Mullen Faces a Rare Scenario in SEC History

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – You could say one of the best things Dan Mullen did at Mississippi State was to never say "never." You know, as in never saying the only way he would leave Starkville was "in a pine box."

Former Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville uttered that mistake 20 years ago prior to leaving for Auburn at the end of the 1998 season. When the schools met 10 months later, some of the Rebels fans showed up at Jordan-Hare Stadium wearing T-shirts with a photo of Tuberville on the back. Above the photo were the words: "Liar, Liar."

Mullen joined a small fraternity in the history of the Southeastern Conference when he left Mississippi State after nine seasons to become head coach at Florida. Mullen is just the ninth coach in SEC history to hop from being head coach at one conference school to another in back-to-back seasons (see chart below) since the league officially formed over two days of meetings in Knoxville during December 1932.

COACH	PREVIOUS SCHOOL	NEW SCHOOL	FIRST YEAR	RECORD
Chet Wynne	Auburn	Kentucky	1934	5-5
Harry Mehre	Georgia	Ole Miss	1938	9-2
Red Drew	Ole Miss	Alabama	1947	8-3
Doug Dickey	Tennessee	Florida	1970	7-4
Bill Curry	Alabama	Kentucky	1990	4-7
Gerry DiNardo	Vanderbilt	LSU	1995	7-4-1
Tommy Tuberville	Ole Miss	Auburn	1999	5-6
Houston Nutt	Arkansas	Ole Miss	2008	9-4
Dan Mullen	Miss. State	Florida	2018	TBD

Research: Corinne Simpson, Scott Carter (UAA Communications) via 2018 SEC Football Media Guide, other sources.
Editor's note: Chart includes coaching moves since Southeastern Conference's first season in 1933 and reflects those moves that were within conference alignment at the time. Former SEC members Georgia Tech (1933-63), Sewanee (1933-40) and Tulane (1933-65) are included.

Chet Wynne was the first when after completing a four-year stint at Auburn in the SEC's first season, he resigned to take over at Kentucky the following season. One of Wynne's former Notre Dame teammates became the second four years later.

Eighty years ago, Harry Mehre was forced out by unhappy fans at Georgia and took over at Ole Miss in 1938. Mehre's dilemma produced a memorable quote that made many of his obituaries: "I had a lifetime contract at Georgia until the alumni declared me legally dead."

Mehre, who died in 1978, is one of the most interesting stories in college football history.

"The story of Harry Mehre is quite remarkable," historian Mark Maxwell told the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald after his book on Mehre was published last year. "He played football at Notre Dame under the legendary Coach Knute Rockne. He held the position of head coach at the University of Georgia and at Ole Miss. Later, Harry enjoyed a second career as a highly-respected sports writer and football analyst."

While several head coaches have had success at multiple SEC schools over the years – Bear Bryant, Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban come to mind – Mullen is the first since Houston Nutt a decade ago to make a direct jump from an SEC school to another.

Mullen addressed the issue once again at SEC Media Days on Tuesday when asked about the animosity some Bulldogs fans continue to have toward him since his departure in late November.

"My family and I, we gave everything we had to Mississippi State for nine years. We had a lot of opportunities to go to other places. We really enjoyed our time there and wanted to stay there,'' he said. "The opportunity, though, to be the head coach at the University of Florida is one that I couldn't pass. It's a dream job for me. Even [my wife] Megan said it. When we got that phone call -- I had gotten a lot of them in the past -- but that one was different."

Another twist to Mullen's return to Florida is that on Sept. 29 in the fifth game of the season, he will return to Starkville when the Gators play the Bulldogs at Davis-Wade Stadium. Four of the previous eight head coaches to experience an SEC jump in back-to-back seasons faced their former teams the following season.

In his first season at Kentucky, Wynne's Wildcats hosted Auburn and won 9-0. The Doug Dickey-led Gators suffered a 38-7 loss at Tennessee in 1970 and Auburn's six-game win streak over Ole Miss was snapped to Tuberville's chagrin in 1999. Nutt joined Wynne as the ones who beat his former team, leading Ole Miss to a 23-21 win at Arkansas.

The Rebels had to withstand a late rally by the Razorbacks to escape Arkansas with a victory.

"This game was different,'' Nutt said afterward. "It was emotional and it was very hard."

The Florida-Mississippi State game is still two months away and certain to feature similar storylines as the four previous such matchups in SEC history.

No one has to remind Mullen, who was 69-46 leading the Bulldogs.

"You know, it's going to be a tough -- look at any coach that's went from one school to another in the league, it always becomes a big game,'' he said. "That part of it with the players will be emotional to me. I love the fan base and how they believed what I tried to help build there and get everybody on the same page. The people at Starkville were great to me and my family, and there are great people that have so many fond memories of it.

"It will be a different game for me than the rest of them."

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