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Florida fires head football coach Dan Mullen

Published  November 21, 2021 5:29pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando

Florida AD Scott Stricklin discusses firing of Dan Mullen

Florida fired coach Dan Mullen on Sunday, a day after his sixth loss in nine games, two months after the Gators went toe to toe with defending national champion Alabama and a year after they had a chance to make the College Football Playoff.

LAKE MARY, Fla. - The University of Florida has fired head football coach Dan Mullen just a day after the Gators lost in overtime to Missouri, athletic director Scott Stricklin said during an afternoon news conference.

The Gators dropped to 5-6 overall and 2-6 in SEC play after the 24-23 loss. Mullen noted at the end it was the team’s "seventh straight loss in one-possession games." Missouri entered the game with the nation’s 118th-ranked defense, with the Gators’ offense scoring 92 points in the last two games.

But it appeared to be bigger than that for Florida. Mullen’s team was ranked as high as 10th this season and started promising even with the two-point loss to Alabama in their third game. But since then, the team lost to Kentucky, LSU, and Georgia and they were trounced by South Carolina.

florida gators dan mullen

Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts against the LSU Tigers during a game at Tiger Stadium on October 16, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Mullen took over as Florida's head coach in 2018 after nine years at Mississippi State. He was 34-15 with the Gators and 2-1 in bowl games but couldn't elevate the team into College Football Playoff contention.

Greg Knox, the team's special teams coordinator/running backs coach, will be the interim head coach.