In just six years, Urban Meyer transformed the SEC forever, and for that we should be thankful. He brought SEC football into the 21st century with his spread offense, won two national championships and is largely responsible for the success that the SEC enjoys today. When he arrived in Gainesville, nobody – and I mean nobody – thought that he spread system could be successful in the SEC. Detractors said that SEC defenses were too fast and strong, and could just “out-athlete” the spread. Wrong. Just six years after Meyer’s arrival in Gainesville, virtually every SEC team runs out of the spread exclusively, or has significant spread elements in its repertoire. Meyer is the one that blazed the trail for coaches like Dan Mullen, Gus Malzahn and many others. Had Meyer not been so successful, they probably would never have gotten a shot. So where do the Gators go from here? The obvious choice is for Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley to pick up the phone and lure Dan Mullen away from Mississippi State. That might not be the best idea though. Is Florida comfortable with the stench Mullen will bring with him leftover from the Kenny Rogers situation at Mississippi State? Is Mullen REALLY the best option out there? The answer to both questions should be “no.” While the Cam Newton story has dominated headlines for more than a month and cast a shadow over Auburn’s SEC and National Championship run, it’s largely a “Mississippi State story.” Sure, Cam Newton’s father Cecil Newton has taken the brunt of the criticism, but Mississippi State was forced to disassociate itself from Kenny Rogers, a former player who admittedly shopped Cam Newton to his own alma mater. Plus, Rogers was pointed in the direction of boosters by somebody who thought the boosters could help out. Why and how? That remains to be seen. With so much speculation and very few facts in the story, it should concern Florida. If I’m Foley, I make Boise State head coach Chris Petersen say “no” three times, back up the Brinks truck, and make him say “no” again. Petersen has done all he can at Boise State; and much to the chagrin of the pundits driving the Boise Bus, the Broncos will probably not be in serious national championship contention for the foreseeable future. He's 60-5 as Boise State's head coach, and even though the national championship may be out of his reach, he has transformed the Broncos from a "nice little story" into a legitimate BCS bowl threat. He's shown the ability to win big games, including the 2007 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma and the 2010 win over Virginia Tech in the Hokies' own backyard. I don't care who you coach, that's impressive. Mullen's signature win is either this year's win over a bad Florida team or his 2009 win over a very overrated Ole Miss team in Starkville. Meh. Don't get me wrong, since Mullen knows the landscape in Gainesville and has been a head coach in the SEC, he would probably do fine at Florida. But just because he's the easy choice doesn't make him the best choice. If the Gators go get Petersen, they will up the ante again, and set the tone for the next 10 years in the SEC. Barrett Sallee covers the SEC for www.CollegeFootballNews.com. He can be reached at barrettsallee@gmail.com, or on Twitter at @BarrettSallee
Click here for the 2010 Three & Out archive 2010 Column Archive: Meyer Leaves Legacy, Question Marks – December 8, 2010 Newton Scandal Is Full Of Questions – November 5, 2010 UNC's Problems Could Hurt Les Miles – August 31, 2010 Predicting The SEC – August 23, 2010 Top Five Games Inside The SEC – August 22, 2010 Ranking The SEC Out-Of-Conference Games – August 21, 2010 SEC Roundtable Discussion Part IV – August 10, 2010 SEC Teams In The Coaches Poll – August 7, 2010 Ranking The SEC Head Coaches – August 2, 2010 SEC Media Days: Day 3 Recap – July 23, 2010 SEC Media Days: Day 2 Recap – July 22, 2010 SEC Media Days: Day 1 Recap – July 21, 2010 SEC Roundtable Discussion Part III – July 13, 2010 SEC Roundtable Discussion Part II – June 21, 2010 Auburn Gets The Last Laugh – June 10, 2010 Realignment – What Should The SEC Do? – June 9, 2010 SEC Roundtable Discussion Part I – June 7, 2010 Richt On The Hot Seat? – June 3, 2010 Auburn Dismisses Redshirt Freshman RB – May 21, 2010 SEC Hires of the Decade – The Bottom Five – May 14, 2010 Top 5 SEC Hires of the Decade – May 5, 2010 Georgia In A Gray Area – April 26, 2009 Taunting Rule Goes Too Far – April 16, 2009 Memorable SEC Press Conferences – February 20, 2009 2010 Early SEC Picks, Part 2 – February 18, 2009 2010 Early SEC Picks, Part 1 – February 16, 2009 Florida Reaches For DC – February 12, 2009 Vols Go West For New DC – February 3, 2009 Early 2010 SEC Predictions – January 31, 2010 Chizik Doing It Right – January 21, 2010 Georgia's DC Debacle – January 12, 2010 SEC Bloggers: Do Over – January 8, 2010 Trouble In Baton Rouge – January 2, 2010 Meyer Calls A Reverse – December 27, 2009 Urban Meyer's SEC Legacy – December 26, 2009 End Of The Season Accountability – December 26, 2009 Ranking The SEC Bowl Games – December 18, 2009 2009 SEC Superlatives – December 13, 2009
