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Dan Mullen’s Next Potential SEC Head Coaching Stop

By Peter Bartell

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 16: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts against the LSU Tigers during a game at Tiger Stadium on October 16, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 16: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts against the LSU Tigers during a game at Tiger Stadium on October 16, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Dan Mullen’s overall college football head coaching career record is 103-61, which is good enough for 62%.

Mullen’s most recent stint at the University of Florida saw him fired after his fourth season with the program in which the Gators went 5-6 in 2021.

This record is combined between his 9 year stay in Starkville as Mississippi State’s head coach from 2009-2017, and then the University of Florida from 2018-2021.

That overall win percentage would rank Mullen 7th amongst current SEC coaches for their win percentages during their time as head coaches at SEC schools. That may not seem that impressive, but many schools that are on the bottom half of the conference every year are starving for a consistent coach like that. He also has the ability to have a very big season at least once every few years. During his time between Starkville and Gainesville, Mullen led the Bulldogs to one 10+ win season, and the Gators to two 10+ win seasons.

Mullen is currently working for ESPN as a college football analyst and is still being paid by the University of Florida. But if another job came calling, chances are we could see Mullen back on the sideline with his previous coaching record.

Could Dan Mullen potentially return to the SEC as a head coach?

The below coaches rank below Mullen as far as overall win percentage during their overall tenures as head coaches in the SEC including their current school and previous SEC stops combined if applicable:

  • Vanderbilt – Clark Lea (29%)
  • Arkansas – Sam Pittman (50%)
  • Florida – Billy Napier (52%)
  • Missouri – Eli Drinkwitz (52%)
  • South Carolina – Shane Beamer (54%)
  • Mississippi State – Zach Arnett (57%)
  • Kentucky – Mark Stoops (54%)
  • Auburn – Hugh Freeze (60%)

Besides Auburn and Florida, if the time ever comes right for any of these other programs, one could totally see it justifiable for a school to hire Mullen. Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Kentucky all have a little less pressure on them as far as expectations compared to the others in the conference not named. And this could bode well for Mullen who has a track record of performing above what has been average for each of those schools.

Time will tell. But regardless of how you feel about Dan Mullen as a head coach, the numbers don’t lie. And he has had a degree of success.

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