Florida football parts ways with Dan Mullen after loss to Missouri

Mullen is 1-4 against Smart as a head coach, with the lone win coming in 2020. Audio of Smart’s halftime speech from Georgia’s 2021 game against Florida recently leaked, with the Georgia coach making it very clear how he felt about the Gators.

Related: ‘I want to break them’: Kirby Smart goes viral for incredible, profane Florida halftime speech

At Florida, Mullen went 34-15 over the course of four seasons. Prior to working as the head coach of the Gators, he spent nine years as the head coach at Mississippi State. Mullen served as the offensive coordinator at Florida before that.

In addition to diminishing returns on the field, Florida also struggled on the recruiting trail under Mullen. The Gators had the No. 23 ranked recruiting class prior to Saturday, well below the Bulldogs who sit at No. 1 in the rankings. Following the loss to Georgia, Mullen ducked discussing his recruiting abilities, stating he would talk about it during the recruiting season. Mullen did not make it that far.

Related: Even Georgia football players understand recruiting better than Dan Mullen

Florida had already made some changes to Mullen’s staff, as he fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy after Florida lost to South Carolina earlier this season. Former Georgia linebacker Christian Robinson was the interim defensive coordinator.

The Gators finished 2-6 in SEC games, with only Vanderbilt winning fewer SEC games among teams in the SEC East.

The Gators take on Florida State this week, needing a win to clinch a bowl berth. Georgia meanwhile ranks as the No. 1 team in the country with an 11-0 record.

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