Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since his post-game press conference at the Cotton Bowl.
A whole lot has happened in the nearly two months since, and Mullen finally had his opportunity to address those things, arguably the biggest being his future at Florida.
Rumors of Mullen’s interest in the NFL have been flying for years, and will continue to come up each offseason so long as he is successful. His comments on Tuesday did not do much to shut that down.
Mullen did not deny future interest in taking the next step in his career, but confirmed he did not have immediate plans to leave following the 2020 season.
“I didn’t interview with any NFL teams this year,” he said. “Most of my focus was on getting us back to Atlanta to get back to the SEC Championship Game. There were a lot of rumors out there, but I didn’t speak to anybody.”
The question remained if the interest was there, whether it be soon or in the coming years.
“What’s college football going to look like in three or four years?” Mullen asked. “I think there’s a lot of uncertainty with that, that we’re trying to figure out as coaches right now to see what our futures are going to hold.”
Of course, the uncertainty he referred to could be linked to the new name, image and likeness law that is set to take effect in Florida on July 1.
“I’m not against it,” he said of the law. “I’m for helping the athletes get what they deserve.”
The problem with it, Mullen implied, is that there will always be unintended consequences. He is interested to see how it changes recruiting, transfer rules and the landscape of college football as a whole.
Another concern for Mullen’s future seems to be his contract with Florida. With an overall record of 29-9 as the head coach of the Gators, Mullen has yet to get a contract extension.
Three years remain on his contract. Typically, with success, college coaches are given four years at any given time.
This could potentially become an issue by way of negative recruiting from other programs.
“I don’t control that part of it,” Mullen said. “I’ve gotta worry about what I can control, which is getting the team ready to go for practice on Thursday. That can be in somebody else’s press conference. That would be a good question for them.”
It was a bit unclear as to whether he meant that is a question for rival coaches to answer or for his boss Scott Stricklin to answer. Either way, there is still a load to unpack when it comes to Mullen’s future and his intentions with the NFL and other opportunities.
For now, he is still the head coach at Florida and working to build a championship team.
“I love being here at the University of Florida,” Mullen said. “I think we have a great program. We have a great fanbase, a great history, and the opportunity to become a championship program every single year.