Keeping Grantham was probably the second biggest mistake Mullen has made at UF - bringing him from Miss State in 2018 was the biggest. Read this comments from The Athletic:
‘Florida, they just don’t play hard’: College football coaches on the growing gap between Florida and Georgia
(some quotes from the story - since it's a paywall):
The Athletic spoke with opposing SEC coaches about what has gone wrong.
“Florida, they just don’t play hard,” said an SEC East coach. “Georgia is trying to rip your head off. They might be up 30-0 and their linebackers are flying up field to get after your ass. Florida is a finesse team. Kentucky plays hard. You watch UF on tape. They’ve got skill but they’re not physical.”
Is the problem scheme? Personnel? Toughness? Opposing coaches cite problems in each area.
“They play with zero discipline,” said one SEC offensive coach whose team faced the Gators this season. “They don’t play hard.”
“We were more physical and much better than them in the box,” said another SEC offensive coach. “We were mauling them.”
An SEC East defensive coach wondered, “What in the world are they trying to get done?” as he scouted the Gators’ wretched defensive performance from 2020. That unit ranked 74th in points allowed (30.8), 83rd in total defense (428 per game) and 85th in yards per play allowed (6.06). “Last year, they were doing some really unsound things defensively,” he said. “They just do some crazy, goofy things. They’re odd.’”
Earlier this season, the Gators looked like a much-improved defense when they went toe-to-toe with Alabama, but opposing coaches have come to believe that’s not the case.
“We thought going in that it was going to be one of the best defenses we faced,” said an SEC offensive coach. “But they just weren’t physical. They don’t look motivated. Not fired up. No juice.
“Schematically, they make no adjustments on defense. They have no answers. They’ll stay in a 2-high shell as long as they can. They walk (Jeremiah Moon) down to create a five-man front and think they can stop the run with just that, but they can’t.”
“Grantham spends all of his time on third-down packages with exotic pressures,” said an SEC offensive coach. “You can run the ball on them on third downs. …There’s no one in their front seven that scares you. They used to have defensive ends that were pass-rush phenoms. They used to have shut-down corners. They don’t have either now.”
That coach said preseason All-SEC cornerback Kaiir Elam “was disappointing.”
Florida’s best NFL prospect on the defensive line, senior Zach Carter, is “a solid player” and likely a third- or fourth-rounder, Brugler said. That would make four consecutive drafts in which the program failed to have a member of the defensive front chosen in the top two rounds.
“They don’t have anybody that’s a game-wrecker,” said an SEC offensive assistant. “They’re not as talented and formidable as I thought they were going to be.”
Comments about our offense:
Mullen is a master at designing pre-snap eye candy, the shifts and motions that create mismatches. Outsiders believe such window dressing is necessary to masquerade deficiencies along Florida’s offensive line. When offseason staff shuffling commences, it’s likely offensive line coach John Hevesy will be among those departing.
An opposing SEC offensive coach said he suspects some of the Gators’ toughness issues stem from becoming so pass-heavy during the two-year stint under quarterback Kyle Trask. Last season, the only SEC team that ran the ball fewer times than Florida per game was Mike Leach’s Air Raid attack at Mississippi State. In 2019, only Vanderbilt had fewer rushing attempts.
"It’s been more of a throwing-based offense,” said the opposing offensive coach. “They only run the ball as a change-up. When you get that way, you’re naturally not going to be as physical. You need to practice against the run in order to create a culture of physicality.”
The Gators now face something dreaded within the landscape of SEC football: A reputation for being soft.
“Georgia is trying to take your soul the way they play the game,” said one of the SEC East coaches. “That’s not how Florida plays.
“Last year, we thought these guys were soft on the O-line but they had skill guys — (Kyle) Pitts and (Kadarius) Toney and weapons. We thought they were more physical up front, but then you play them and they’re just not a tough team. They just don’t finish. They don’t strain.”
The Gators represent a statistical rarity, owning a .500 record despite outgaining all eight opponents. That’s no consolation to a fan base. Winning opportunities have slipped away based on other failings:
• Those 16 turnovers are tied for 10th-most in the FBS.
• Quarterbacks
Emory Jones and
Anthony Richardson have combined for 15 of the turnovers, many of the game-changing variety. In their four losses, the Gators have given up two pick sixes and committed five turnovers that set up touchdown drives from inside their own 40. Florida’s quick-change defense hasn’t responded.
• Their seven penalties per game are tied for 96th.
• The Gators rank 120th in field goal accuracy (57 percent), including a blocked kick that made the difference in a loss at Kentucky. A missed PAT ultimately forced Florida into a failed two-point try against Alabama.
“You listen to some of the things Mullen says after his teams lose. He starts talking about stats and how like, ‘We really outplayed them.’ Basically, he’s just making excuses,” said an opposing assistant. “Your bunch makes mistakes in critical moments.”
At least one opposing coach suspects a culture problem.
“You look at them in warmups — guys with their T-shirts hanging out. They look sloppy. A little too nonchalant, too rag-tag,” an SEC assistant coach said. “They think they’re better than they are.”
Though Florida’s schedule lightens up in November, that East Division coach wonders how much fight remains: “It’s like it’s conference championship or bust. They’re over it.”
