Dan Mullen contract: Florida Gators coach gets three-year extension through 2026 season with big raise

By Adam Silverstein
June 1, 2021
Dan Mullen contract: Florida Gators coach gets three-year extension through 2026 season with big raise
Football

Image Credit: ESPN Images

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen received a three-year extension to his contract on Tuesday that will increase his annual salary to $7.6 million and keep him employed through the 2026 season. That enhanced figure will make him the third-highest paid coach in the SEC and fifth nationally.

“We are very excited about the future of the Florida football program, and this agreement allows us to continue to build on the success we have enjoyed on and off the field,” Mullen said in a statement.

Ahead of Mullen in salary now are Nick Saban (Alabama, $9.1 million), Ed Orgeron (LSU, $8.7 million), Dabo Swinney (Clemson, $8.3 million) and Jim Harbaugh (Michigan, $8.1 million) with Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M, $7.5 million) Kirby Smart (Georgia, $6.8 million) immediately behind him.

“Dan has done a tremendous job in his three seasons at Florida, and we are fortunate to have someone with his obvious talents and head coaching experience leading our football program,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. “I look forward to working alongside him to support his vision for Gators football and our student-athletes for many years.”

Mullen led the Gators last season to the SEC Championship Game, a highly competitive contest that Florida lost to Alabama, 52-46. He also elevated quarterback Kyle Trask into a Heisman Trophy finalist and first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Gators have gone 29-9 under Mullen over the last three seasons with three straight New Year’s Six appearances (2-1).

Though Mullen has done a great job with Florida on the field, there have been some controversial moments that occurred off it. Not only was he handed a one-year show cause penalty by the NCAA in December 2020 over recruiting violations that also saw UF put on one year of probation, he made national headlines demanding that Florida be allowed to “pack the Swamp” following a loss to Texas A&M at an over-crowded Kyle Field. There was also an incident at halftime of the Missouri game where Mullen rushed to midfield with many criticizing him for helping incite a brawl as both teams were arguing with each other while headed to the locker room.

Nevertheless, Mullen has done a fantastic job with the Gators program in the wake of the failed tenures of Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain. He enters the 2021 season with questions about his decision to stick with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham following a horrendous campaign, but there is a growing sentiment that Florida will once again contend for the SEC East as long as it can get its ducks in a row defensively before the season begins.

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