Dan Mullen has emerged as the Florida Gators' top target to become the school's next head football coach, a source told the Orlando Sentinel.
The announcement to hire Mullen could come soon, barring a last-minute snag.
Mullen, who most recently led the Mississippi State program, would UF's 25th football coach. The hiring would reunite the 45-year-old with the program where he once served as an assistant coach and his former boss, Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin.
The news came quickly a day after the Gators lost top target Chip Kelly to UCLA.
Mullen left Gainesville for Starkville for his first head coaching job following the 2009 season. During five seasons under Urban Meyer at UF, Mullen mentored Chris Leak, Tim Tebow and two national championship-winning offenses.
At Mississippi State, Mullen worked under Stricklin for five years before the athletics director left to take over at UF last fall. In that time, the Bulldogs attained the No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history.
Mullen also developed quarterback Dak Prescott into a 2014 Heisman candidate and subsequently Nick Fitzgerald into one of the SEC's top quarterbacks.
When the search for Jim McElwain's replacement began at UF, Mullen was the most logical, safest choice _ and arguably the most proven.
Besides coaching Prescott, the 2016 NFL Rookie of the Year, Mullen developed No. 1 pick Alex Smith at Utah and Tebow, who won the 2007 Heisman at UF.
Mullen recently completed his ninth regular season as a head coach in the SEC and is familiar with the intense pressure from the Gators' fan base. Mullen also has consistently lured talent to Starkville, a much harder sell to recruits than Gainesville.
One big negative is a 2-18 Mississippi State record against top 25 teams, including losses to Auburn, Georgia and Alabama this season.
Mullen also would have to overcome a perception problem with UF fans. When the school hired away Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins in 2015, Mullen called it a "lateral move."
When the UF job opened up following Will Muschamp's 2014 firing, former Gators AD Jeremy Foley immediately ruled out Mullen and Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez as candidates.
Yet Mullen, who is 69-46 overall, does check many of the boxes needed by UF's next head coach.
Stricklin's move for Mullen likely goes beyond familiarity. After Kelly chose UCLA, Stricklin reportedly planned to target UCF's Scott Frost. But Frost through his representatives apparently declined interest in UF job.
Frost 's comfort level in Orlando and the recent opening at alma mater Nebraska worked against the Gators.
Oregon coach Willie Taggart and Charlie Strong, Taggart's replacement at USF, were popular names as media and fans tried to predict where Stricklin would turn after Kelly and Frost.
Mullen made the most sense in the days after McElwain's Oct. 29 ouster, but he was an unpopular candidate to many in Gator Nation who sought a splash hire.
Buzz around Mullen faded in recent weeks. After Thanksgiving Day loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl left the Bulldogs 8-4, he then said he hoped to remain in Starkville, where Mississippi State reportedly planned to do everything it could to keep him.
While Mullen coached his final game for Mississippi State, Stricklin, a 1992 graduate of the school, was visiting his family in Jackson _ two hours southwest of Starkville.
Met by reporters Friday when he returned to Gainesville, Stricklin tried to allay concerns when it was clear Kelly had jilted the Gators.
"We're going to end up in a really good spot," Stricklin said.
