Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Mullen to call Florida plays vs. OU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Newly hired Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has decided to stay with top-ranked Florida through the national championship game.

Gators coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday that Mullen will call plays in the Bowl Championship Series national title game Jan. 8 in Miami.

"The goal is to win the game, and I think right now, unless something changes, it looks like that's going to happen," Meyer said. "Is that the best chance of us winning that game, with the mechanics of the game the way we do them? Probably yes. So right now I'd say the plan is he'll be up in the press box."

Mullen was still in Mississippi and not planning to return to Gainesville until after Christmas, Meyer said. The Gators held their first bowl practice Tuesday, but with final exams scheduled all week, it was mostly conditioning drills. Meyer said detailed game-plan preparations for No. 2 Oklahoma won't begin until after Christmas.

Meyer also said he recognizes that Mullen still has work to do with the Bulldogs -- Mullen is assembling his staff and recruiting -- but he's confident the rest of Florida's offensive assistants can pick up the slack.

"The good thing is we have one of the best coaching staffs in the game," Meyer said. "This is not a dictatorship or one-man circus. The plays are scripted. Dan does a tremendous job.

"It's taking on a life of its own -- what's going to happen, what's going to happen? We'll be OK. We're still going to run the same offense."

Oklahoma's Murray To Miss BCS Championship Game

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Kerwin Bell for OC

Last week, Sean, David and I were discussing who would fill Mullen's shoes as offensive coordinator and Kerwin Bell's name came up. Apparently we weren't the only ones speculating about Bell. The Gainesville Sun started poking around into Bell's intentions. I suggest skipping the story and reading the comments below it. They are quite good. The best question posed is "would Kerwin Bell buy into Meyer's offensive philosophy?" (Bell teaches the pro style offense) Another good question is "would Bell instead take the QB coach position? I don't know what Bell wants for himself or what would be the best thing for him in terms of development as a coach, but I do know he would be a great asset to the Gators. He is a proven winner with deep ties to the Gators. I believe he would be an excellent recruiter in Florida. And for him personally it would be an opportunity to learn under another great offensive-minded coach. (He was coached by Galen Hall at UF)