ESPN: Florida Gators' Dan Mullen 'Could Garner Interest' From NFL

Could Dan Mullen be the latest successful college head coach to make a jump to the NFL?

Dan Mullen is focused on his Florida Gators, facing the LSU Tigers this weekend, and SEC Championship against Alabama the next.

After that? We'll see.

ESPN shared in a story, discussing the statuses of NFL head coaching and front office jobs that are, and might, come available by this offseason, that UF's head coach could entertain the NFL at some point. Should he, the story notes, the NFL probably would reciprocate the interest.

And don't forget about Florida's Dan Mullen, whose latest quarterback prospect, Kyle Trask, is in line for a Heisman Trophy. People close to Mullen believe that he would entertain the NFL at some point and could garner interest when he does.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise to see an NFL team come calling as Mullen, 48, has put together one of the most exciting offenses, and best teams, in college football this year. He's well on his way to his third New Year's Six Bowl in as many years at Florida, if not a College Football Playoff berth should the Gators defeat the Crimson Tide on Dec. 19.

Matt Rhule, at age 44, made a jump to the Carolina Panthers from Baylor a year ago after three years with the program, turning the Bears from a 1-11 team in his first year to an 11-3, Sugar Bowl-qualifying team in his third. The year before, the Arizona Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury as head coach, then aged 39, despite Texas Tech not retaining him with a 35-40 record in six seasons. 

The Cardinals eyed Kingsbury's innovation as an offensive-minded coach, and selected Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick three months later to pair with their new lead man. This season, Arizona is 6-6 and in the hunt for the playoffs, while Murray has been in the NFL MVP conversation

And those are just two examples, both within the past two years. Mullen is more than qualified based on previous jumps from college to NFL, and he hasn't exactly shut down the idea before when asked about the possibility of doing it himself.

"I haven’t talked to anybody from the NFL. But they’re like in the middle of their season still," Mullen shared after the Tennessee game on Saturday. "I’m just happy to be the head coach for the Florida Gators right now, getting ready to go to Atlanta and play for an SEC championship. That’s what we’ve worked really hard for. I’m going to really just enjoy that.” 

You can decipher that how you would please.

As things stand, three NFL teams have head coaching vacancies: The Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have already fired their general manager, and New York Jets will likely open that role up as well. ESPN also suggested the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles could look to move on from their head coaches and general managers, but noted that Doug Pederson has precedent to stick around after a bad season according to their sources.

For what it's worth, Mullen has, perhaps somewhat joking, said that he doesn't like the cold weather. He prepared to bundle up for the Tennessee game when forecasts suggested the temperature would be in the high 40s-to-low 50s. "Anything below 60," Mullen retorted, "you might be looking at me, people will be laughing." 

You'd figure, if ESPN's intel on Mullen's potential NFL aspirations come to fruition, New York and other northern teams may not be high on his list.

But Jacksonville? Houston? Those would make a lot more sense. Sunny weather (with an opening dome in H-Town), Jacksonville being less than two hours from Gainesville (and continuing to live without state income tax in Florida). But most importantly: Assets.

Jacksonville had four picks in the first two rounds of this upcoming NFL Draft, likely including a top-three pick with a need at quarterback and several to chose from that high on the pecking order. The Jaguars are also projected to have the third-most cap space in the league this offseason.

Houston, on the other hand, has one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL under contract through the 2025 season in Deshaun Watson. Watson's style of play would fit the style of offense Mullen has traditionally run, a smashmouth-spread where the quarterback is often a threat with his legs paired with an efficient passing game. However, Houston doesn't have a first or second-round pick this year and the cap situation would need to be cleaned up.

This is obviously all speculative at this point, but until Mullen signs a contract extension with Florida, his name will continue to be floated around NFL circles given the Gators' performance. UF has not yet extended Mullen's original deal, and as he enters year four, he currently ranks No. 10 among head coaching salaries nationally.

It might be time to try.