily declined. Has Mullen ever had a #1 recruiting class at any point in time during the recruiting process?
Again, the credit card scandal gutted us Mac’s last year. Mac had crappy luck at the QB position, where he couldn’t keep QB’s that performed well on the field. Del Rio and Trask were always injured, and Grier PEDed out.
Lane Train 2022! CHOO! CHOO!
Only Disney Gators believe that Dan Mullen is worth holding onto at this point. It’s clear to all objective fans that Dan Mullen is the problem with the Gators. If Mullen had built a culture of accountability and results, Grantham would’ve been sent packing before the pandemic hit, not after giving up more points to Shane Beamer’s South Carolina than Florida has ever given up to the Gamecocks (Even under Steve Spurrier, the greatest offensive mind to ever coach at Florida an South Carolina!!!!). Mullen intentionally does just enough to not get fired but has no desire to win at the highest level.
Ken Smithmier, a judgement expert with P3 Insights who provides advice to the likes of Saban and other coaches and administrators throughout college football, said this about Dan Mullen:
“ Mullen’s profile is one that I run into a lot in successful executives. I describe it this way, there are people who are successful in spite of themselves and there are people who are successful because of themselves. Those who are successful in spite of themselves have success that is limited. I think Dan is a guy who’s success is going to always be in spite of himself. He thinks he is the smartest guy in the room. If he were an athlete, I think we would say he is a guy that does not take coaching well because when you think you are the smartest guy in the room, you don’t think you need that coaching. I personally would be surprised if he were to ever win a national championship.”
You know who Mr, Smithmeir thinks has the ability to be the next Nick Saban??
Thaaaaats riiiight LANE KIFFIN!!!!
ALL ABOARD THE LANE TRAIN! CHOO! CHOO!
Bring Kiffin to LANEsville!
Lane Kiffin 2022
Spurri-er, Mey-er, Napi-er
Billy Napier should be the next Florida football coach. They tried to recreate the magic of the Meyer days by hiring coaches whose last name started with the letter “M” (Muschamp, MacElwain, Mullen).
BUT THAT WAS THE WRONG PATTERN!
They really should’ve looked, not at the first letter of the last name, but at the last 2 letters of the last name!
Not the prefix, but the suffix.
-ER
Hire a coach whose last name ends with -ER, since the two most successful coaches in Florida history had a last name that ended with -ER.
Connect the dots y’all.
Cristobal Will Bring Us Crystal Balls
Guys it’s so simple. Look at what Mario Cristobal is doing over in Oregon: too 5 recruiting classes, beating Ohio State, winning conference championships, playoff appearances.
With his recruiting and Florida connections, he would absolutely KILL it here and bring us a natty before 2025.
Taggart?
Willie Taggart got a bad deal at FSU. He turned USF around (look at them since he left) and has FAU rolling right now.
I think with what he learned from his failures at FSU he would have UF absolutely HUMMING within 2-3 years pronto.
Guaranteed.
R.I.P. Yung Dolph
“rich people ain’t dumb, dumb people ain’t rich” – Yung Dolph
Our Boosters know what to do. They are calling Scott Stricklin as we speak. Scott is putting out feelers. Don’t worry Gator Nation, the Nightmare will be over soon…
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
This is a bit of an aside but I personally liked Kluber over Tanaka (assuming they would demand a similar contract). I think a problem the Yankees have had in recent years is the lack of intimidating starting pitching in the postseason. Despite Tanaka’s relatively strong career postseason results, I didn’t think his overall stuff and track record would ever make for a feared postseason pitcher on a go forward basis. Kluber had higher upside than Tanaka and I liked seeing the Yankees prioritize upside amongst their starters (and they had plenty of depth to handle the enhanced injury risk). There also is some evidence I think that Kluber helped some of the younger guys (I think Michael King is an example if I remember right) in ways that perhaps Tanaka wouldn’t have done. Had the Yanks survived the Wild Card game, I preferred having Kluber as a playoff starter than Tanaka.
Mizzou Will Win
41-27
Steve O Spurrier
Nobody knows exactly what our coaching situation is right now.
Nobody’s talking about it. I think it depends a lot on what happens the next two games.
Carlos Hyde
Spurrier said on his show that he would run Pierce 20 times prior to game vs South Carolina. Pierce ended up with 6 carries which included 2 during garbage time at the very end.
