Dan Mullen was once a member of Florida’s coaching staff but that didn’t stop him from firing this shot.
SEC coaches are famous (or perhaps infamous) for throwing shade in the direction of other programs within the conference, and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen was the latest to join that party. In Mullen’s case, though, his shot across the bow happened to involve a former employer in the Florida Gators.
Dan Mullen not surprised Florida hired his AD, throws this in, "We've won more games than Florida over the last six seasons."
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) September 28, 2016
For background, Florida poached Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin earlier this week to replace the departed Jeremy Foley and, for all we know, this statement was made in good faith. Still, Mullen took things below the belt by bringing in Florida’s mediocre football record in the recent past, as the Gators claimed only 47 victories over the six-year period from 2010 through 2015.
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It should be noted that it is not as if Mississippi State mauled Florida in terms of win total over that six-year period, as the Bulldogs picked up 50 victories without ever claiming real SEC supremacy. In the same breath, Mullen is simply acting on the bravado that his fan base (and the media) likely enjoys very much, and this type of friendly (or not so friendly) banter really helps to build up the conference and rivalries within it.
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No sane person would question that the Florida Gators are on a different level as a football program than the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the long term, and much of that is tied to history, facilities and the recruiting base that arrives automatically from setting up shop within the borders of Florida. However, Dan Mullen has certainly established a strong foothold in Starkville over the past few seasons, and if he feels it necessary to lob shots at a “rival” that dwells on the other side of the conference, more power to him for doing just that.