Former college football coach Dan Mullen has served as a color commentator and studio analyst for the better part of two seasons at ESPN. But whether a return to coaching is in the cards remains to be seen.
Mullen recently discussed the possibility of a return to coaching after an opening emerged at his former school. But that opportunity was short-lived, as former Oklahoma and Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was hired to be the next head coach at Mississippi State over the weekend.
“You never say never, but I don’t know if this is the right time,” Mullen said of the opportunity at the time.
That appears to be the case with another head coaching job, in which his name also surfaced as a potential candidate. Just last week, Mullen reportedly met with Syracuse’s director of athletics John Wildhack, according to CNY Central’s Tommy Sladek.
But the 51-year-old Mullen no longer appears to be in the running, and that’s according to Mullen himself.
“Love the cuse. But will not be the next head coach,” Mullen wrote on Twitter/X, in response to a user that sent him a Syrcause football-related gif.
Love the cuse. But will not be the next head coach.
— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) November 27, 2023
Whether Syracuse has zeroed in on Dino Babers’ replacement or Mullen removed himself from consideration is currently unknown. But it does appear that Mullen’s name will continue to resurface for some of these second-tier Power Five jobs, even if he doesn’t like to recruit, according to Georgia Bulldogs head coach and his friend, Kirby Smart.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Mullen’s name surface for an opening. Mullen’s name was brought up back in January for a potential offensive coordinator job at Alabama. According to ESPN’s Chris Low, Mullen wanted to concentrate on his TV career as an analyst.
In talking to several close to the situation, Dan Mullen is not a candidate for @AlabamaFTBL’s OC job. Mullen has enjoyed the time away from coaching to be with his family and also wants to concentrate on his TV career as a football analyst.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 25, 2023
And it appears that he’ll continue to do so.
Mullen last coached at the collegiate level in 2021. His tenure at the University of Florida started with a bang but ended with a whimper. During his first two seasons in Gainesville, he led the Gators to at least 1o wins, two New Year’s Six bowl victories and back-to-back top-10 finishes. After narrowly losing to Alabama in the 2020 SEC Championship game, Mullen saw his tenure in the swamp and the team’s performance take a nose dive. With a series of upset losses to unranked opponents, which saw Florida at 5-6, on the outside looking in at a potential bowl berth, Mullen was dismissed.
Prior to his time at UF, Mullen served as the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs from 2009-17, where he had moderate success with the program. He most notably led the team to an Orange Bowl appearance in 2014.
While his coaching career will not continue at Syracuse or Mississippi State, Mullen will continue to lean on his expertise at the Worldwide Leader.
