With yesterday’s news still fresh in our minds, let’s prepare ourselves for the upcoming onslaught of names — both realistic and far-fetched — soon to be associated with the open position at Florida. Let’s throw Jon Gruden’s name out there first, then immediately dismiss it. While Florida is a far better spot than Miami (Fla.), Gruden’s statement regarding that position seemed to close the door on him accepting a position on the college ranks. Bob Stoops will be bandied about: don’t forget that Stoops was Steve Spurrier’s defensive coordinator when the Gators won the national title in 1996. But what of two names, two more logical names, both of whom are more closely associated with Florida’s more recent success?
The first is Dan Mullen; the second is Charlie Strong, Meyer’s defensive coordinator and the first-year coach at Louisville. Both are qualified merely by their time as U.F. assistants. Both have boosted their qualifications by performing admirable coaching jobs at Mississippi State and with the Cardinals, respectively.
Does either have any negatives? If one were to dig deep enough, I suppose one could find fault with Mullen and Strong’s lack of head coaching experience: two years for Mullen, just this fall for Strong. I’m not sure if we can find anything negative to say about that pair beyond that point.
Mullen seems to have the more positives, at least in my mind:
He’s an offensive-minded coach. Mullen would find a way to best utilize Florida’s talent on offense. Steve Addazio, well, couldn’t. If Florida wishes to continue to run the zone-read offense, it current hire a better fit than Mullen. Now, if Florida was looking to add Dana Holgorsen as offensive coordinator, I’m not sure how well the two offensive philosophies would mesh.
He has experience in the SEC. Two years at Mississippi State. To say that M.S.U. was in a bad situation when he was hired might be wrong, as the facilities were in place to win with the right coach. Still, Mullen deserves acclaim for the job he’s done rapidly leading the Bulldogs back to bowl play.
He’s won in the SEC. I could see Florida being scared off if Mullen had repeated his 5-7 mark of a season ago. He hasn’t, however, and won eight games in a very difficult SEC West. That should count for something.
Not that Strong is a slouch by any means:
He’s a defensive mind nearly without peer. Tony Dungy had a great quote regarding Strong after Louisville hired him last December: “When they see what he can do, you’re probably going to have a lot of people disappointed they didn’t hire him sooner.” Without asking why other programs weren’t interested in services, it’s clear that by his resume, Strong deserved a shot earlier than this season. His defenses at Florida were always overlooked, but they were the backbone behind several double-digit win seasons.
His first year at Louisville went very well. Now, 6-6 is not always something to write home about. It is in Louisville’s case, however. Not only were the Cardinals weaker talent-wise than most of the Big East, but Strong was forced to reverse a losing mentality developed under Steve Kragthorpe’s watch.
He has a big fan in Jeremy Foley. Not that Foley isn’t high on Mullen as well. Rick Bozich, a columnist for The Courier-Journal in Louisville, recounted a conversation he had with the U.F. athletic director at this year’s Kentucky-Florida game:
“But Foley also loves Strong. Loves him. A lot. Saw Meyer at the UK-Florida football game this season and he made certain to complement the work Strong was doing at Louisville.”
Would Foley’s relationship with Strong be enough to push him ahead of Mullen in the coaching search?
Now, I wonder if Foley is dedicated to making a splash. If so, I’m not sure if Strong fits into that category; Mullen might, but it might be a stretch to call even him a splash hire. A splash would be nabbing Stoops from Oklahoma, or reaching across country to take Jim Harbaugh from Stanford. Or perhaps returning to Steve Spurrier? Now that would be a sight.
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