Mullen/Urban/Spurrier: First 32 Games

[fischerwood]

What's that old saying "Dance with the girl that brung ya". I for one, have always thought a coach does his best work if HE'S intelligent enough to realize that if he or she recognizes the head smarts as well as the physical talent al a Nick Saban, then good results usually always follow. SOS & Meyer were pretty damn good at this and tried not to put the square peg n the round hole. yeah, I know it's cliche', but it's true. Let's just hope we recruit some decent defensive intelligent talent for the next couple of go rounds. GO GATORS...

 

[GatorJ]

Mullen is looking like the real deal. Now, there’s still areas he needs to improve on. Mainly recruiting and rounding out the staff. But last year I told everyone that would listen that I was encouraged because I thought UF was one of the best teams in college football outside of LSU. And he’s validating that big time this year.

Mullen hasn’t won anything so it’s hard to compare him to 2 of the best coaches in the history of the game. But I do think Mullen has the chance to surpass both of them. We can say that he lucked into Trask, but if there’s one area I’ll give Mullen the benefit of the doubt, it’s developing a QB. And unlike the others, I think Mullen will be a Florida lifer. Maybe one day he’ll get the NFL itch, but we don’t have to worry about him going to another school. And if he stays 15-20 years he’ll probably win a few titles.

The ironic thing about Mullen is that he’s been our least supported coach since I’ve been a fan. A lot of people had preconceived notions about Mullen. Or just didn’t like him from his previous time here. But even the staunchest of Mullen haters have to be impressed by what he’s doing. In 3 years we’ve went from doormat to a budding powerhouse. I’d say the guy is doing his job.

yeah. I don’t get it. I don’t see this on any TOS.

Just like Spurrier couldn’t get over the hump until he canned Hoke, I think Mullen will be held back until Grantham is gone.

But neither Spurrier nor Meyer took over a team that was in worse shape than when Mullen took over. Nor did they face any SEC programs operating like Alabama or Georgia are right now.

Law has told us for 2 years in a row we would only have 4 win seasons.

We beat Georgia, are in the SEC hunt, have a Heisman front runner, have the most explosive offense in the country, and he’s still not happy.

And he’s not the only one.

 

[jdh5484]

Wins vs the Leghumpers?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Mullen has two things working against him in his tenure so far:

1) Recruiting
2) The fact that Franks would still be starting for UF if he hadn't broken his ankle

Trask is the reason for our success this year. Mullen didn't recruit him, nor did he have any intention of ever playing him.

I find myself reading this and chuckling thing that Ox is far more negative than me.

Just enjoy it for a while. It has been a LOOOOOOONG time since we actually had real Gator football on the field.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Just like Spurrier couldn’t get over the hump until he canned Hoke, I think Mullen will be held back until Grantham is gone.
.

Zook and Pruitt

Hoke came last.

 

[jdh5484]

I agree with you. However, let's see what he does when Trask is gone. I don't think he likes this style of offense - at all.

Mullen is the CEO. We have one of the worst defenses Florida has ever fielded. Most of our special teams play is terrible. The coaches have done a great job of coaching up 2 and 3 stars, but a dismal job of recruiting 4 and 5 stars.

I love how the O is clicking right now. Its fun to watch. After a decade of BS, we have a vertical passing game and a decent run game. Its amazing to see.

But there are cracks just under the surface.

Mullen isn't the coach we're looking for.

 

[soflagator]

For the record, I don’t like the constant compare/contrast with previous coaches. Every one is unique and should just be judged on their own performance in that particular window of time. That said, as I’ve stated before, where a particular nemesis lies is really irrelevant. Yes, Spurrier beat uga(with Ray Goff) in his first seasons to establish that dominance. But he was 1-4 against fsu(with Bowden) in that same span. I’m not knocking him in any way, but if fsu were in the SEC East, he’d have had 1 trip to Atalanta in 5 seasons. As it was, he could beat the majority of the SEC with ease—tenn, Aub and Alabama the only real threats—then lose to fsu but still win the conference. I’m thrilled with the accomplishment and still revere him. But he had his own humps he struggled to get over. You can’t pretend it’s any different than looking up to uga for the most part right now. The noles just happened to be OOC.

And yes, Mullen took over a shell of what either Meyer or Spurrier took over. That has to be noted as well. In general, he’s surpassing expectations and has made UF fun to watch again. I don’t really care where he measures up. Things and times change. Let’s just keep winning.

 

[stephenPE]

Neat numbers, but Mullen still has to prove himself by winning something, simple as that. Winning the SEC is a start.

