Dan Mullen Leadership

Marine1

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Posing this more as a question than a declaration of any sort. Several of us (including me) were not excited about the hire but some (also including me) have warmed up to DM.

Focusing on the offensive side we have several position groups with lots of competition and some loaded with talent.

After reading Franks talking about the QB room being very close and supportive of each other and no complaining it made me think how many talented receivers and running backs we have with a similar scenario. They also appear to be very cohesive and I don’t recall hearing any bad attitudes or bytching about playing time, touches, carries, etc.

Is this the product of Dan’s leadership and positive approach or player driven? Could it be that we are riding 6 straight wins or that even last year the 3 losses were spaced out and back to back losses could make the wheels come off?

I’ve been been very impressed with the team cohesiveness through 15 games. Wondering where the credit lies?
 

stephenPE

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Dan understands team chemistry and working with young men. He is getting them ALL to pull in the same direction and you can already see the results............
 

SeabeeGator

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Switching gears from our spirited QB debate...

I was lukewarm on the hire. It seemed convenient at the time and that we could certainly do worse. I’ve warmed considerably since then but I’m still concerned with certain program areas - especially recruiting. He has to address that somehow, some way to take this organization to the next level. I also think he is a well respected leader by his staff and players based on the loyalty many have shown and the words his players use to describe him. Better than I thought, honestly.

With respect to players, I don’t think there is a visible leader that ties the team together. I do think the position groups likely gravitate towards someone - QBs to Franks, WR to Hammond (per you), DBs to Henderson (per WS article), etc. Some of the weaker groups probably lack that “small unit leadership” but I don’t know. Just seems like an overall lack of presence to tie the team together at the players level.

So to answer your question... I think its mostly two things: players are more confident in this staff because a lot of them experienced the disaster that was the last staff and CDM himself has inspired confidence throughout his organization. To go further, Franks/Perine/Henderson/some star or group of top players need to pull the team as a whole together. Believe it or not, I think Franks can do this. It’s one of the reason I get frustrated with him. But I will say, when watching the replays last night, a ref was announcing a penalty and you could see Franks dressing down a wide receiver. If he’s doing this regularly or starting to do it, maybe he’s turning into that leader he needs to be....
 

InstiGATOR1

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Posing this more as a question than a declaration of any sort. Several of us (including me) were not excited about the hire but some (also including me) have warmed up to DM.

Focusing on the offensive side we have several position groups with lots of competition and some loaded with talent.

After reading Franks talking about the QB room being very close and supportive of each other and no complaining it made me think how many talented receivers and running backs we have with a similar scenario. They also appear to be very cohesive and I don’t recall hearing any bad attitudes or bytching about playing time, touches, carries, etc.

Is this the product of Dan’s leadership and positive approach or player driven? Could it be that we are riding 6 straight wins or that even last year the 3 losses were spaced out and back to back losses could make the wheels come off?

I’ve been been very impressed with the team cohesiveness through 15 games. Wondering where the credit lies?

Winning cures all ills. Winning after losing for one year adds to the power of winning.

I will say that Mullen seems pretty good at defining roles for players including young one to keep as many happy as possible. There will always be unhappy guys on an 85 man (or 76 man in UF's case) roster who think they should be playing more etc. There would be more such players if UF were losing games regularly.
 

SeabeeGator

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Winning cures all ills. Winning after losing for one year adds to the power of winning.

I will say that Mullen seems pretty good at defining roles for players including young one to keep as many happy as possible. There will always be unhappy guys on an 85 man (or 76 man in UF's case) roster who think they should be playing more etc. There would be more such players if UF were losing games regularly.
No insti metric to determine leadership effectiveness? I’m disappointed.
 

stephenPE

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If you want to see examples of leadership go back to last year when we were down and seemingly lost and the team did not give up. Each time that happened they gained more confidence. That is the proof of internal character and a team leading itself. Guys like TImmy are rare. But having multiple guys step up and say "follow me" it is just as good or better.
 

Marine1

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Dec 20, 2015
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Switching gears from our spirited QB debate...

