BUDDY MARTIN BLOG: Stricklin Promises UF To Become A ‘Really Significant Entry' Into Coaching Market

“I understand there is going to be a lot of activity and a lot of traffic, but this is a special place, and my guess is that it’s seen as a special place."

I never thought I’d live to see the day again when a Florida football coach played for a tie. But Dan Mullen did in his final game Saturday night in a faraway land they call CoMo. And now we have a Requiem for a Coach who was once considered the brilliant Prodigal carrying the flag of The Gator Standard. A legacy helping sustain it.

It’s always sad to see a coach go, but less sad when you see his saddlebags are stuffed full of millions, in this case $16M. It’s even sadder that Dan Mullen seemed to give up, or quit, even when he didn’t realize he was doing it. He tried, Lordie he tried, but he lost his place and couldn’t find it.

We all pretty much hate ties. Bear Bryant said they were “like kissing your sister.” The game didn’t use to have overtime then, but does now, although it’s still mathematical possibility when an overtime comes up fruitless. Technically, Mullen was playing for the tie to get into overtime, eschewing the final minute and four seconds.

Wait a minute? Dan Mullen the Einstein play-caller couldn’t dial up a play against one of the worst defenses in CFB? That was the second time this season he’s done that. I was just as incredulous when he ran out the clock right before half against Kentucky with three timeouts in his pocket as I was when I saw him kill the clock Saturday night. He was down to his last chance in what would become his last game, running short of coaches and running on empty. I agree with my colleague Carlton Reese, who wrote also perhaps Mullen has lost his nerve.

After Saturday night I finally admitted that the Gator program was broken and Mullen was toast, even though I’ve stood by him relentlessly for 14 games. That’s when I decided to go on radio silence until there was some real news. The exception was when around lunchtime Sunday my texts started cascading in and I knew something was up. We heard there was and going to be a team meeting with Scott Stricklin, but without Mullen. Twitter was on fire. I decided to opt out until it became official.

That’s when I called my longtime friend Steve Spurrier, who said he knew nothing, hadn’t heard about the team meeting and really didn’t have much to offer. Around 2 p.m. it was everywhere on social media and finally we received a notice of a 3 p.m. press conference. Everybody had their own personal favorite nominee. I chose not to play. Later the HBC and I spoke informally and lamented having to go through another coaching change. He is hopeful but really can't say he knows the best candidate.

The last time I remember a Gator coach going for a tie was in 1959 and it cost Bob Woodruff his job. Florida was in Houston playing Rice and got the ball back at midfield, tied 13-13, as Otis Boggs described the final few minutes action on radio. I couldn’t wait to hear him broadcast the march downfield for the winning drive. Much to the aghast of Gator fans, the ultra-conservative Woodruff ran the clock out, settling for a tie. “I’ll gamble to win,” Woodruff told the press, “but never to lose.” What he did was give up. The next year, Ray Graves was the new coach of the 1960 Gators.

I guess Dan Mullen didn’t read up on his University of Florida football history and was therefore doomed to repeat it.

There’s an old joke about the pseudo-supportive alumnus who tells the head football coach, “Coach, I’m 100 percent with you, WIN OR TIE.” Remember when football had ties? The only football person I’ve known who became successful with ties was Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian, who manufactured those shiny garments that people wear around their neck.

Nobody else likes them — the football kind, I mean.

“A tie is like kissing your sister,” Bear Bryant reportedly once said. I’m not sure who said it first, but it was often quoted in the last 75 years of football, until they did away with ties – though technically they’ve been brought back as a last resort to fruitless overtimes.

I wondered about Stricklin’s decision to act quickly given the pressure of the market. During the presser I asked the AD if he moved quickly because of the competition for coaches with so many other openings (12) -- including prime jobs like LSU and USC. He said, “I don’t want to sound pretentious here” but that UF has a “really good job” and that the process or timetable would not be impacted by what any other school does.

“I understand there is going to be a lot of activity and a lot of traffic, but this is a special place, and my guess is that it’s seen as a special place,” he said. “And it’s seen that way because of all the things I mentioned earlier … commitments and resources and a facilities and access to talent … and the brand recognition of the Gators. I think we’re going to be a really significant entry into the coaching market. And we’ll be able to attract quality candidates.”

Stricklin was forthcoming, except when asked about issues of the women’s basketball program (which really had no bearing here at this time, although it’s a story to be followed.)

The newsiest thing he said about the Mullen decision was that he woke up Sunday morning and decided to pull the plug, although I suspect the plug was already loose in the drain. He characterized it as a friendly exchange with Mullen in which he offered Dan a chance to coach the final game, but he eventually opted out.

Stricklin also said Mullen would get his full severance, which I’m told was $12M.

There have been 14 Gator football coaches since Woodruff. On Saturday, Greg Knox will become the 15th UF coach since Woodruff and the 28th overall. Oddly enough, it’s the resumption of a series with a bitter rival, Florida State, with whom Spurrier once experienced a tie with Bobby Bowden now known as “The Choke At Doak.”

Meanwhile, this advice to Greg Knox in his coaching debut and coaching finale: Go for it against FSU and don’t play for the tie.