I think we all agree with that. Bottom line is the hardware and championships.......the reason you and agree about Irving Meyers. But let me point this out. When stevie came along in 1990 there was no dominant Bama team loaded with NFL talent or UGA team loaded with NFL linemen. Im not down playing what SOS did. I think he is the greatest SEC coach of all time that played by the rules........hands down.

 

[Gatorbreath]

There are good observations throughout this thread. Mullen was not my preference when he was hired. His overall W-L record and this year's insane offense are pleasant surprises. He has shown "Xs & Os intellect" to tweak things to put a QB he didn't recruit and whose style he does not prefer in a position to be wildly successful. And yes, it is a bit troubling that he was forced to play Trask by the Giraffe's injury - though I bet he learned something from that that will make him a better HC as he goes forward.

I agree that he inherited a program clearly on the rocks - unlike SOS and CUM. As for his shortcomings: recruiting has to improve and he does need to make some changes on his staff, starting with the DC. But I've come to be glad Mullen is here - especially when you look at how the other, sexier names we all preferred during the last search cycle are doing.

Yes, he must win SEC and national championships here. That is the standard. But we are far ahead of where I thought we'd be 3 years in with him. It feels to me we are close and have closed the gap on the unholy trinity of today's top tier programs - Clemmy, the Gumps and the Bucknuts - especially on offense. We are not there yet, but the thought catching them is no longer absurd. Still difficult and with a long way to go? Sure. But catching them is no longer a silly notion. And I do think Mullen can get us there - if he makes some staff changes and those changes help on the field and with recruiting.

For the record, I don’t like the constant compare/contrast with previous coaches.

This is an important point when comparing coaches of different eras. Football has been on a mission to neuter defenses since the '70s. Some of the rule changes have been commonsense player-safety related and many of them were/are to increase scoring, which the poobahs believe builds paying fan bases. SOS put up the numbers being compared to Mullen's numbers against rules that were more in favor of the defenses than rules today. Hell, just look around you at the scores we see today - totals in the 80s, 90s and higher. Do all of those teams have genius offensive coordinators?

A good example is the hit the Humper safety laid on Pitts last week. When I played in college, that hit would've gotten you three helmet stickers: for the brutal hit itself, for separating the receiver from the ball and for putting the receiver out of the game. Today, its a personal foul and you get ejected and everyone shames you for hitting a "defenseless receiver". Contrast that with the shot Lawrence Wright laid on Joey Kent back in SOS's day.

I am taking nothing away from Mullen's offensive production as our HC, especially this season. He's having success in today's game with today's rules and he is to be commended. But compared to previous eras, he's doing it against defenses that are much different that even just a few years ago. I often think the SOS of the '90s would average 80 PPG today....

 

[Renard904]

Mullen has two things working against him in his tenure so far:

1) Recruiting
2) The fact that Franks would still be starting for UF if he hadn't broken his ankle

Trask is the reason for our success this year. Mullen didn't recruit him, nor did he have any intention of ever playing him.

Mullen inherited Franks as the entrenched starter. Franks also fits better athletically to what Mullen typically likes to do. So it’s understandable why he initially chose Franks. Franks was stinking it up but unfortunately Trask got hurt before his first potential start and so again, it’s understandable why he stuck with Franks to start the next season. Everyone, you included, thought it would be EJ that went in when Franks went down. If Mullen wanted to be stubborn he could’ve went with EJ. But no. To everyone’s surprise he sent out Trask and the rest is history.

 

[Bushmaster]

But once he realized what he had in Trask, he hasn’t looked back. Let Franks go away and he’s revamped his offense this year to yield some video game-like results. I give him props for that.

Franks left, Mullen didnt let him go. Franks saw the writing on the wall.

 

[Bushmaster]

It don't mean sh!t without the crown. I am the king of Cali!!! - Smoke

 

[jdh5484]

First ... get to the SECCG.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I think we all agree with that. Bottom line is the hardware and championships.......the reason you and agree about Irving Meyers. But let me point this out. When stevie came along in 1990 there was no dominant Bama team loaded with NFL talent or UGA team loaded with NFL linemen. Im not down playing what SOS did. I think he is the greatest SEC coach of all time that played by the rules........hands down.

Bammer was pretty dominant, in between probation. Barn too. Didn't they go like 2.5 years without losing a game? Also, when not on probation. They've just learned to cheat better now. What? You don't think his Uncle can give his favorite nephew gifts of Chargers etc? YOU RACIST. Black kids can have uncles with money!!!