I was lukewarm on the hire. It seemed convenient at the time and that we could certainly do worse. I’ve warmed considerably since then but I’m still concerned with certain program areas - especially recruiting. He has to address that somehow, some way to take this organization to the next level. I also think he is a well respected leader by his staff and players based on the loyalty many have shown and the words his players use to describe him. Better than I thought, honestly.

With respect to players, I don’t think there is a visible leader that ties the team together. I do think the position groups likely gravitate towards someone - QBs to Franks, WR to Hammond (per you), DBs to Henderson (per WS article), etc. Some of the weaker groups probably lack that “small unit leadership” but I don’t know. Just seems like an overall lack of presence to tie the team together at the players level.

So to answer your question... I think its mostly two things: players are more confident in this staff because a lot of them experienced the disaster that was the last staff and CDM himself has inspired confidence throughout his organization. To go further, Franks/Perine/Henderson/some star or group of top players need to pull the team as a whole together. Believe it or not, I think Franks can do this. It’s one of the reason I get frustrated with him. But I will say, when watching the replays last night, a ref was announcing a penalty and you could see Franks dressing down a wide receiver. If he’s doing this regularly or starting to do it, maybe he’s turning into that leader he needs to be....
No worries on spirited debates. It makes the board what it is. My first REAL firefight on the old board was a Chris Leak v Ingle Martin debate. It went on for weeks. It was my first exposure to this world.

As to this discussion....I’ve heard several times that part of our recruiting ills are because Dan just does not relate well to these kids....yet he does seem to relate well to his players. It’s interesting.

I hope we don’t find out but I wonder if we could hold it together with consecutive losses or would the dam break.

It just seems like this group really sticks together despite negative recruiting by the Noles suggesting we are not “family”.
 

Marine1

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Dec 20, 2015
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8,113
If you want to see examples of leadership go back to last year when we were down and seemingly lost and the team did not give up. Each time that happened they gained more confidence. That is the proof of internal character and a team leading itself. Guys like TImmy are rare. But having multiple guys step up and say "follow me" it is just as good or better.

You’re right, Coach. Last season could have devolved into a shyt show especially after the 3rd loss. Good example.
 

Theologator

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Posing this more as a question than a declaration of any sort. Several of us (including me) were not excited about the hire but some (also including me) have warmed up to DM.

Focusing on the offensive side we have several position groups with lots of competition and some loaded with talent.

After reading Franks talking about the QB room being very close and supportive of each other and no complaining it made me think how many talented receivers and running backs we have with a similar scenario. They also appear to be very cohesive and I don’t recall hearing any bad attitudes or bytching about playing time, touches, carries, etc.

Is this the product of Dan’s leadership and positive approach or player driven? Could it be that we are riding 6 straight wins or that even last year the 3 losses were spaced out and back to back losses could make the wheels come off?

I’ve been been very impressed with the team cohesiveness through 15 games. Wondering where the credit lies?

Everything I’ve heard him say and everything I’ve seen him do tracks right along with the best current leadership and organizational psychology books I’ve read.

So, yes. I’d say the cohesiveness we see in position groups and the team as a whole is a direct result of the culture he’s building. That strikes me as akin to Swinney’s approach. We’ll see how effective it can be.

My concerns remain on recruiting and upgrading the assistants and support staff re: recruiting. But he’s building an excellent infrastructure. The peek we got a couple of months ago at the preparation the staff had done overnight to greet Wingo’s family showed the depth and attention to detail afoot.
 

SeabeeGator

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No worries on spirited debates. It makes the board what it is. My first REAL firefight on the old board was a Chris Leak v Ingle Martin debate. It went on for weeks. It was my first exposure to this world.

As to this discussion....I’ve heard several times that part of our recruiting ills are because Dan just does not relate well to these kids....yet he does seem to relate well to his players. It’s interesting.

I hope we don’t find out but I wonder if we could hold it together with consecutive losses or would the dam break.

