SEC Media Days: Florida Gators

When Dan Mullen left Mississippi State to become the head man at Florida back in November, he did so as the second-winningest coach in MSU history. Today, he took part in SEC Media Days with his new school for the first time.

After nine good years in Starkville, it’s a little weird to see Coach Mullen rocking the blue and orange as he made his way to the podium. During his time with the Bulldogs, he made bowl games a habit, accounting for eight of the program’s 21 bowl appearances.

Despite that success, Mullen says leading the Gators was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up, even at the expense of leaving his guys. “I loved my time at Mississippi State, loved the players so much. If there’s one thing that’s really hard, it’s leaving the players is the hardest thing. But it was just the opportunity to be the head coach at Florida is just different, and it’s special. And so my wife said hey, this is just kind of funny. She’s seeing my face and she knew the second I got that call, that was different than all of the rest. And so I think it had a lot more to do with Florida than it had to do with Mississippi State. I had the opportunity to be the head coach at the University of Florida, is a dream for me.”

Mullen was named National and SEC Coach of the Year at Mississippi State in 2014.