Dan Mullen bringing familiar and infamous assistants to Florida Gators as first hires

By Adam Silverstein
November 27, 2017
Dan Mullen bringing familiar and infamous assistants to Florida Gators as first hires
Football

Image Credit: ESPN Images

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen‘s staff is shaping up quickly with three familiar names headed to Gainesville, Florida.

Mississippi State Bulldogs co-offensive coordinators Billy Gonzales (wide receivers) and John Hevesy (offensive line) — both of whom previously coached the Gators — will be joining Mullen in his return to Florida, the school announced on Tuesday. Neither assistant was listed with a specific title in the release.

Gonzales, who left Florida for LSU after then-head coach Urban Meyer chose Steve Addazio over him as the Gators’ next offensive coordinator in 2009 following Mullen’s departure for Mississippi State, reportedly quit the gig by leaving his keys and cell phone on his desk along with a four-word Post-It Note: “I’m going to LSU.” He coached at Florida from 2005-09 before spending two seasons at LSU. He then moved on to Illinois and Mississippi State, where he was promoted to co-offensive coordinator after one season in 2014.

Hevesy coached offensive line and tight ends for the Gators from 2005-08 before leaving with Mullen to serve as run game coordinator with the Bulldogs. He was also promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2014. Mississippi State’s offenses ranked 37th in scoring and 49th in total yards this year.

According to FootballScoop.com and now the Clarion-Ledger, another Mississippi State assistant in defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Todd Grantham. You may remember Grantham as the former Georgia DC who taunted former Florida punter/kicker Chas Henry with a choking gesture in the 2010 Florida-Georgia game. “You’re gonna f—ing choke. You’re gonna f—ing choke,” Grantham screamed at the time. Henry, of course, made the kick.

Grantham joined Mullen this past season. After spending much of his career in the NFL, he served as Georgia defensive coordinator from 2010-13 but got fired that last year after its defense ranked 45th in the nation. He spent the following two seasons at Louisville before moving on to Mississippi State. Grantham’s three Cardinals defenses ranked among the top 20 in the nation, while the Bulldogs ranked 24th in scoring defense and 10th in total defense this past season.

Throughout his career — particularly at Georgia — Grantham was much-maligned for his third-down defense. UGA ranked 79th, third, 37th and 64th nationally on third down during his four years with those Bulldogs. Mississippi State was 12th nationally in third-down defense this year, allowing conversions on just 31 percent of opportunities.

This story was updated on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m.

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