5 offensive coordinators Alabama can hire if Bill O’Brien leaves for Patriots

Dan Mullen isn’t a top-tier SEC head coach, but his offensive mind is amazing

Like Garrett Riley, Dan Mullen is someone who I’ve previously mentioned as someone that Alabama football should replace Bill O’Brien with. Of course, that idea was more in a general sense that the program needs a change at offensive coordinator and not with the news that O’Brien might be doing the Crimson Tide a favor by heading back to the NFL and opening up the job.

There’s no escaping the fact that Mullen failed as the head coach of the Florida Gators, which might cause some fans to look at the possibility of Alabama bringing him in a bit side-eyed. But the biggest issue with Mullen as a head coach is that he’s simply not an elite recruiter, which is something that’s demanded of the head coach in Gainesville.

What can never be brought into question with Mullen, both at Florida and previously at Mississippi State, is his ability to scheme on offense and develop talent, particularly at quarterback. He routinely had his teams performing well above expectations on that side of the ball and the results then spoke for themselves. Just look at what he did with Kyle freaking Trask at Florida.

Mullen might not be the flashiest hire, but Nick Saban has found immense success bringing in wayward head coaches for proverbial rehabilitation at Alabama, specifically with offensive coordinators. If Mullen wants to leave a cushy TV gig with ESPN, this would be a great stop for him and one that the Crimson Tide would ultimately benefit from.