Urban Meyer update - Meyer could be replaced by Dan Mullen

The legendary innovator Urban Meyer will step down as Head Coach of the Florida Gators after his team takes on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. Meyer, who's health problems (including chest pains after Florida's 32 - 13 loss to Alabama in the 2009 SEC championship game) finally convinced him to leave the field.

Urban Meyer, to me, is irreplaceable by anyone except former Florida Offensive Coordinator Dan Mullen (now Head Coach at Mississippi State)

As Chris Brown points out in a comprehensive blog post at SmartFootball.com, Urban Meyer's contribution to football was to take several seemingly disparate offensive concepts - the Run-and-Shoot, the Spread Passing Offense used by Joe Tiller at Purdue, the Shotgun Formation, Zone Running, and The Triple Option - and fuse them together into a new offensive approach.

Urban Meyer has been so successful with this system that New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichek sent then-Quarterback Coach (now Denver Broncos Head Coach) Josh McDaniel down to learn about his offense in 2006. The result was several key changes that led to the Patriots record-setting passing game in 2007.

Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen refined the Spread Offense over time such that play-action passes (which Chris Brown points out were considered impossible in Shotgun Formations) are a common part of the attack.

My point is, Meyer and Mullen really created that offense and have been the architects of Florida's success. Dan Mullen's the most logical candidate to replace Meyer.

The question is if Mississippi State will match Florida's reported possible payout of $4.9 million a year. Since Mullen takes in just $1.2 million, it's not likely that will happen. While other coaches like Bobby Petrino at Arkansas and Bob Stoops at Oklahoma are rumored to replace Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen's the best choice to step in as he's a seamless fit.