A week after booing offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, Florida fans will welcome their ideal play-caller to The Swamp.
But he’ll be standing on the opposite sideline.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen — two years removed from the helm of the Gators’ offense — will lead his Bulldogs against UF on Saturday, serving as a reminder of the high-scoring attacks he guided while in Gainesville.
“I think now that I’m gone the Florida fans like me more than when I was there, that’s for sure,” Mullen said. “I think they just have such high expectations for everything there, and it sets a standard.”
In truth, Mullen is partly responsible for setting that standard.
In his last two years at Florida, Mullen led the Gators to more than 43 points per game and produced a Heisman Trophy winner, and his final season culminated in a national title and school record for points.
Addazio took charge in 2009 after Mullen’s departure for Starkville, Miss. His first year was frustrating at times, but UF still produced the Southeastern Conference’s top offense with 457 yards per game, averaging 35.9 points.
This season has been a very different story.
The Gators are No. 11 in the SEC for total offense (MSU is sixth — 93 yards per game better) and have just three offensive touchdowns in the last two games. That led to Addazio being booed when he called run plays up the middle in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to LSU.
UF coach Urban Meyer backed Addazio this week, saying the offense’s problems are due to struggles in the red zone and a lack of playmakers, and quarterback John Brantley said he wasn’t concerned with outside opinions of his offensive coach.
“I trust coach Addazio and his play-calling,” Brantley said. “I’m going to do what he says, and I’m not going to complain because I trust coach Addazio and I think he’s a great coach. He’s just trying to put us in the best position to win, and I believe that.”
Playmakers may still be in short supply Saturday night, as running back Jeff Demps is healing from a sprained left foot. But the Gators may have seen enough from receiver Andre Debose last week to get him more involved.
In limited use, Debose is averaging more than 10 yards per touch, and his 88-yard kickoff return touchdown against the Tigers signaled the redshirt freshman’s readiness to perform.
“I feel that I can bring that element to the team,” Debose said. “We have a lot of players capable of making big plays, it’s just that coaches have to put people in certain situations to make those plays.”
Doing that against Mullen won’t be an easy task. An architect of UF’s scheme, he’s very familiar with the Gators’ offense and players, and he runs a similar system with the Bulldogs.
Last season against Florida, MSU trailed by three entering the fourth quarter and lost 29-19, with both of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns coming off interceptions returned for scores.
“[Mullen] knows this offense,” Brantley said. “He told me [when he left] he was going to blitz me a lot when we finally get to play them. I’ll never forget that.”
While Mullen was never derided in an open fashion, his tenure at UF wasn’t without strife.
After the Gators fell to Ole Miss in 2008, a website calling for his dismissal gained popularity. Then, Florida romped to a national title, outscoring opponents 414-97 in its final eight regular-season games, and the criticism came to an abrupt halt.
Addazio’s detractors have created a similar website, and Mullen can identify with the situation.
“I’m sure there probably still is [a “fire Mullen” site] now for here at Mississippi State,” Mullen said. “Don’t they have one for every coach? I would think it’s good business if someone’s named head coach to go buy that domain name on the Internet so you can start selling it.”
