2020 hindsight: 5 coaches Texas could have hired instead of Tom Herman

Dan Mullen could rival Lincoln Riley as the top offensive mind in the Big 12

If Herman was tabbed as the next great Meyer disciple, we have to wonder if the Longhorns would have been better off hiring Meyer’s greatest disciple in Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen. He had been on Meyer’s staff dating back to the early 2000s at Bowling Green. Mullen followed Meyer to Salt Lake City and Gainesville before getting his own gig in 2009.

It was a big challenge for Mullen to get the Mississippi State Bulldogs turned around, but he sure did over the course of nine seasons. Typical SEC West bottom-feeder Mississippi State made it to eight straight bowl games from 2010-2017. In 2014, the Bulldogs were the first-ever No. 1 ranked team in the College Football Playoff era, making it to the Orange Bowl to finish at 10-3.

Though he only went 69-46 and has a sub-.500 record in SEC play at Mississippi State, Mullen did this at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are now on their second head coach since he left for Florida head of the 2018 campaign. Florida has been a top-seven program in all three of his seasons in Gainesville, making New Year’s Six bowls in 2018, 2019 and presumably again in 2020.

The reason Mullen would have been an overwhelming success at Texas is he makes doormat programs relevant and he makes college football blue-bloods title-contending teams. Florida is still alive for the College Football Playoff in early December 2020. If he were coaching Sam Ehlinger, Texas would absolutely be back, and his star signal-caller would be a Heisman Trophy finalist.