A Mike Farrell Sports Columnist Said Gators would be better off if Dan Mullen was still here

We probably will never know. Was 10 wins Mullen’s ceiling? I hope so but suspect not. Is six wins Napier’s ceiling? I hope not but suspect so.

 

While I agree, I think he has built infrastructure that I don't think Mullen would have. Does the next coach keep much of it, trash it, I don't know. As long as the team doesn't have a Mullen esque collapse, Napier is getting a 4th year given that schedule is my guess. Id still rather us have moved on from Mullen when we did.

 

I will concede that Mullen was a good play caller. I can also imagine a world in which NIL money improves his craptastic recruiting. But Dan Mullen was incapable of putting the best players on the field and the best coaches on the sideline. Still more damning, Dan Mullen quit on the program, tried to leave, then tried to just coast until he could ride away on his golden parachute. Now he has the effing nerve to throw darts at his successor from a safe distance. That dude can take a long walk off a short pier. Napier may or may not suck, but I do NOT expect him to quit.

 

Like I’ve said, Mullen is gone, and we can’t undo what was done even if we wanted to. But the quotation above, I haven’t seen any evidence of that. I was frustrated with Mullen’s recruiting and his failure to fire Grantham’s dumb ass after the 2020 season. But I’m beginning to think we just tell ourselves the rest — about him quiet quitting, about him having the illusion of NFL hopes — to feel good about firing him. If Napier were getting it done, then we would’ve have to make up stories to justify hiring him.

 

Would Florida have more wins over past 2 years- prolly. Would we be better off in 5 years… prolly not. If Napiers plan works- we are a perennial power. If it doesn’t, we blow it up after next year and the next coach has more talent, better infrastructure etc

 

I keep hearing he has built infrastructure now... Offense, Defense and Special teams have been bad, terrible and beyond belief bad respectively. Coaching...well its been bad too..across the board. Not sure which coaches have overperformed with what we saw this year. If he doesnt cut it next year I doubt any of his infrastructure is kept of staff for the next hire. Recruiting hasnt been any better than the last 3 coaches either in rankings. Building infrastructure to me means...the defense has got a bunch better during the year...the offense better or the ST better...the win total is heading in the right direction, the coach and team are winning games against better opponents or we are defeating our rivals. Hell Id just settle for better S&C and seeing our guys not get pushed around once in a while. Unfortunately I ddint see any of that...

 

We are better off without Mullen (yes, a great offensive mind who can do Xs and Os).

 

We had 1 DL recruit one year from Mullens class in a year where we needed to load up on them. We had to shift an OL to defense if I recall. Bottom line is recruiting rankings are just numbers. You can recruit 28 of the top WRs in the class and nobody else and get a #1 rated recruiting class. But did that really benefit your team at all? NOPE!!! This is what Mullen did, he recruited by quantity (lottttts of 3 stars) and of positions we didn’t need as much as we needed in other positions.

What’s the 4-5 star ratio on positions? DE, WR, RB, QB, DB seem to be big star positions where as LB, OL, TE have very few 5* or high 4*. These things matter.

 

How so? His recruiting was so bad half didn't qualify, and the other half weren't good enough to earn playing time. He wouldn't fire his friends when it was obvious they were the laughing stock of the country. But tbf you're a Sanders groupie so your taste in HC's is..... questionable.

 

How many QBs has Napier put in the league?

 

One

 

Mullen's ceiling is"tEn tImEs hIGheR"

Proceeds to lose games to inferior opponents like aTm, LSU, Kentucky etc with guys like Trask, Pitts, Pierce, etc on the roster.

Ran a roster into the ground and yet despite said ceiling finished with a losing record with his own recruits.

Mullen fans gonna keep Mullen fanning...

 

Almost like the league thought several of Mullens qb were raw talent but poorly developed. The whisperer stuff was nonsense.

It’s the holiday season and you are lonely, but don’t text your ex. Rules to live by. I’m sure an NFL will be scooping up his genius any time.

 

So, basically you don’t know what infrastructure means.

 

I wonder what the history of the program would have been if we had given the Zooker another season?

 

ESPN ran a projection on that once. The scenario involved Zook winning the Swindle in 2003 and having sufficient grace to make to the 2006 season before getting fired. ESPN projected that we would have hired Saban instead of Alabama. Tell you what. The two extra mediocre years under Zook would have been worth it.

 

You have me wrong. I’m not a fan of Mullen, but he is by far superior to Napier. That’s how far Florida football has fallen. Mullen actually has a winning record against SEC opponents over the span of 10+ seasons as a head coach. Napier is 6-10 and will be extremely lucky to finish 3-5 again next year. Mullen has won SEC coach of the year and a division title. His ceiling is clearly way above Napier’s. How many more recruits and key players have to bail for you to come to grips with reality?

 

You can’t win if you don’t run the program.

 

Poppycock, Foley would have never hired Saban, his MO was always up and comer coaches.

 

Obviously ESPN has little to no understanding of the difference between UF and UA. This wouldn't have even been a close decision between the two entities for Saban.