Where does Dan Mullen stand among college football head coaches?
Theres no denying the wonders Dan Mullen has worked in his first three seasons in Gainesville. He inherited a squad that went 4-7 in 2017 and hadnt seen competent offensive play in nearly a decade. In the time since he arrived, the team has won two New Years Six Bowls, and Mullen developed a record-setting quarterback in Kyle Trask. But the Gators are still far from the pinnacle. The program hasnt made it to the College Football Playoff since the system was instituted in 2014, and the team faces what will be a crucial year for Mullen in 2021. Still, UF paid Mullen like a top-five coach with his contract extension. Well, according to these coaching rankings from Sporting News, not quite, but hes still among the nations top coaches. Mullen ranks eighth, right behind Georgias Kirby Smart (No. 7). He also ranks behind two other SEC coaches: No. 5 Jimbo Fisher and No. 1 Nick Saban. Heres the rundown for Mullen. Mullen holds the No. 8 spot for the second straight season, which is proof that breaking through for an SEC East championship is not enough among the top-10 coaches. Mullen has led the Gators to three straight New Years Day Six appearances and established a heated rivalry with Georgia, but both schools remain a step behind Alabama. Such is life in the SEC. Keeping up with the Alabamas of the world is no easy task, but to do so you need to recruit at an elite level. Thats an area Mullen still lags behind in, as his best classes (2019 and 2020) finished just ninth in the country. Seeing Mullen behind Smart wont be something Gators fans like to see, but considering the latter has taken the Bulldogs to a national championship game, its understandable. Mullen scored his first win over UGA last year, an indication the balance of power in the SEC East could be shifting. But for that to continue, Florida will need to take down a Georgia team that is once again getting a lot of offseason hype. Though 2021 will be a bit of a rebuilding year, Mullen cant afford a major dropoff if he wants to remain in the top 10 of this list and potentially move up. Related