FIRE DAN MULLEN
Anyone else think Coach Prime could be a good option?
He’s done a great job turning around Jackson State and building a culture there. They’re 9-1 in his first normal season there. Recruiting would be insane. Could have him in a CEO role with some strong coordinators. Obviously went to FSU, but could see him being interested in us or Miami to get back at FSU for not considering him a few years ago. He’s been pretty vocal he’s upset about it
Glass “Haf”-Full
Hafley took BC on the road to Death Valley last year against a playoff team in Clemson, with a roster ranked 58th in the talent composite in a covid year. So your first line of thinking is they probably got blown out right? Wrong…they were beating Clemson on the road IN THE FOURTH QUARTER. They ended up losing by 6 and had a legitimate shot to win. That’s nuts if you think about the context.
Mike White
Hey guys, how do you like Gators Men’s Basketball now?
Am I the most popular coach in Hogtown now?
Milky Mullen
You know what I’m tired of the most with Mullen?
These endless quotes by him that make their way into the national media that do nothing but provide fodder for our rivals and embarrassment for Gator Nation. Last year most of us wrote off the Texas A&M comments, but the comments after the shoe-throw and his Oklahoma post-game as well were just effing embarrassing. And then this entire year has just been a continuation of that.
If the UAA is so worried about just finding a good coach that provides stability, then what the hell do they think they have with Mullen? He’s constantly all over national media this year not just for losing, but for being a sore loser. It’d be one thing if he could lose without sticking his foot in his mouth, but I’m just so effing tired of seeing article after article about what this dunce just had to say.
Relentless Effort
Expecting a replay of the SCAR game, team comes out flat and unmotivated and Mizzou does whatever they want to on offense. Missouri 44-20
Fire Grantham, Mullen, AND Sticklin!
I think a
Missouri loss seals it
for Derp Minstrel and
co. There will
be too much noise if he loses that
one, especially since
so many fans are hoping mizzou wins
so a change will be
made.
Who knows. I do know it
has to happe
n soon.
Fire Dan Mullen
Our process drives me nuts. What do these two games tell us that we don’t already know?
The best interview process casts a wide net and interviewing people takes time…so we should get started. I’d really prefer not to fire our coach on 11/28 and pick a coach from a list of 3 before 12/1.
There’s a lot of guys I probably wouldn’t hire, but who talking to about the job can help shape the selection process and clarify who the right guy is.
Dave Aranda may not be a “culture fit,” but he’s clearly a thoughtful guy who may provide quality insight on the transition from SEC coordinator to P5 head coach and the challenges he faced. He might have some quality insight on LSU’s recruiting operation and some of the staff mistakes he made on his first staff and how he rectified them.
Sonny Dykes is only seen as a Texas guy, but he knows offense – including the up-and-coming assistants – and he’s been on the cutting edge of the NIL deal. Might be worth picking his brain.
Marcus Freeman is just obviously on the come-up and is going be running a big-time program somewhere someday. Why not talk to him?
Can go on and on about different guys and the different insights they may offer.
Don Mullet
Dan sounds giddy to be 5-5. It hasn’t even been a year since LSU last year but the decline has been steady and now at Warp speed. And this guy Fuchs – – we are screwed. No decent coach will want to coach in this pressure cooker when the Admin. doesn’t care. This is gonna be a mess for a LONG time until Fuchs is removed from UF.
Lane Train 2022 CHOO! CHOO!
Dan is done. You can see it in his eyes. You can hear it in his voice while he makes excuses in post-game press conferences. He’s blaming injuries now to explain why he needs to keep EJ as the starter. I’m surprised he didn’t blame the wind at the LSU game to make an excuse for the loss.
The recruiting class has crumbled, and is continuing to crumble into dust… just like the hopes and dreams of all Gator Nation that this staff will build their beloved Florida Gators into an elite program that competes for national titles.
Remember that movie “15 Years a Slave”? Well Dan’s movie is called “15 Years a Coach” and none of the scenes involving winning any championships, not even a conference championship.
Dan, even at his best, would have never brought a title to Gainesville. What’s worse is he’s no longer at his best, perhaps he is upset that the NFL doesn’t want him, and is only going through the motions until he gets canned. Since he’s best buddies with Scott Stricklin, it may be a while before that happens.