But you're right, they were stacked like today. Hell, Meyer was the first one who actually stacked the roster with nothing but 4 and 5* players.

SOS won for the same reason LSU won last year and we are winning this year, someone had the balls to throw forward passes and the SEC has terrible pass defenses.

 

[oxrageous]

yeah. I don’t get it. I don’t see this on any TOS.

Just like Spurrier couldn’t get over the hump until he canned Hoke, I think Mullen will be held back until Grantham is gone.

But neither Spurrier nor Meyer took over a team that was in worse shape than when Mullen took over. Nor did they face any SEC programs operating like Alabama or Georgia are right now.

Law has told us for 2 years in a row we would only have 4 win seasons.

We beat Georgia, are in the SEC hunt, have a Heisman front runner, have the most explosive offense in the country, and he’s still not happy.

And he’s not the only one.

It's certainly not that I'm "unhappy", I just don't see Mullen as a championship coach, never have. If we were killing it on the trail I'd be significantly more optimistic about the future.

He'll just have to prove me wrong.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

But neither Spurrier nor Meyer took over a team that was in worse shape than when Mullen took over..

Spurrier was on probation. We were down 10 schollies (I think) and the team couldn't play on TV or couldn't get an official championship.

Kyle Morris and Donald Douglas were the QBs he inherited. Emmitt Smith was so pissed about the wrong HC/OC was coming that he pouted, left immediately, and eventually declared himself a Cane.

 

[EuroGator]

I love the thought of Emory next year but Dan will ruin him. Too many runs up the middle.

That's a pretty strong assertion. I don't think we know that. My hope is that Dan sees, and would further see if he tried to move too far away from passing often, the value of a potent passing attack. I don't think there's any doubt that Mullen would give more emphasis on QB runs when we have a QB who is a better runner. I just hope these two seasons will make a permanent change in his thinking about passing.

We should also be keenly aware that most QB's cannot do what Kyle Trask is doing. Finding his abilities is a rare thing. Finding them in a 6'5" 240lbs package with a better than average arm is extremely rare. Even if he wanted to do the same with Jones or Richardson doesn't mean he could.

Let's slow down on the "ruin him" talk. Mullen is a really good QB coach.

Tonight, when Emory dropped back and all the WRs were covered, he took off. That was great to see because he picks up an easy 8 years before a defender comes near him. Trask would have gained 4 yards.

I totally agree. It is and will be fun to watch Jones (and Richardson) make defenses pay with their running ability. ...and I agree that scrambling when no good passing options are available is great. You would lose a ton of the passes that Trask has made if that were a more viable option, but Mullen should be trying to maximize the skills each player brings while helping them grow and mature in all areas, including knowing how to leverage their strengths.

 

[RocketCityGator]

What's that old saying "Dance with the girl that brung ya". I for one, have always thought a coach does his best work if HE'S intelligent enough to realize that if he or she recognizes the head smarts as well as the physical talent al a Nick Saban, then good results usually always follow. SOS & Meyer were pretty damn good at this and tried not to put the square peg n the round hole. yeah, I know it's cliche', but it's true. Let's just hope we recruit some decent defensive intelligent talent for the next couple of go rounds. GO GATORS...

You forgot about Brantley. They never should have tried to run Tebow's offense with him. Meyer ruined him.

 

[soflagator]

Spurrier was on probation. We were down 10 schollies (I think) and the team couldn't play on TV or couldn't get an official championship.

Kyle Morris and Donald Douglas were the QBs he inherited. Emmitt Smith was so pissed about the wrong HC/OC was coming that he pouted, left immediately, and eventually declared himself a Cane.

It’s safe to say no incoming coach walks into a perfect roster. Otherwise, the last guy would probably still be there. We weren’t up to Spurrier’s standards when he came in, but it was still better than Mullen’s 2018 squad. He has openly talked about that 90 team, most of which weren’t his guys, being such a great starting point.

Neither were close to what Meyer inherited.

 

[YLGator]

I love the thought of Emory next year but Dan will ruin him. Too many runs up the middle. Tonight, when Emory dropped back and all the WRs were covered, he took off. That was great to see because he picks up an easy 8 years before a defender comes near him. Trask would have gained 4 yards.

Trask would have thrown a perfect ball that only the receiver could catch for a TD or a big gain. Instead, we got 8 yards. Thats whats ahead for us after Trask is gone. Enjoy the hell out of this year. I know I am. We might just put up a fourth statue for this kid. He's a blast to watch.