“Nobody sleeps in CFB”: Former Florida HC Dan Mullen details the challenges faced on national signing days

Dan Mullen spent four seasons as the head coach of the Florida Gators from 2018 to 2021. During this stint, he put up a 34-15 record before making a transition into the world of broadcasting as an analyst.

With National Signing Day taking place with the early signing period opening for the 2025 recruiting cycle, Dan Mullen made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. During his conversation with McAfee on Wednesday, Mullen was asked whether he is planning on making a return to the coaching sphere.

Dan Mullen replied by stating that he enjoys his job in the world of broadcasting compared to the stressful working environment as a coach. He then talked about National Signing Day and the challenges coaches face on this stressful day.

"I love this TV stuff," Mullen said. "You know when you're a coach, it's Signing Day today. I mean it is the most stressful day. Signing Day is like we would have champagne in the office popping, like a kid signs and you're like popping champagne."

"Nobody sleeps in college football. I mean I've been on the phone... Signing Day keeps changing in states...I don't know if I can find a signing day where I wasn't on the phone at 3 O' clock in the morning the night before... I mean you're on the phone the entire night... It's wild"

Despite his love for the world of broadcasting, Mullen's name has been floated as a possible contender for UCF's head coaching job after Gus Malzahn left to take FSU's OC job. Before his gig with the Florida Gators, Mullen also served nine seasons as the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. So, he has a lot of experience coaching college players.

However, it will ultimately depend on whether he wants to go back to the stressful work environment of being a head coach.

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Dan Mullen shares his unfiltered thoughts on the Miami-Alabama playoff debate

The Crimson Tide were ranked 11, one place ahead of the Miami Hurricanes by the selection committee in their penultimate CFP top 25 rankings after Week 14. This led to a lot of fans criticizing the decision online while debating why a 9-3 Alabama got the preference over a 10-2 Miami.

Dan Mullen had his own perspective on the situation. While talking to Pat McAfee, he made a case for the Miami Hurricanes while stating that the Crimson Tide got the advantage because they had better quality wins than Miami.

"I would've gone Miami over Alabama," Mullen said. " That would be me on the outside. But when I dig into it I would be a hypocrite. Cause to me, winning has always been the most important thing. Don't tell me about your great loss, tell me about winning. Winning is what matters"

"When you look at it and go break it down, Alabama has better wins than Miami. They also have worst losses. In the big picture, me and my gut, I would have gone Miami over Alabama but then I'd be a hypocrite saying winning's the most important thing. Because if you compare the wins, Alabma has better wins."

Both Miami and Alabama have been eliminated from their respective conference championship games. The Hurricanes have a slim hope of competing in the 12-team playoffs even if chaos ensues in the championship games this weekend. CFB Warde Manuel also stated that teams not participating in these games will not have their ranks re-evaluated.