The 46-year-old’s grin began as he waited in the south end zone tunnel of the Swamp and grew as Mullen sprinted to the sideline for his first game as the Gators’ head coach.
Mullen’s joy soon became contagious thanks to a quick-strike offense led by embattled quarterback Feleipe Franks.
Looking calm, confident and even a little cold-blooded against overmatched Charleston Southern, Franks threw five first-half touchdown passes during the Gators’ 53-6 rout Saturday night.
Franks’ fourth scoring toss — a 3-yard hook-up with Tyrie Cleveland — came on a jump pass reminiscent of Tim Tebow’s iconic play as a freshman against LSU when Mullen was UF’s 34-year-old offensive coordinator.