Florida head coach Dan Mullen improved to 21-5 in his two seasons back at UF with Monday night's Orange Bowl victory over Virginia. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Gators Close Decade in Their Best Position in a Decade
Tuesday, December 31, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
MIAMI GARDENS – In a jubilant Gators locker room, the celebration extended from the final hours of Monday night into the first hour of Tuesday morning.
No matter the direction you looked, players danced to the thumping music. Smoke from victory cigars added a hazy hue to the room. Another season was in the books, capped by a 36-28 victory over Virginia in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
It was a time to party and a time to reflect.
"It feels good to be back where we're at," redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Zachary Carter said. "I think we're in a good place heading into next year."
Only the most cynic observer would scoff at Carter's assessment.
Two seasons into the Dan Mullen era, the Gators walked off the field at Hard Rock Stadium with 21 wins in their last 26 games, a momentous reversal from the spot they occupied at Mullen's first team meeting two years ago: at home for bowl season coming off a 4-7 season, the program's second losing season in five years.
The ninth-ranked Gators capped the second year of the turnaround with a second consecutive New Year's Six bowl win, beating the Cavaliers with 549 yards of offense, some gutsy play-calling and a timely interception by freshman cornerback Kaiir Elam in the fourth quarter. They went from four to 10 wins in Mullen's first season, and from 10 to 11 in his second.
The quest is for the march up to continue, most notably with a Southeastern Conference division title next season and possibly more. The work toward that goal starts Monday when the Gators gather for their first meeting of the 2020 season.
With stability restored, Mullen referenced how the programs in this year's College Football Playoff – LSU, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma – are there by no accident. They have consistently contended in the playoff era and have maintained their momentum the way the Gators did in 2019.
"For our program, this is why those guys came to Florida, to play in big games, play on the biggest stage, to be one of the best programs in the country, and to do that in back-to-back years -- if you want to be able to be a championship program, you've got to win consistently,'' Mullen said. "You don't see teams -- you look at the playoff teams, the guys that made the playoffs this year – they're not teams that just came out of nowhere and hadn't been winning and finally won.
"You're looking at teams -- I think all of them were in New Year's Six bowl games last year. You've got to be a consistent winner to go be a championship program, and I think the guys here in our program are helping us build that."
In the comings days as the Gators return to work under the tutelage of the strength and conditioning staff, Mullen and his staff will begin to meet with players in exit interviews and prepare to close out the 2020 signing class on National Signing Day in February.
They closed the book on the 2019 season in their home state playing in front of a friendly crowd, with senior running back Lamical Perine earning Most Valuable Player honors for his career-high 138 yards rushing and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving). Quarterback Kyle Trask threw for 305 yards and the defense did enough to prevent Cavaliers quarterback Bryce Perkins (28 of 40, 323 yards, 4 TDs) from pulling off an upset.
As a result, the Gators secured a second consecutive top-10 national ranking when the final polls come out next week following the LSU-Clemson national championship game. The last time that happened was the 2008-09 seasons, which marked the end of the Tim Tebow era.
In the decade since, the Florida program experienced its most turbulent period since the NCAA-sanctioned 1980s. Urban Meyer was the coach at the start of the 2010s, was replaced by Will Muschamp, who then gave way to Jim McElwain. Two other men – assistants D.J. Durkin and Randy Shannon – served stints as interim head coaches.
The Gators finished the decade with an 81-46 record, a significant drop from the past two decades when UF won 100 of 130 games (and two national titles) in the 2000s and went 102-22-1 in the 1990s – winning the school's first national title in 1996 – as the program blossomed under Steve Spurrier.
Finally, the Gators turned the corner when Mullen returned to where he served as Meyer's offensive coordinator from 2005-08 following a nine-year run as head coach at Mississippi State. He instantly injected the Gators with some much-needed positive energy and a plan of attack for a program and fan base he knew well. Mullen also showed off the touch that earned him the nickname "The Quarterback Whisperer," helping resurrect the career of Feleipe Franks, and once Franks was lost for the season due to an ankle injury, revamping the offense to better suit Trask's skill-set and mixing in doses of backup Emory Jones when needed.
Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, who lured Dan Mullen away from Mississippi State to come back to Florida, does a Gator Chomp during the on-field celebration after Monday night's win over Virginia at Hard Rock Stadium. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Senior receiver Josh Hammond, who along with Perine and others from the 2016 signing class hung around when Mullen took over two years into their careers and played instrumental roles the resurgence, walked out of the locker room Tuesday morning with a message to the younger players and future Gators.
"Trust everything Mullen is doing,'' Hammond said. "He will prepare them the proper way and put them in the right situation for them to be successful. Trust his plan and work really hard."
Basking in his seventh victory in nine bowl games as a head coach, Mullen credited the team's veterans for their crucial commitment during the program's makeover. Without them, Mullen doesn't become the first coach in UF history to win 10 or more games in each of his first two seasons.
"They've bought in and they've restored that Gator standard, and they get to walk out the door knowing they've restored the Gator standard to what it is, building that foundation of a team that expects to – yeah, we haven't got to where we need to be yet to compete, to go win an SEC and a national championship – but they're certainly living up to that Gator standard of being one of the best teams and best programs in the country," Mullen said.
Several lockers down from where Hammond packed his belongings, senior linebacker David Reese contemplated the journey from an appearance in the SEC Championship Game as a freshman, a losing record as a sophomore, a 10-win comeback season as a junior and an 11-2 season and Orange Bowl championship as a senior.
The only disappointment in his voice was when he took a look at the final stat sheet and noticed he was only credited with five tackles. It sure seemed like more.
"It feels great to end with my class I came in here with on a high note,'' Reese said. "Doing something for this program. Another 11-win season is big and another step toward a national championship, which I feel these boys will get in the near future."
That was the plan the day Mullen took over. Two years later, the Gators are a lot closer to making it a reality.
