After another hard loss, Dan Mullen of Florida says that the Gators will make improvements with their current actions and where they are at. (2:40).
Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was recently promoted to starter. He injured his knee dancing at the hotel that night, just before South Carolina's 40-17 loss.
Dan Mullen, Coach of Richardson, told reporters Monday that Richardson was able to practice on Thursday following his concussion against Georgia on October 30. Richardson then suffered a knee injury on Friday, and was treated for it Saturday morning.
Richardson, a freshman, was dressed in an emergency for the game against South Carolina, but he didn't participate. He is expected to train Monday.
Emory Jones was the starter against the Gamecocks. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 258 yard, two touchdowns, and one interception.
The Florida offense was unable to overcome the overall problem. They ran for just 82 yards on 26 runs and converted only 3 of 10 attempts at third down.
This loss saw the Gators fall to 4-5 for the season.
Mullen announced Monday morning that he had fired Todd Grantham, defensive coordinator, and John Hevesy as offensive line coach.
Christian Robinson, the linebackers coach, was assigned playcalling duties for defense while Michael Sollenne, the assistant, was promoted to offensive and remained there for the remainder of the year.
Monday's statement by Mullen was that firing Grantham, Hevesy and others was a difficult decision that he felt he had to make due to the inconsistency between the offensive and defensive lines.
He said, "It's always difficult." "Those guys are my friends. They are both very special to me. They are both excellent football coaches. As the head coach, I have the responsibility to do the best for the Florida Gators. This is the most important thing.
Mullen stated that he knew he would make those changes eventually, so he chose to act now rather than wait. He explained that the idea was to "get" us in the right direction and then "go search for the people we are going to replace".
Mullen stated that he wasn't pressured by Scott Stricklin as director of athletics to fire any coach and that it was his decision.
Mullen assumed responsibility for the current status of the program.
He stated, "My job is make sure that we perform and that this team plays to Gator standards. Which we are not right now." It's my responsibility find a solution.
Mullen received a three-year extension to his contract and an increase to $7.6million a year after making last year's SEC championship match.
He was asked Monday if he had spoken to Stricklin regarding whether he would be allowed to return next season.
Mullen stated, "He's confident that we'll get it fixed."
Florida needs to win two games in order to be eligible for bowl eligibility. Samford is hosting Florida (3-5) Saturday.
The Gators are currently below.500 against Missouri and Florida State, their last two opponents.
