Chris Doering "welcomes" comparisons between Mullen and Spurrier

T REX

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Chris Doering "welcomes" comparisons between Mullen and Spurrier

"Dan Mullen is entering his second season as the head coach of the Florida Gators, and he’s already drawing rave reviews.

Perhaps the highest praise he’s drawn to this point came when ESPN’s Paul Finebaum compared Mullen to Steve Spurrier following Florida’s win over LSU last fall. Finebaum saw the same energy and enthusiasm that Spurrier brought to the job when he was on the sideline in Gainesville.

“We saw that video of him jumping around — I thought it was 1991 and Steve Spurrier all over again,” Finebaum said. “He’s reincarnated Spurrier, and he’s coaching like Spurrier. After having been down there a couple days, there’s a spirit, there’s a vibe. Yes, I realize that Urban Meyer was there and won two national championships, but Dan Mullen was there for most of that.”

Earlier this week, Finebaum once again compared Mullen to Spurrier, calling him “Steve Spurrier Jr.” But is that comparison coming too soon? Chris Doering, a former Gators wide receiver who played for Spurrier, weighed in on Sirius XM Radio. Doering is fine with the comparison between Mullen and Spurrier, and he actually endorses it."

What say you? This is way premature IMHO. To be continued...
 

cover2

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Well, he does wear a visor.

Seriously, I'm glad he got off to the start he did and like all, I'm hoping he can build upon it. I'm cautiously optimistic because so much of the game now depends on how you match up with your opponents with speed/skill #'s and if we are to believe what our eyes tell us when we watch the elite teams play (Bama, Clemson, etc.) and what we have come to know about the importance of not just who you recruit but how many, then there's work ahead if we are to catch up. The elites have the physical aspects in their favor as well. Spurrier IMO won a lot because of his understanding of how to attack the defenses of the day and his best teams always had a QB who was an extension of him. I don't think it's quite like that anymore and you better have the speed/skill differential in your favor. And a really good OL helps. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
 

gator1946

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Let non Gators make all the comparison all they want. The more the better. I'd guess Doering is pumping for a reason. Great recruiting tool. For us old guys, those of us who damned near worship spur. Those of us who saw him win the Heisman and then saw him get us our first SEC championship, and then saw him pile on with more Championships, and had us laughing at the opposition the whole time; it's waaaaay too soon. Five years and two N.C.'s will be too soon.
 
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GatorInGeorgia

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WAAAAAAY TOO SOON! Beat Georgia & win an SEC...then do it again a few more times. Throw in a NC for good measure, then we’ll talk.
 

MJMGator

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I don’t like comparing folks. Dan’s his own man and he has his strengths and weaknesses like anyone else. He’s more likable now than he was as an OC. Hope he can figure this recruiting thing out and give us 12 great years like SOS did.
 

gatormandan

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I have performed several miracles but I have yet to raise someone from the dead. A bit too soon for comparisons....
 

bayou gator

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Mullen is obviously a good coach, however, I am not convinced that he is a great coach. Time will tell, and maybe someday I will judge him as great, but he has a long way to go. And it is way too early to compare him to the HBC. Spurrier was more than just a great coach. He was revolutionary in many ways, and is already considered one of the true icons in the history of college football coaches.

The media needs to pump the brakes on stories like this about Mullen. He has a very specific style of offense, and needs specific types of players to make it work efficiently. Mullen needs at least another two years with ELITE recruiting classes to really begin closing the gap between us and teams like Clemson, Alabama, etc.

And don't take my post as a slam on Mullen. It's not. I'm cautiously optimistic that he has us going in the right direction. However, at this point, we have no idea of what the ultimate destination may be.
 

fischerwood

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Chris Doering "welcomes" comparisons between Mullen and Spurrier

"Dan Mullen is entering his second season as the head coach of the Florida Gators, and he’s already drawing rave reviews.

Perhaps the highest praise he’s drawn to this point came when ESPN’s Paul Finebaum compared Mullen to Steve Spurrier following Florida’s win over LSU last fall. Finebaum saw the same energy and enthusiasm that Spurrier brought to the job when he was on the sideline in Gainesville.

“We saw that video of him jumping around — I thought it was 1991 and Steve Spurrier all over again,” Finebaum said. “He’s reincarnated Spurrier, and he’s coaching like Spurrier. After having been down there a couple days, there’s a spirit, there’s a vibe. Yes, I realize that Urban Meyer was there and won two national championships, but Dan Mullen was there for most of that.”

Earlier this week, Finebaum once again compared Mullen to Spurrier, calling him “Steve Spurrier Jr.” But is that comparison coming too soon? Chris Doering, a former Gators wide receiver who played for Spurrier, weighed in on Sirius XM Radio. Doering is fine with the comparison between Mullen and Spurrier, and he actually endorses it."

What say you? This is way premature IMHO. To be continued...
Not even close...
 

gardnerwebbgator

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Meyer almost got to the point to be mentioned in the same sentence as Spurrier. Mullen hadn't figured out how to beat UK or Mizzou yet, much less UGA.
 

InstiGATOR1

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Doering may welcome this comparison but I suspect Mullen does NOT. But Spurrier is the goal if not the standard at UF so it is good that Mullen is reminded of that fact.
 

Gator Fever

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We need an SEC Championship to even have a beginning discusson on that. Mullen must solve the riddle of winning the SEC East prior to the bigger stuff.
 

Concrete Helmet

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Wow.....I see 2 similarities and that's about it. Both offensive minded and both tend to stick to their preferred offensive philosophies. I'm not bagging on Mullen here(hell he lasted almost 10 years at MSU)….but that is about where the comparisons end for me. Not really a fair comparison for Mullen....keep us ranked and relevant, win most of your rivalry games and we'll see where we are in 2 or 3 years.
 

Loogis

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Spurrier IMO won a lot because of his understanding of how to attack the defenses of the day...

This is really why Spurrier enjoyed immediate success in the SEC. ‘80s defenses were built to stop the likes of HW, Bo Jackson, and Emmitt Smith. Seven guys in the box with a lot of safety run support. Teams recruited linebackers to take on blockers, not to spread out to cover a slot receiver.

Football is ever evolving. Offenses adjust to the defenses built to stop the last offensive schemes. Mullen’s style coaches another evolution of it.

I do think he’s brought a little of the swagger and excitement Spurrier brought, but that comes with winning, a lot.
 

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