GAINESVILLE, Florida. Florida coach Dan Mullen finally admitted he made a “regrettable” remark last year. No one cares more than discussing – and doubling – the team’s home stadium during a pandemic.
But Mullen apologized for not keeping quiet after people near Mullen told ESPN that they believed he would entertain the NFL at some point.
“A lot of rumors out there, but I didn’t talk to anyone,” Mullen said during a Zoom interview on Tuesday, two days before the start of spring practice.
The 48-year-old Mullen was specifically asked if he wanted to end up in the benefits, possibly after the next season or further down the road.
“I will address it this way: I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what the future of university football will look like and what it will look like going forward,” he said. ‘I like being here at the University of Florida. I think we have an amazing program. We have a good fan base, a good history and the opportunity to be a championship program every year.
“I think there is concern among coaches (about) what the future of university football will look like … I think there is a lot of uncertainty that we now want to find out to see what our future will be.”
Between the emerging transfer portal that forces coaches to continually reclaim their own players and the indefinite challenges related to earning potential for name, image and likeness, it’s easy to see why coaches want it. The coronavirus pandemic has also exposed college athletics because they have a financial model that can crumble at short notice.
Former Florida and Ohio coach Urban Meyer has left the broadcast room to join the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, becoming the third college coach in as many years to make the move. Kliff Kingsbury went from Texas Tech to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 and Matt Rhule jumped from Baylor to the Carolina Panthers in 2020.
Mullen certainly has the credentials, whether it is Mississippi State to make an occasional threat in the Southeastern Conference or to make the Gators a championship candidate again. His resume also includes a lot of work with NFL fullbacks, including Alex Smith, Cam Newton, Tim Tebow and Dak Prescott. Former Florida quarterback Kyle Trask will become the next QBB coach to coach Mullen. Arkansas’ Feleipe Franks could also be a late round.
Mullen has spent nearly three decades in the university ranks, including the past 16 years at the SEC power station.
His last one was probably the most tried. He complained of comments about wanting to “pack up” the swamp after a loss to Texas A&M and plugged 90,000 fans in Florida Field during a public health crisis.
He also stumbled after losing to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, insisting that the final outing for the 2020 Florida team actually played in the SEC game. The Gators were without their top four receivers and three defensive starters against the Sooners, and Mullen praised the efforts of his “scout team players,” which is seen as a detriment to Oklahoma’s victory.
“There are probably a few times that I have said things that may have been regrettable, may not have come in the right way, and may have been interpreted differently,” Mullen said. “You’re always trying to improve, always trying to get better and looking at it. I think one of the things you have to do is look back and think and say, ‘Hey, at that moment, this is the right way to do something. to approach.? ‘”
Mullen had other shrinking moments in 2020.
The SEC reprimanded him and imposed a $ 25,000 fine after league officials decided he would do more to incite than wipe out a tense situation against Missouri that led to halftime at halftime. Mullen wore a Darth Vader costume at his post-match news conference and essentially welcomed the villain.
He found himself in hot water just before Christmas, when the NCAA said Mullen did not promote an atmosphere of compliance because he had an inadmissible contact with a recruit in Seattle and that he had inadmissible contact with seven teams that stopped in Gainesville, allowed on his way to an event in Tampa.
The offenses put Florida to the test in NCAA for the first time in thirty years.
The penalty case also likely means no increase or extension for Mullen, who has been 29-9 since replacing Jim McElwain after the 2017 season. He has three more years on a $ 36.6 million six-year contract, making him the 10th highest paid coach in college football.
“Yes, I do not control part of it, so I have to worry about what I control,” he said. “It could be in someone else’s press conference. That would be a good question for them.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.