Sydney Hunter | 3 months ago
It’s been a tough 48 hours for Dan Mullen and the Florida football program.
First, the Gators were rocked 34-7 by No. 1 Georgia at the Cocktail Party, as a 3-0 Bulldogs lead with just under 2 1/2 minutes left before halftime suddenly ballooned to 24-0 behind Florida’s 3 turnovers.
As if Mullen hadn’t taken enough PR hits with his post-game comments suggesting the talent gap between his program and Georgia’s isn’t as wide as it appears, he further hurt his cause by answering a question on Monday about his recruiting strategy.
This is the last question Mullen will receive from the media for a while. At least until Saturday, which is when the Gators face South Carolina, because he opted not to release players and coaches for the rest of the week. Mullen will appear on Wednesday’s SEC media conference call, a must for conference head coaches.
It’s certainly not the first time a head coach has done this and it won’t be the last. But as Mullen’s criticism grows amid a 4-4 season that sees the Gators sit 2-4 in the SEC and 4th in the East Division a year away from a game appearance SEC Championship – the presence of Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts on this team notwithstanding – questions about the direction of the program, especially as Georgia continues to distance itself from its arch-rival, should not die out of so early.
