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Dan Mullen had a very simple suggestion after being fired by the Florida Gators:

Hire Lane Kiffin.

Mullen was fired near the end of the 2021 season after the program appeared to regress following a lot of success in his first two seasons.

Billy Napier was hired to replace him, and that decision has been an unmitigated disaster so far. If Florida had listened to Mullen, the program might be in a much better place.

Dan Mullen told Florida to hire Lane Kiffin after he was fired. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Dan Mullen urged Florida to hire Lane Kiffin.

Mullen revealed to Zach Gleb during a recent interview that his advice was very simple and straight to the point after he was cut loose.

Rush to Oxford and find a way to convince Lane Kiffin to leave the Rebels for the Gators.

“When I got let go at Florida a couple years ago, they asked me [who to hire], and I said I’d go hire Lane Kiffin right now. If you’re going to get rid of me, I’d go hire Lane Kiffin right now,” Mullen explained to Gelb.

You can watch his reasoning for why Kiffin – whose name is tied to a potential opening – should have been the coach, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

Unfortunately for Florida fans, Kiffin wasn’t lured out of Oxford for Gainesville. Billy Napier was anointed the new head coach, and the programs couldn’t be on different paths.

Below are the programs’ records since the start of the 2022 season:

  • Billy Napier/Florida: 12-16, 0-1 in bowl games and no season finished with a ranking.
  • Lane Kiffin/Ole Miss: 22-7, 1-1 in bowl games, Peach Bowl victory, a top-10 finish in 2023 and currently ranked fifth in the AP Poll.

The numbers aren’t even comparable. Ole Miss has become one of the best programs in America. Florida has become an afterthought.

Now, with Napier’s seat scorching hot, Kiffin’s name is being floated as the best option for the Gators, but would he leave Ole Miss?

There are more resources in Gainesville, but he has the Rebels rolling. Florida is a major rebuild job at this point. He’s making a ton of money, is the king of Oxford and has the chance to cement himself as a legendary man in program history.

Lane Kiffin (Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images via USA Today Sports Network)

Will Florida hire Lane Kiffin? (Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images via USA Today Sports Network)

All things considered, he might be best staying where he is, but you can’t rule out anything in college football. What do you think Kiffin and Florida should do? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.