Mullen clearly doesn’t want to be here anymore, and the only reason why he hasn’t resigned or made up fake “death threats” is he’s getting paid $7.6 million a year to go 6-6/7-5 in the SEC East.
It is time to move on. Hopefully after Stricklin is stricken from the records as AD for his abhorrent handling of the Cam Newbauer situation, Mullen will realize that the grift is up, and will bail out of town as quick as possible (Washington State would be a great landing spot for him, and maybe Spencer Rattler could follow him there through the portal — those two narcissistic, soft, overrated losers deserve each other).
Hopefully this all unfolds within the next 3-4 weeks so the new AD can declare the End of an Error, and bring Gator Football back to life by hiring none other than LANE KIFFIN to bring the Gators back to the top!
ALL ABOARD THE LANE TRAIN! CHOO! CHOO!
We are f—-ed!!!
Let’s all put our trust in the same “PEOPLE” that hired ZOOK, MUSHCHAMP, McElwain, and Mullen!!! Zero accountability! In a real world(outside the cocoon) these people would be unemployed. Double Hugh Freeze salary(3 mill) and turn him lose in the state of Florida to recruit! This is a Grand Slam hire!! Hire Jeremy Pruitt as DC and no 4+star player ever leaves the state.
Relentless Effort
Eclipses aren’t everyday occurrences on Earth, and they’re not always easily visible. While some viewers might have to contend with middle-of-the-night scheduling for this month’s celestial event, it’s worth taking a moment to marvel at how the moon, the sun and our planet are connected as residents of this solar system.
Mullen Failed
Yes, some positions are in need of upgrade, and there are still some holes (TE, FB, S, LB) but there is a lot of talent here, and no acceptable excuse for the embarrassing way in which the team has played. With the exception of 1-2 games, they haven’t been competitive at all because they weren’t prepared, the game plans sucked, the adjustments came too late, the offense has been pathetic due to misuse of personnel and predictability.
Our team has been unprepared every single week so far. We commit a ton of penalties and are way overly aggressive on defense which is why we give up so many third and long conversions. Those are just brutal for momentum and morale during games.
Milky Mullen
Fire Dan Mullen!
Each week, especially this week we expected some change, some adjustment. It shouldn’t take half the season to figure out what’s wrong when it’s obvious to everyone and there is no indication that changes have been made to make it any better.
There is also no indication that any such changes will happen in the next two weeks. Why waste those games when you can be improving the team now while looking towards next year? Move on, promote somebody already here and simplify the schemes while matching play calls to the players who need to make them. Every game that goes by before that change happens is a wasted game.
Fire Dan Mullen
I stop listening to the HC pressers weeks ago when the same excuses were used for another bad performance. IMHO, and I wanted him, he is fast, as in very fast, becoming the latest example of coaches who fit the mold of “Peter’s Principle.”
MEL TUCKER TRAIN 2022! CHOO! CHOO!
Mullen is a good position coach, not a good HC. The 3 main job functions of a successful HC in CFB
1. Can you be a good CEO? Failed miserably.
2. Can you recruit? Failed miserably (The worst recruiter since 1980s).
3. Do you know Xs & Os, he passes this one, so he’s good OC for someone.
Muschamp only failed No.1 and it’s more than enough for his firing, at 2 places.
Coach O only failed No.3 and get fired after winning a NC.
“revamped the staff with big time recruiters” is simply not realistic. It’s like “revamped the staff with big time OC and DC” for coach O, it’s not sustainable. Good assistants are hot commoidty and they leave. Mullen is lazy and don’t want to be challenged. That’s why he makes lazy hires so he can be comfortable and doesn’t have to hire coaches every 2 -3 years.
“Recruiting Season”
I have to agree that I’d be okay with Mullen staying if we had a couple good classes lined up. Unfortunately dan appears to think it’s not part of his job to recruit. As long as he’s here (plus two years after) we will look similar to this year. Since there’s nobody available right now, hire someone willing to bust their tail recruiting for a few million a year. They likely won’t survive year three but will leave the program in better hands for the next coach.
“It’s Not Recruiting Season”
Umm we only have 2 power 5 wins. That same Vandy team and UT (if that game was played now they would be 2TD favorites)
We are bad and it’s getting worse
Jim McElwain
Soooo my CMU Chips played against Mizzou this year. ONly lost 34-24.