It just seems like this group really sticks together despite negative recruiting by the Noles suggesting we are not “family”.
I’ve heard that he doesn’t relate as well but (subtracting potential illicit behavior from the conversation) I’ve also heard he’s direct and often tells them what his plan for them is - not what they want to hear, necessarily. Kirby Smart is an example of a guy who keeps selling BS to these kids (as the ones who leave consistently say) so it won’t surprise me if it catches up to him one day - especially if/when the dawgs have a bad season.

I do think a lot of these young guys want someone “cool” that they can relate to. Robinson and Gray seem to do well with this but there aren’t a lot of others on the staff who do. It likely won’t happen but if Mullen would drop old man English and Knox for established, up and coming recruiters I think we could see a good balance of coaching and recruiting emerge. Don’t really know if they’re the weakest links but they sure seem like it.
 

Marine1

Semper Fidelis
Dec 20, 2015
2,923
8,113
Everything I’ve heard him say and everything I’ve seen him do tracks right along with the best current leadership and organizational psychology books I’ve read.

So, yes. I’d say the cohesiveness we see in position groups and the team as a whole is a direct result of the culture he’s building. That strikes me as akin to Swinney’s approach. We’ll see how effective it can be.

My concerns remain on recruiting and upgrading the assistants and support staff re: recruiting. But he’s building an excellent infrastructure. The peek we got a couple of months ago at the preparation the staff had done overnight to greet Wingo’s family showed the depth and attention to detail afoot.
Well stated. And hopefully we will eliminate some of the bad apple types we’ve recruited recently. Hopefully some lessons learned.
 

Marine1

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Dec 20, 2015
2,923
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I’ve heard that he doesn’t relate as well but (subtracting potential illicit behavior from the conversation) I’ve also heard he’s direct and often tells them what his plan for them is - not what they want to hear, necessarily. Kirby Smart is an example of a guy who keeps selling BS to these kids (as the ones who leave consistently say) so it won’t surprise me if it catches up to him one day - especially if/when the dawgs have a bad season.

I do think a lot of these young guys want someone “cool” that they can relate to. Robinson and Gray seem to do well with this but there aren’t a lot of others on the staff who do. It likely won’t happen but if Mullen would drop old man English and Knox for established, up and coming recruiters I think we could see a good balance of coaching and recruiting emerge. Don’t really know if they’re the weakest links but they sure seem like it.

Damn Seabee...you softened me up to the tune of 2 likes in a row.

Not to rehash an old wound but Knox for Seider was a major L. I think Seider would have fit this culture nicely AND reopened the pipeline to the muck.
 

Marine1

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Interesting and I didn’t consider how much Savage plays into this. Good point and I can see it. He seems to unite these guys and there also seems to be some shared pride in their physical transformation.
 

SeabeeGator

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Damn Seabee...you softened me up to the tune of 2 likes in a row.

Not to rehash an old wound but Knox for Seider was a major L. I think Seider would have fit this culture nicely AND reopened the pipeline to the muck.
I’m with you - I’ve stated many times on here that Mullen’s biggest mistake of his tenure thus far (and I still believe this to be true) was hiring Knox for RBs, moving Seider to TEs, and not fighting tooth and nail to keep him. I don’t care how well Knox knows Mullen’s system - Seider brought so much more to the table. It’s the most concrete example of @ltraz point about mullen hiring friends.
 

Theologator

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No worries on spirited debates. It makes the board what it is. My first REAL firefight on the old board was a Chris Leak v Ingle Martin debate. It went on for weeks.

I wondered “what if” Ingle had stayed. Who wins the QB battle in 2005? He seemed very much a fit for Meyer/Mullen’s system.
 

Marine1

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Dec 20, 2015
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I wondered “what if” Ingle had stayed. Who wins the QB battle in 2005? He seemed very much a fit for Meyer/Mullen’s system.

I liked Ingle but I was on the Leak train only because the gap in passing skills was pretty wide and this debate was pre-Urban. Ingle would have fit the 2005 offense but I think he would have had the Tebow 2006 role. Would have been a far more interesting competition in 2005 though.
 

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