College football’s top 25 highest-paid coaches for 2020 season

11. Dan Mullen – Florida

• 2020 Salary: $6.1 million

Florida went through a tumultuous tenure from Jim McElwain’s time in Gainesville. The Gators went 22-12 with him as head coach, but the record wasn’t even as bad as what was happening off the field. Eventually, UF attempted to fire him with cause before they mutually agreed to end the relationship.

After going through a messy divorce, the school obviously wanted something more permanent. This is the same school that went 80-plus years without a National Championship, only to win with some of the best coaches in recent memory (Meyer and Steve Spurrier). There were the violations of 1984 that erased their best season up until that point and took out postseason berths when the team actually had a shot to compete for a title.

These feelings push a team like Florida to pay well when a good coach comes through the doors. When you really look at this contract, it really is in Mullen’s favor. Not only does he get one of the top salaries in the country, but he also has a $12 million buyout from the university, while only having a $2 million buyout to go somewhere else.

It’s worked out swimmingly for the Gators. He’s had double-digit wins in each of the last two seasons, taking over a team that went 4-7 the previous year. He’s beaten a top-ten team in each season and won a bowl game in his first two seasons as head coach. He’s done everything he’s been asked to do short of beat the Georgia Bulldogs. We’ll see what happens this season when the Bulldogs have to replace a lot of players.

Just look at this past season. Their quarterback Feleipe Franks took one of the worst hits you’ll see on a college football field. The season could have ended on his shattered ankle. Instead, he put his confidence in Kyle Trask and the team didn’t miss a beat. That comes from the coach to have his team rally, and Florida is lucky to be able to pay this man more than $6 million.