Dan Mullen, Florida
Mullen has had a lot of instant success at Florida.
In his first two seasons as head coach in 2018 and 2019, Mullen brought Florida’s offense back to life to after the Gators’ offenses sleepwalked through games under previous head coaches Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain.
Mullen is coming off of back-to-back double-digit win seasons and two New Year’s Six Bowl wins, and the Gators will return possibly the best quarterback in the league in senior Kyle Trask.
But despite that early success, the Gators have been in position to win the SEC East each of the last two seasons come late October, and both times UF have lost to Georgia.
Florida loses some playmakers, including running back LaMical Perine, and wide receivers Van Jefferson and Tyree Cleveland from this previous season. But they return tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver, Trevon Grimes, and an offensive line that should be improved after an abysmal 2019 season.
On defense, the Gators lost defensive back CJ Henderson, defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga, and linebacker Jonathan Greenard. But defensive back Marco Wilson returns for his senior season.
In some circles, Florida is the favorite to win the SEC East, and the pressure will be on Mullen to finally beat Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 31, and that’s if the Gators can continue to handle business in a games at Tennessee, Ole Miss, and versus LSU.
Next to Smart, Mullen will face the most scrutiny if he cannot get Florida to Atlanta in 2020.
