DAVID MOULTON

DMOULTON@NEWS-PRESS.COM

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Ten years ago a Florida Gators coach lost to Mississippi State and got fired in Starkville. Now, Florida needs to be calling Starkville to hire their next coach.

Dan Mullen is everything Will Muschamp is not.

He is an offensive coach. That may not be important at some places. In fact at Alabama, they prefer 17-14 to 38-35. That's not the case at Florida. Gator fans will always yearn for the days of Steve Spurrier's Fun 'n' Gun. It wasn't just the winning — it was how they won. Throwing it all over the field and scoring lots of points.

Second, Mullen's now a proven winner as a head coach. Spurrier won an ACC Championship at Duke before returning to his alma mater. Urban Meyer turned Bowling Green around and led Utah to a 12-0 season before coming to Gainesville.

Athletic director Jeremy Foley hired Ron Zook and Will Muschamp on potential. Zook as a recruiter and Muschamp (as a Nick Saban protege) to be the next Saban. Florida is not a place where you learn on the job. You need to be able to hit the ground running and improve the program immediately.

Muschamp has not improved the program in his first 3½ years. Maybe he will get it over the hump during the final weeks of this season.

Maybe.

Dan Mullen is not a maybe. He is a sure thing. When you beat three top 10 teams in a row, you can coach. When you do it at Mississippi State, it defies description. After all you are winning with a bunch of guys that Alabama, LSU, Georgia and Florida did not want.

A sure thing who just happened to be Florida's offensive coordinator when they won the 2006 and 2008 national championships.

Florida fans had to be drooling looking at Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott (who just happens to wear No. 15). Big, strong, athletic and a legitimate Heisman candidate. Remember when Florida had offensive weapons like that?

Mullen does. He was there, actively recruiting Tim Tebow and Cam Newton.

Mullen has paid his dues, has shown he can build a program and now is proving he knows how to win big games.

At Mississippi State! What could he do with Florida's advantages?

Mississippi State is 6-0, will be ranked No. 2 in the country and has arguably the best résumé in college football.

Jeremy Foley, you have built one of the five best athletic departments in the country. You are very good at your job. The only blemish you have is hiring football coaches (he inherited Spurrier). As the song goes, two out of three ain't bad.

One out of two, with the jury still out on the third guy, doesn't seem to be good enough.

Jeremy, you know Dan Mullen. Your fans know him. They clearly have more belief in him than Will Muschamp. Give 'em what they want.

Dan Mullen, Line 1. It's Jeremy Foley calling.

At least it should be.

David Moulton co-hosts "Miller and Moulton in the Afternoon" from 2-6 p.m. weekdays on 99.3 ESPN. His freelance column appears Sundays and Thursdays. Email him at dmoulton@news-press.com.