Getty Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen was endorsed by Saturday Down South's Matt Hayes to be the next offensive coordinator for Alabama football
Dan Mullen was endorsed by Saturday Down South’s Matt Hayes to be the next Alabama football offensive coordinator in his latest piece titled ‘Ultracompetitive Dan Mullen would be perfect fit with Tide.’
Hayes made the claim that there’s not a more qualified offensive coordinator candidate Nick Saban can find. “Tide coach Nick Saban is in the market for a new OC and quarterbacks coach/play-caller, and of those on the market — or, really, at other colleges or in the NFL — he’s not going to get a better, more motivated candidate,” he wrote.
The Saturday Down South writer referenced a former Mullen assistant’s opinion of the 50-year-old to support his Alabama football endorsement. “He’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever met, that’s why,” an unnamed former Mullen assistant told Hayes. “He’ll race you from the counter at the (convenience) store to the car — and pull and grab and bang shoulders the whole way.”
Matt Hayes Defends Dan Mullen For Florida Firing
While Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators nearly ended what turned out to be a perfect championship season for Alabama football on December 19, 2020 during the SEC Championship, it took less than a year for Mullen to be dismissed from Gainesville after that. Saturday Down South’s Matt Hayes believes he was fired in part due to the shortcomings of his quarterbacks and the impatience of his boosters, though he didn’t exonerate Mullen completely.
“Forget about how it ended at Florida, with his inability to recruit at a high level colliding head on with an underachieving quarterback duo that couldn’t stop throwing interceptions,” he wrote. “Florida boosters aren’t patient, and they ran off a guy with a strong history of developing quarterbacks and unique play-calling — and 3 New Year’s 6 bowls on his resume.”
Hayes believes the SEC championship game earned Mullen the respect of Nick Saban, the man who’d potentially be bringing him out of retirement. “Understand this: Saban remembers who stresses his defense — like he remembered how Lane Kiffin in 2009 took a depleted Tennessee team into Tuscaloosa and nearly won,” he wrote. “Or Mullen in 2020, when Florida traded blows with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, and but for 2 critical mistakes that led to Alabama touchdowns — a personal foul call on 3rd down, and a fumble after an interception — could’ve beaten what Saban considers his best team in Tuscaloosa.”
How Nick Saban Can Convince Dan Mullen to Join Alabama Football
Saturday Down South’s Matt Hayes plotted out how Nick Saban can go about dragging Dan Mullen away from his northeastern Florida beach home. The pitch Hayes formulated for Saban is a simple one.
“So how does Saban get Mullen to bite? Easy: Let’s go win it all — and get back on top because of your offense and my defense and the players we develop,” he wrote.
Hayes even went as far as to suggest dangling the Alabama football head coaching job to Mullen. “And who knows what happens down the road if Saban returns to the top of the mountain and Mullen develops a dynamic offense, and Saban eventually decides to retire.”