LSU Football: Rival coach could be leaving for the NFL in near future

One of LSU football‘s biggest rivals in the SEC is the Florida Gators.

The Tigers and the Gators play every season as cross-division rivals in the SEC.

It’s a tense rivalry with LSU leading the all-time series 37-34.

For the last three years, Ed Orgeron and Dan Mullen have gone head-to-head as coaches in the rivalry, with Coach O holding a 2-1 advantage.

(Orgeron and Mullen also faced each other in 2017 when Mullen was at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs won that matchup.)

Could the rivalry be looking a bit different in the not-so-distant future?

Dan Mullen may not be coaching against LSU football for much longer

During the most recent edition of the coaching carousel, there were plenty of rumors that Mullen was interested in jumping to the NFL.

Mullen denied interest in the NFL at this time, but his comments certainly left the door open to making the jump in the future.

“I think a lot of people are trying to figure out what the future of college football is going to hold and what that’s going to look like going forward,” said Mullen recently (via Rivals).

That doesn’t sound like a coach who is committed to remaining in college football.

Rivals analysts Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney agree. They both noted recently that they believe Mullen seems likely to go to the NFL sooner rather than later.

“His (Mullen) comments regarding the concern of the future of college football are telling and he could have easily said no without any context,” wrote Farrell this week. “But this, to me, means he’s not long for college football.”

Gorney echoed those sentiments, writing “I also read Mullen’s comments with a lot of curiosity and I’ve come to this conclusion: If Mullen thinks college football is turning into a free agency model with the transfer portal and players coming and going all the time, why not take a look at the pros?”

That’s a great point. The one-time transfer rule that will eventually be passed by the NCAA is going to completely change college football as we know it. It’s already started thanks to the transfer portal and transfer waivers that are often approved by the NCAA.

If college football is going to turn into a job where it’s mostly recruiting high school players, plus re-recruiting the players already on your roster, then why not try the NFL?

It seems like Mullen is open to making the move. It’s likely only a matter of time before he makes the jump.