The Sky Isn't Falling

Coaching issues were obvious in Florida's loss to Georgia, but building a dominant program takes more than a season and a half - believe it or not.

Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports

As deflating as their 24-17 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs was, likely eliminating any shot at the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff for the 2019 season, overreactions are rampant on social media questioning the legitimacy of Florida's head coach Dan Mullen.

The sky isn't falling, Gators fans. 

It's completely fair to have questions and to criticize the team's performance against Georgia - I'm in that boat. It was a poorly coached game from head to toe.

But how often do you find yourself saying that? In comparison, how often do you find yourself saying the opposite, and praising Mullen and Company following a game?

To act as if this game is definitive of Mullen's ability to lead a program is silly, considering what he has accomplished during his short time at Florida.

He owns a 17-5 record, with a dominant Peach Bowl victory in year one under his belt, most likely another New Years' Six Bowl game on the doorstep, and he has maintained a Top 10 record with, essentially, a lifetime backup quarterback in Kyle Trask leading the charge.

That's a damn good bio. And it doesn't even include the context that comes with how Florida operated prior to 2018.

In a vacuum, fans of a team searching for a head coach - at any school in the country (not named Alabama and Clemson) - could read that as a blind résumé and sign up for it immediately. And quite frankly, they'd keep the same opinion after learning that it belongs to Mullen.

Building a dominant program takes more than a season and a half. Not every coach is Nick Saban. Not every coach is Dabo Swinney. Not every coach is what Scott Frost was to UCF - going undefeated in year two, albeit against lesser competition but impressive nonetheless. And there aren't many other examples that come to mind.

It's unrealistic to hold those expectations on a coach in charge of not only winning football games, but totally reshaping a program from head to toe.

And that's what Mullen has been tasked with. 

Not a soul could have predicted the early success that Mullen has found after watching the 4-7 team that Jim McElwain led onto the field in 2017. Not a soul could have even predicted a Peach Bowl victory 13 games into Mullen's tenure, given the struggles both on the field and recruiting from McElwain and Will Muschamp over the prior seven years to the Mullen era.

Year: National Rank - Avg. Commit

2015: 21st - 0.8726
2016: 12th - 0.8872
2017: 11th - 0.8911
2018: 14th - 0.9075
2019: 9th - 0.9106
2020: 10th - 0.9014*

*class pending

Don't hurt yourself, facts can be tough. https://t.co/lHX5fyyHP7

— Thomas Goldkamp (@ThomasGoldkamp) November 3, 2019

And truth be told, the success we saw from Mullen through his 21 games prior to the Georgia loss didn't feel sustainable in the first place, given the nature of rebuilding a program and the time it requires. Which only makes the 17-4 record in that span even more impressive.

Recruiting certainly will need to improve. It was also always going to take time considering the on-field struggles and off-field controversies through the end of the McElwain era. And as the tweet above suggests, recruiting is on an upward trend. It's not where it needs to be to compete with the elite, but it's moving in the right direction with momentum.

No, Florida isn't ready to dethrone Georgia in the SEC East yet. They need blue-chip talents, which will come. There are in-game coaching issues that must be sorted out - that will take time as the Gators continue to play in big, really important games. 

Dan Mullen hasn't even been in Gainesville for two years, and up until Saturday, no one questioned Mullen's ability to lead the program out of dark days unless they were being a bit pessimistic. 

Considering all of this, flipping the narrative on his ability to lead Florida to further success after one bad loss, to the soon-to-be SEC East champion for the third year in a row, feels rushed. 

It takes time to build a contending SEC program, and Dan Mullen is, honestly, way ahead of schedule. Critiquing bad losses is necessary to remain objective, but throwing out the successes that Florida has had recently, in comparison to its lows over the last decade, over one bad loss to a really good team doesn't feel right.

The sky isn't falling.