Gators head coach Dan Mullen fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy on Sunday.
Here are six thoughts I have on a wild night in Gator Nation.
1. These firings absolutely needed to happen sooner rather than later.
First, there is the technique and scheme aspect of things. Grantham’s defense has gotten absolutely destroyed by two bad rushing offenses this season, and they still don’t know how to defend a counter play.
Then there are the mind-boggling decisions to play their cornerbacks 10 yards off the ball on third-and-4 and to only put six guys in the box against teams that are gashing them on the ground. There’s no amount of recruiting or player development that’s going to overcome that.
Hevesy’s offensive line has regressed throughout the season. Terrible recruiting and a lack of development have caused them to mostly rely on just a seven-man rotation. With at least one or two of them banged up in a given week, they have absolutely no depth. And they’re going to lose at least two of those seven players after the season, which makes next season a scary thought.
Additionally, firing Grantham and Hevesy now was needed for Mullen to regain the players’ trust, at least somewhat. When linebacker Mohamoud Diabate made his comments after the LSU game about making the adjustments that they were told to make and how he just does what he’s instructed to do, it became quite clear that the players no longer believed in Grantham or his scheme.
Based on Gerald Mincey’s reaction to Hevesy’s firing (more on that below), it seems like the players had turned against him as well.
By making these changes now, Mullen gave off the impression that he’s listening to his players’ concerns and making the appropriate adjustments. Whether that means anything or not in the long term remains to be seen, but it certainly doesn’t hurt in the immediate future.
2. I’m not sure what this means for Mullen’s future.
The biggest reason for my uncertainty is that I don’t know how much of this decision was Mullen’s and how much of it was him feeling the pressure from the administration and fans and trying to appease them.
If athletic director Scott Stricklin had something to do with this, then that probably means that Mullen will return next year barring a complete meltdown, such as missing a bowl game. Why would he pressure Mullen into making staff changes and then fire Mullen anyway? If he fires Mullen, the next head coach will just clean house and bring in a new staff anyway.
If this was entirely Mullen’s idea, then I don’t think his situation has changed much at all. In this scenario, he would just be trying to make himself look better to Stricklin, and who knows if Stricklin is buying it or not?
Stay tuned. As the last couple of days have proven, things can change quickly in college football.
3. IF Mullen’s decision to part with Hevesy was entirely his own (and that’s a big if), then that’s an encouraging sign.
Fair or unfair, Mullen has developed a reputation for being extremely loyal to his assistants. Hevesy had worked for him since 2001. He’s worked with receivers coach Billy Gonzales for all but three seasons since 2001. Running backs coach Greg Knox has worked for him since 2009.
Mullen and Hevesy undoubtedly developed a strong friendship over the years, so delivering the news to him must’ve been extremely tough. If he did it unprovoked, then that might be a sign that Mullen is starting to recognize his own faults and making corrections. That would bode well for the future.
4. I don’t think I’ve ever seen players and recruits publicly celebrate a coach’s firing like this before.
Even when a team is going through a tough season, it’s still disappointing for a player to see his coach get fired. After all, they’ve likely known that coach since they were a freshman or sophomore in high school, and they signed to play for him for a reason.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday night. Mincey and linebacker Diwun Black seemed to express happiness in tweets.
It’s worth noting that Mincey and Black haven’t played much this season, so this could be nothing more than them feeling giddy about the possibility of getting to play more under a different coach. Mincey has since deleted his tweet.
Meanwhile, top-100 defensive back recruit Azareyeh Thomas, who has trended away from Florida in recent weeks, sent out a cryptic message that may or may not mean anything.
Mincey, Black and Thomas probably aren’t alone; I can just about guarantee you that other players and recruits feel the same way but just don’t want to stir up controversy.
The fact that some of the players were apparently holding in their frustrations toward the coaches for weeks is probably a big reason why this season has crumbled the way that it has.
5. Maybe this is the jolt that this team needed to finish the season strong.
Obviously, there are some serious long-term concerns with this program, and firing two coaches isn’t going to solve all of them.
But, in the short term, this team just needs to find a way to win their remaining games, make a bowl game and get rid of some of this negative energy.
They looked completely lifeless against South Carolina. Maybe seeing their head coach have their backs and give them something to look forward to (at least in their minds) will wake them up a little bit and cause them to play with more passion and vigor. If nothing else, these final three games plus the possible bowl game will serve as their audition for the next defensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
In baseball, a manager will sometimes intentionally get ejected from the game to fire his team up. Perhaps the firings of Grantham and Hevesy will have a similar effect on the Gators.
6. It goes without saying, but Mullen needs to nail these hires.
There likely will be more staff openings after the season, but we’ll just focus on the defensive coordinator and offensive line coach jobs for now.
If Mullen gets another season, it will be because the administration believes that he’s capable of turning their fortunes around with some better help around him. With the fans gunning for Mullen, the leash doesn’t figure to be very long.
So, he needs to hire a pair of coaches who are capable of fixing the offensive line and the defense immediately. He doesn’t have the luxury of being able to hire someone who needs a couple of recruiting cycles to show meaningful improvement.
At defensive coordinator, some coaches to keep an eye on are Gene Chizik, Manny Diaz and Kevin Steele. Keep in mind that this is just my list and is not based on any sort of inside information.
Chizik is a former national-championship-winning head coach at Auburn. He currently serves as an analyst on the SEC Network and hasn’t coached since 2016, so it’s unknown if he even wants to coach again.
Diaz is the head coach at Miami but is believed to be treading on thin ice. He spent two stints with Mullen at Mississippi State and delivered solid results both times.
Steele has more than 40 years of major college football and NFL experience, with most of it coming in the SEC. He’s unemployed after Auburn and Tennessee’s new head coaches both opted not to retain him, but he’s developed a solid reputation for fielding stingy defenses.
At offensive line coach, former Gators player Phil Trautwein (2004-08) is the sentimental favorite among fans. While he’s a good recruiter at Penn State, the Nittany Lions are only averaging 3.2 yards per rush this season despite having some talented running backs. So, there’s reason to be a little skeptical of him.
My first choice as of now would probably be Kentucky’s Eric Wolford. The Wildcats have one of the best offensive lines in the SEC. He also coached under Steve Spurrier for a year at South Carolina, was the head coach at Youngstown State for five years and worked for the San Francisco 49ers for two seasons. Wolford is regarded as an excellent recruiter, which should be the main focus with this hire.
Land a couple of coaches who are great recruiters and have a track record of success at the highest levels, and this will be a successful offseason for Mullen.