Buddy Martin Blog: Dan Mullen Is About To Be 4-4. How Did This Happen? 10 Games Ago He Was On Fire.

Happier Days for Coach Dan Mullen. Photo Credit: Alex Shepherd

The notion that Dan Mullen’s future is in question is almost laughable. The only way that could be possible would be for him to be mulling over a new job elsewhere, perhaps in the NFL, which I seriously doubt. So let’s take that off the table.

The voices of dissent are getting louder in Gator Nation. Chicken Little is knocking at the door again. This time it’s not so easy to be dismissive. Is there Trouble in Hogtown? The hot water is 6 feet and risin’, perhaps all the way up to Dan Mullen’s toes. How did we get here so fast?

Ten games ago, the Florida Gators were knocking on heaven’s door. At that point, Dan Mullen was 29-9 as Gators coach, streaking toward a championship constellation with planets Meyer and Spurrier. Then one night they threw a shoe and the curse of Marco Wilson’s meltdown left a crack in the sky, pieces of which sometimes appear to be falling.

With Georgia up next, you can almost see the descending particles, as well as feel and hear hoofbeats of pending doom. Words like “beatdown” and “boatraced” have made it into the lexicon for Florida-Georgia. Dan Mullen, once 29-9, is now 4-6 his last 10 games and very likely going to be 4-7 and 33-16. What went wrong here?

Rather than turn this into at doppleganger of an Internet message board – Florida playing the wrong QB, terrible defense, weak recruiting, etc. – I want to focus on one of Mullen’s best traits which may have betrayed him and contributed mightily to the conundrum which he finds himself in.

Loyalty. Actually it’s one of my favorite traits in people, one which is becoming scarcer and scarcer. But loyalty can be a two-edge sword – both admirable and dangerous. And in Mullen’s case the blowback is bringing excessive heat.

The notion that Dan Mullen’s future is in question is almost laughable. The only way that could be possible would be for him to be mulling over a new job elsewhere, perhaps in the NFL, which I seriously doubt. So let’s take that off the table.

And all you people who screamed and demanded MORE OFFENSE! before Mullen was hired, shame on you! You’ve got probably the best guy in the country calling plays. Now you want MORE DEFENSE!

Having said that, yes, there is a problem at Florida and Mullen is complicit. For the moment let’s focus on misguided loyalty.

First off, unless you’ve coached or are married to one, you can’t begin to know the level of love, admiration and appreciation coaches have for some of their favorite players. They are almost father and son – in many cases even more so. I’ve never talked to Mullen about Emory Jones, but I have friends who know that relationship well.

“He just loves that kid (Jones) to death,” said one insider. “And I can see why. Emory spends a lot of time in his office, watches film all the time – just a great kid! My guess is if they asked the team to vote on a captain, it would be Emory.”

Clearly Jones knows the offense better and his willingness to flip his commitment to come play for Dan at UF speaks volumes, but not nearly as much as his remarkable patience to wait his turn for four years. And his performance has been far from lackluster, although Jones does have a little hitch in his throwing motion at times which can delay the timing to a wide-open receiver.

The problem is that when Emory Jones is at his best, it’s not nearly as impressive as the dynamic skills of the 6-4, 240-pound Anthony Richardson, who commands the presence and following of a Promise Land prophet. But when is it time to call him “The Quarterback,” or will Mullen even do it?

When Steve DeBerg was playing quarterback for the Denver Broncos as the oldest player on the team and a young rookie named John Elway showed up with a bazooka arm, we were all in a media lottery about when the old guy would lose his job to the budding superstar. So one day we asked DeBerg outright how long he could hold off Elway: “It’s just a matter of time,” DeBerg said philosophically, “before his talent catches up to my experience.” A few weeks later Elway was the starter.

Although Jones isn’t that much older than AR-15, it’s the same point. With championship dreams lost for Florida – OK, if the Gators upset Georgia I’ll eat crow stew – there’s even more reason we need to see No. 15 taking the majority of snaps. Actually, more than one.

Even if the Dawgs prevail as expected, Mullen has four more games to salvage the season, train his young quarterback and set him on course for 2022. Think about this: A new defensive staff and some choice transfers could put Florida on track for a very competitive couple of seasons.

That may mean that Jones would opt out for the transfer portal and, even though that’s sad, Emory could still find a regular starting job somewhere and wind up with a successful final season. And yet, that would cut Mullen to the quick.

The other matter, of course – and one that Gator fans are even more vocal about in their disdain – is what to do about Todd Grantham.

I am on record numerous times over the year as backing Grantham. I’ve studied his defense for 3 ½ seasons now and, while I am impressed with its versatility and his ability to disguise its strike force, the last performance convinced me the Gators don’t have the strength, size and athleticism to stop a downhill running team like LSU. Or a scheme. I’m still scratching my head on this one and wondering why the Tigers ran that one counter play 14 times so successfully and the Gators gave up 287 yards to one running back. It was beyond embarrassing – it was abject humiliation.

Grantham cannot be retained, although I used to feel that he was one of the best situational substitutionists (is that even a word?) in the business. Trouble is, who does he put in? He is also devoid of very many talented defensive players. Which brings up the recruiting issue for Mullen.

A maestro though he may have been in the Transfer Portal these last few years, "Man Cannot Live In The Transfer Portal Alone." When your chief rivals are scarfing up most of the 4- and all of the 5-stars, and you’re dipping into the leftovers to fill out your roster, pretty soon it shows up in the competitive results. We’re no doubt going to see some of that Saturday.

So what's Scott Stricklin going to do? (UAA Photo)

Finally, on the matter of finding the right DC and staff to match Mullen’s offense, fill in the blank.

_______________________ should be hired as Florida’s defensive coordinator.

Charlie Strong? Brent Venables? Jim Leonhard?

Scott Stricklin can write Mr. X a $2 million check, the new DC can hire strong assistants then they head out to start signing defensive stalwarts who are impressed by the commitment.

It’s been done before. Roll back the calendar to January, 1996. Steve Spurrier’s only unbeaten (regular season) team was annihilated by a freight train called Nebraska. Also abject humiliation.

Jeremy Foley brought the list of the top defenses in the country to Spurrier’s office. No. 1 was Kansas State. The Wildcats’ co-defensive coordinator was named Bob Stoops. They hired Stoops that spring for about 10 per cent of what it would take for a new DC today. In the fall they won the school’s first national championship.

It’s time to make the change.