Mullen in at Florida; Sumlin out at A&M

Dan Mullen spent the last 13 years in the Southeastern Conference.

He probably should have been Florida’s top target from the start.

Instead, it took Chip Kelly spurning the Gators for athletic director Scott Stricklin to turn to his close friend and former Starkville, Mississippi, neighbor.

Stricklin hired Mullen as Florida’s next head coach Sunday, bringing back the guy who helped make Tim Tebow a star.

The Gators announced the deal after Mullen told the Bulldogs he was returning to Gainesville.

The move reunites Stricklin and Mullen, who worked together in Starkville from 2009 to 2016. Stricklin was Mullen’s AD for seven of those years. SUMLIN OUT AT TEXAS A&M » Kevin Sumlin was never ever able to recreate his wildly successful first season at Texas A&M. Even though the winning continued it wasn’t enough.

Sumlin was fired Sunday after six seasons in College Station, Texas. All of them earned bowl trips for the Aggies and finished with above-.500 records.

CFL

TORONTO WINS GREY CUP » Lirim Hajrullahu kicked a 32-yard field goal with 49 seconds left and the Toronto Argonauts stunned the Calgary Stampeders, 27-24, on Sunday in the Canadian Football League’s snowy 105th Grey Cup.

Toronto tied it with 4:35 to go on Cassius Vaughn’s Grey Cup-record 109-yard fumble return and Ricky Ray’s 2-point conversion pass to Declan Cross.