Football at Florida is on hiatus for the moment. Well, on the field at least.
Off the field? Business is still moving forward. According to the Gainesville Sun, the school is in the process of negotiating a new contract with head coach Dan Mullen.
“I don’t know,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said of a timetable on signing something. “I expect Dan to be here a long time.”
Signing Mullen up for more years (and, let’s be honest, more money) is not unsurprising at this point. He’s led Florida to a pair of New Year’s Six Bowl victories in his first two seasons in Gainesville. Overall with the team he’s 21-5 after taking over a program that had won just four games the year prior.
There were also a number of vague rumors linking him with the NFL this offseason.
Mullen is halfway through his original six-year deal he signed upon coming over from Mississippi State. Per USA Today, he made $6.07 million in 2019. That mark was good enough to be the 10th highest paid public school head coach in the country -- but just the fifth in the SEC.
Without a new deal, Mullen will be bumped down at least one notch from those numbers as well with LSU’s Ed Orgeron signing a new mega deal after the Tigers’ national title.
It sounds like something will be done to add money/years over the coming week(s) for Mullen however as UF locks up their coach for the long term ahead of what should be a big campaign in 2020 as potential SEC East favorites.