Questions raised about Mullen’s Florida future

GAINESVILLE, FLA. » Florida coach Dan Mullen could be on the verge of opting out.

One week after insisting he hadn’t even thought about the NFL, there are reports that Mullen might walk away from the Gators, telling NFL teams he’s interested in making the jump.

It was tumultuous season for Mullen. He landed Florida on NCAA probation, was dealt a show-cause penalty for recruiting violations, was fined and reprimanded by the Southeastern Conference for his role in a benches-clearing fight, and was widely criticized for seemingly tone-deaf comments following two losses.

Mullen has acknowledged the landscape in college football is changing.

The burgeoning transfer portal forces coaches to continually re-recruit their own players and there are also the undetermined challenges regarding name, image and likeness earning potential. And the coronavirus pandemic exposed college athletics for having an overspending financial model that’s capable of crumbling on short notice.

“College football as we know it will be very different over the next several years,” Mullen said before last week’s Cotton Bowl. “I don’t want to say it’s going to be better, worse. It’s just going to be different than what a lot of college football is used to. The world is ever-changing.

“I think that part of it, with everything changing in college football, it will be very different moving forward.”

While Mullen has had success, he has not publicly commented on reports of his desire to possibly leave.