When we posted earlier today about potential replacements for Urban Meyer as Florida’s head coach, we tossed out a couple of names that would seem to be no-brainers for the rumor mill -- Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh and Boise State’ Chris Peterson -- but also missed a couple of obvious potential candidates.
Both Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, based on their past association with Meyer, will likely have their names at or near the top of any type of speculation regarding the opening. Whittingham has been called “Urban Jr.” by many in the media and replaced Meyer at Utah -- after a brief flirtation with BYU -- when Meyer bolted for Gainesville. Mullen was Meyer’s offensive coordinator for four seasons at Florida before taking the Bulldogs job this year.
While all of this is just sheer speculation at this point in time, ESPN.com‘s SEC blogger Chris Low has tossed a very intriguing name into the early speculative mix.
Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan.
According to Low, Shanahan was a candidate for the Florida job earlier this decade when Steve Spurrier left for the NFL, and maintains a good relationship with UF athletic director Jeremy Foley.
Shanahan reportedly all but has the Washington Redskins’ coaching job in his back pocket when it comes open, but his name being tossed into the rumor ring is intriguing nonetheless.
That being said, it would seem as if there’s little chance that Shanahan will be part of the process, and maintain that the two names to keep an early eye on are Peterson and new Louisville head coach -- and former Gator defensive coordinator -- Charlie Strong.