AND YET that’s with MAC-level talent.
What can Danny boy do with SEC-level talent?
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
This team lacks a championship mentality. Celebrating touchdowns against Samford, dancing in the locker room after the “Win”. Defense acting like they made a Super Bowl winning interception when the opposing qb overthrows a receiver (who burned the defender) on a 2nd down in the middle of the 2nd quarter. This team’s attitude stinks and its play on the field matches it.
Remember Mac when we eeked one out against Eastern Carolina Pirates?
He wasn’t celebrating and dancing in the looker room. He was PISSED off and rightfully do for a bad performance against and solid G5 program (and a performance that was way less embarassing than this one against Samford, Mac also beat Georgia and won the SEC East that year, his first year, so in his first year he’s accomplished more than Mullen has in 4 years. What a joke).
We are f—-ed!!!
As a lifelong Gator fan, I’ve never done this before but I’ll actually be rooting FOR Missouri and against my beloved Florida Gators for the first time in my life. It’s for the best of the program for Mullen to get fired and a loss tomorrow will ensure that happening.
We are f—-ed!!!
This program is currently dead and only firing Mullen can help. So in reality we just need the usual dead UF team to show up, take one more ugly azz beating and start the coaching search for real
Fire Dan Mullen
Outcome of this game irrelevant
4 years of rot = failed HC hire. Most of HIS staff is garbage , fact Mullen didn’t recognize that years ago is the issue
Hev, Knox, Grantham, billy G – they have all set UF back years
Can only laugh about shanked punt. Constant reminder Mullen hired a bunch of zeros
Brian Kelly fired everyone and started over, maybe that works but I doubt it is enough , too little too late imo
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
I can see why they might be tempted to keep him if these next two finish strong. My only problem with that is when this recruiting class tanks (relatively speaking), the offseason is going to be filled with negativism.
With that deafening noise in the system, Mullen would have to start next season 7-0. Any hiccup in those seven and the wolves are right at the door and we are right back where we are now.
Unfortunately, I think there may a be some significant portal losses as well, so next year becomes another consecutive rebuilding year. That puts three of the first four games as realistically losable.
There is nothing good about having to move off of Mullen now, but that spiral of everything that could go wrong is going wrong has crippled the program. I just don’t see a path where his success next year is a likely outcome, and if that’s the case then keeping him just prolongs the spiral.
FREEZE PLEEZE!
I’m lost on the new 2 game standard since he already failed the 4 game standard. He needed to go 4-0 after the UGA game and is at 1-1, even the 1 win was pretty embarrassing. Does he need to win both these last 2 games to be safe or just one of them? Or is the whole thing fluid to give the Mullen apologists the room they need to spin?
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
So Mac put up 24 points vs Mizzou in regulation with MAC talent while Mullen only put up 23 with SEC talent.
What an “offensive Guru”. A real upgrade from Mac
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
Will,
You were right, Missouri DID score 24 points tonight…
Milky Mullen
Any Dan Mullen fans left?
We really fired Jim McElwain for this?
We are the Laughing stock of the SEC… it seems every coach has the mentality to continue to ram it in Mullen without mercy or willingness to stop or pull out. Even the new coaches in the SEC are all having a turn at Mullen. I am assuming it must be a fun ride because they all have the biggest grin on there faces afterwards. I mean as a gator fan it literally sucks to watch the South Carolina coach Kentucky coach Missouri coach Georgia coach and hell even Ed O on his wait out had the biggest ***** grin on his face after giving Mullen the stroking of his life… I think they all know something that we don’t honestly… Drink up fellas… grab your woman and some popcorn and enjoy the show. Try not to look away no matter how gross it make look. Hopefully it’s over soon…. You hate to imagine the visuals
D. Trump
Dan Mullen….
YOU’RE FIRED!!!!!!!!!
Can Emory Jones lead the Gators to a win over Missouri?
No he cannot.
Missouri 24
Florida 23
May the Force Be with you
MEL TUCKER TRAIN 2022! CHOO! CHOO!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
BOTH MEL AND MULLEN (MEL MULLEN?)
Got their buttholes gaped Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide today.
Really really WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDEEEEE
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
MAYBE WE CAN GET MEL TUCKER NOW THO ID TAKE HIM OVER DUMMY DAN
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
CHOO
CHOO