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My take on a post Nick Saban era Dan Mullen
Posted on 12/4/20 at 2:17 pm
Posted on 12/4/20 at 2:17 pm
I personally believe unless Alabama trolls the entire country and hires another one of the (formerly) modern day big 3 in zombie Urban Meyer and Dabo, then a level playing field in the SEC would have Dan Mullen flourish.
I think out of all the current SEC coaches he has the most sustainable program operation and understands the feel of the game better than most other people. I know Georgia has really taken off lately, but I think they were more so a shock to the system, similar to how Saban was to the west. Saban’s presence in the west and the SEC has seemingly started an ongoing arms race ever since his domination in recruiting a decade and some change ago....this leading to programs like Ole Miss, MSU, Auburn....traditionally non-impactful nationally...making big splashes in select years.
The one thing that Dan always had at MSU and seems to have finally grasped at Florida is consistency. All he needs is a competent defense and his club will be set up for great success. Kirby in contrast I feel is very up and down when it comes to his club. His defense is always pretty tough (except lately) but the highs are extremely high and the lows are super low.
All in all, I believe Mullen will outlive pretty much every other coach in the SEC sans Jimbo...who’s a bit of a mystery to me. At the very least he’s proven to me he can win with shite QB play in a competitive division/conference....so that’s a plus
This isn’t a knock on Georgia thread, as a side note, and yes I’m aware of his record since his arrival. But going off what I observe, unless Georgia makes a drastic philosophy or institutional change, Florida appears the superior program and on the upward trend.
I think out of all the current SEC coaches he has the most sustainable program operation and understands the feel of the game better than most other people. I know Georgia has really taken off lately, but I think they were more so a shock to the system, similar to how Saban was to the west. Saban’s presence in the west and the SEC has seemingly started an ongoing arms race ever since his domination in recruiting a decade and some change ago....this leading to programs like Ole Miss, MSU, Auburn....traditionally non-impactful nationally...making big splashes in select years.
The one thing that Dan always had at MSU and seems to have finally grasped at Florida is consistency. All he needs is a competent defense and his club will be set up for great success. Kirby in contrast I feel is very up and down when it comes to his club. His defense is always pretty tough (except lately) but the highs are extremely high and the lows are super low.
All in all, I believe Mullen will outlive pretty much every other coach in the SEC sans Jimbo...who’s a bit of a mystery to me. At the very least he’s proven to me he can win with shite QB play in a competitive division/conference....so that’s a plus
This isn’t a knock on Georgia thread, as a side note, and yes I’m aware of his record since his arrival. But going off what I observe, unless Georgia makes a drastic philosophy or institutional change, Florida appears the superior program and on the upward trend.
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Posted on 12/4/20 at 2:22 pm to FourThreeForty
quote:
Kirby in contrast I feel is very up and down when it comes to his club.
Quarterback play
Posted on 12/4/20 at 2:36 pm to FourThreeForty
quote:
this leading to programs like Ole Miss, MSU, Auburn
I see what you did there.
I do agree with the OP though, Florida does look to be in a pretty good trajectory. If they were to somehow win the sec this year I’d expect recruiting to rocket. Now they just need to dump their DC
Posted on 12/4/20 at 2:57 pm to OrangeAndBrew
I’ll say if Grantham has this team stopping bamas o, then we may have to see how he does in playoffs before firing him
Posted on 12/4/20 at 2:59 pm to OrangeAndBrew
Dan is elite at scheming and developing players. That allows him to compete at or close to championship level without needing top 5 recruiting classes every year.
So yah those two traits correlate strongly with consistency in college football.
Can he reach the pinnacle though that's the question.
So yah those two traits correlate strongly with consistency in college football.
Can he reach the pinnacle though that's the question.
Posted on 12/4/20 at 3:03 pm to FourThreeForty
quote:
I believe Mullen will outlive pretty much every other coach in the SEC
If the right NFL team offered Mullen a head coaching job he will be gone from the SEC
Posted on 12/4/20 at 3:36 pm to FourThreeForty
quote:
I think out of all the current SEC coaches he has the most sustainable program operation
Out of curiosity, what metric/measurables are you basing this on? I'll happily admit if I'm wrong next year, but even by most reasonable Gator's takes, he's got the makings of a pretty severe rebuild just next year. Just making a rough guess, but looks like about 9/11 starters on offense will be getting replaced at first glance. Looks like maybe 5/11 on Defense (no clue if there are any early departures expected, so tried to go just based on graduation - though extra year of Covid eligibility could throw a wrinkle into everyone's guesses on who leaves).
quote:
This isn’t a knock on Georgia thread, as a side note, and yes I’m aware of his record since his arrival. But going off what I observe, unless Georgia makes a drastic philosophy or institutional change, Florida appears the superior program and on the upward trend.
What is it philosophically/institutionally that you feel is needed to change this? I have some personal thoughts on what the team needs to do directionally/strategically, but what in your mind prevents UGA from being the superior program in spite of the record of games played?
Posted on 12/4/20 at 3:48 pm to fibonaccisquared
Actually I don't think reasonable Gator fans believe there is a huge rebuild next year. Mutts said the same thing about our offense last year because our o-line was god awful and we were losing our top 4 WRs.
Emory Jones is ready. Our backfield is stacked with quality RBs. We've gotten a lot of young wideouts a ton of quality playing time this year (and Shorter's transfer has been huge). Both our backup TE's have been very impressive.
Our biggest liabilities on the o-line finally graduate (mainly Delance, Forsyth has been OK this year).
Our offense certainly won't be as potent as this year, but it should be solid.
On D our secondary will improve. D-line could be in trouble though with lack of depth.
Emory Jones is ready. Our backfield is stacked with quality RBs. We've gotten a lot of young wideouts a ton of quality playing time this year (and Shorter's transfer has been huge). Both our backup TE's have been very impressive.
Our biggest liabilities on the o-line finally graduate (mainly Delance, Forsyth has been OK this year).
Our offense certainly won't be as potent as this year, but it should be solid.
On D our secondary will improve. D-line could be in trouble though with lack of depth.
This post was edited on 12/4/20 at 3:53 pm
Posted on 12/4/20 at 3:52 pm to fibonaccisquared
Haha 1980
Posted on 12/4/20 at 3:58 pm to fibonaccisquared
In the last 3-4 recruiting classes, Florida has averaged somewhere around the 9-11 range whereas Georgia has been top 5 in ALL of them.
Mullen’s first years pretty much have delivered what you’d expect from a decently talented and well coached Florida team. 10-11 wins. Kirby is slightly better over his tenure BUT his recruiting and staff you could argue is significantly better. It seems the difference is Mullen is the superior planner but Kirby essentially recruit just like Saban and his staff.
I myself will always believe gameplanning beats superior talent when the playing field is relatively even like say 2018 Bama vs. Georgia. This is why I believe Alabama vs. Florida will be a lot closer than people think.
Mullen’s first years pretty much have delivered what you’d expect from a decently talented and well coached Florida team. 10-11 wins. Kirby is slightly better over his tenure BUT his recruiting and staff you could argue is significantly better. It seems the difference is Mullen is the superior planner but Kirby essentially recruit just like Saban and his staff.
I myself will always believe gameplanning beats superior talent when the playing field is relatively even like say 2018 Bama vs. Georgia. This is why I believe Alabama vs. Florida will be a lot closer than people think.
Posted on 12/4/20 at 3:59 pm to FourThreeForty
I predict a lot of pissed off GA fans in this thread.
Posted on 12/4/20 at 4:05 pm to olemc999
I would probably be pissed but I'm not reading all that
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