Florida football: Dan Mullen making wholesale changes on defense, but not the 1 you’d expect
By John Buhler
Dan Mullen’s Florida Gators could not stop anyone in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night.
After letting Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma Sooners hang more than half a hundred on his Gators defense, Florida football coach Dan Mullen opted to make a few minor changes to his defensive staff.
While everyone in Gainesville seemingly wanted long-time defensive coordinator Todd Grantham gone, there is no indication he will be let go at this time. Leaving the Florida program are safeties coach Ron English and cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray. Though the Florida secondary got carved up in its three most recent losses, the overall defense needs a complete overhaul, quite frankly.
Florida will continue to operate under third-and-Grantham defensively
There were times this season where we thought Florida was championship-caliber. Beating the SEC East rival Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville was the 2020 Gators’ signature win. However, the Gators lost four times this year, including at home to the LSU Tigers, vs. the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship and vs. Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Something has to give here.
The finger pointing of Mullen is starting to get old. Yes, we firmly understand that he is an offensive-minded coach, but his team still needs enough defensive prowess to get a big-time stop in a critical game. Otherwise, the Gators are never going to win the SEC under his watch and make the College Football Playoff. Keeping Grantham for another year only means more of the same.
Florida blew its best chance to make the playoff by playing terrible defense down the stretch.
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