LAKE BUENA VISTA &ndash At UF, a man in a visor has developed a knack for churning out big-name quarterbacks.
The story is nothing new, just the teacher is different.
UF offensive coordinator Dan Mullen was dubbed the greatest quarterbacks coach in the country by his latest prized pupil, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.
BHe?s the best in America,C said Tebow, the latest in a long line of great Gator quarterbacks dating back to the Steve Spurrier era. BYou look at the quarterbacks he?s worked with during his career, and it speaks for itself.C
In three programs over the last seven years, Mullen, just 35 years old, helped chisel Bowling Green?s Josh Harris, Utah?s Alex Smith and now Chris Leak and Tebow at UF into all-conference, sometimes All-American signal callers.
Along the way, older coaches have copied Mullen?s formula for developing a quarterback centered spread offense, be it with a two-man system or with one dual-threat monster like Tebow.
The greatest quarterbacks coach in America?
UF coach Urban Meyer won?t argue against it.
BA lot of people say things, and then there?s other guys that have a nice little track record,C said Meyer, who deserves credit for hiring Mullen as his quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green in 2001 and handing over the offense to him at UF in 2005. BThe four quarterbacks he?s coached and the four offenses we?ve been a part of together, he?s been a part of, have been rather dynamic.C
Mullen played tight end at Ursinus College, coached wide receivers at Wagner and Columbia and worked as a graduate assistant at Syracuse before joining Meyer.
At Syracuse, Mullen, a quarterback as a kid, found a mentor in offensive coordinator Kevin Rogers and a star student in quarterback Donovan McNabb.
In meticulously tending to Rogers? needs, Mullen would scribble down 70 plays to run per day at practice.
He wrote so much that his hand developed a fungus that forced him to wear a glove on one hand. That was just the first symptom of his passion for coaching.
BYou talk about dedication?C said Rogers, now the quarterbacks coach with the Minnesota Vikings. BHe looked like Michael Jackson in there doing his cards with one glove on.C
Mullen got his first chance to emulate Rogers at Bowling Green in 2001 with a skeptical Harris as his first project.
BTo be honest with you, I was kind of like, 'What the heck, we?ve got a (graduate assistant) to be the quarterback coach??C said Harris, a sophomore at the time of the coaching change. BBut it didn?t take any amount of time to realize that he knew what he was talking about. He had a vision of how he saw quarterbacks performing as players and as leaders.C Harris encountered that vision first-hand in a memorable confrontation in Mullen?s office.
The normally soft-spoken Mullen sat Harris down and told his quarterback that he was Btoo niceC to be a leader.
BI was pissed,C Harris recalled. BI said, 'Well, there?s more than one way to be a leader, coach. You don?t have to always be yelling at somebody or cussing somebody out to be a leader.?
BHe said, 'Yeah, but at some point, you?re going to have to be willing to reach across the desk and grab somebody by the collar and tell them that they?re not doing their job.?C
Harris took the advice to heart and took over the quarterback job full-time in 2002 as the program won 20 games over his final two seasons.
BWhat Tebow said about Coach Mullen being the greatest quarterbacks coach in the country, I think a lot of that has to do with his versatility, his ability to read people and know what you need in any given moment, what you need to hear, whether you like it or not,C Harris said.
Meyer and Mullen took their curriculum to Utah after Harris? junior season, where another underclassman awaited similar teachings.
Alex Smith quickly transitioned from a drop-back passer to fit Mullen?s mold for a spread quarterback as a sophomore and took over the starting job three games into the season.
In leading the Utes to an undefeated season in 2004, Smith became Utah?s first Heisman finalist and went No. 1 in the NFL Draft to the San Francisco 49ers.
All that success helped Mullen reel in Tebow, the prized catch of the 2006 recruiting season.
BI said, 'Hey, that can be you,?C Mullen said. BGet a chance to win the Heisman, be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.?C
Mullen, criticized for his play calling in his first two years as an offensive coordinator at UF, pushed on with his plan under more scrutiny than ever.
Last season, accompanied by periodic boos from fans, Mullen mastered a tag-team quarterback system of the senior Leak and the freshman Tebow.
Mullen had a simple answer for anyone who questioned his motives.
BIf Tim was better at doing some of (the plays) than Chris, then we?ll just put Tim in there,C he said.
And this year, without Leak, Tebow garnered Mullen?s full attention.
In addition to watching countless hours of game film together and housing Tebow and the other quarterbacks for a sports trivia game of ESPN Scene It?, Mullen coordinates No. 15?s security entourage.
There?s only one way to describe his relationship with Tebow.
BDanny is his mom around here,C Meyer said.
Unlike Tebow, Mullen has an obvious and admitted flaw.
He humbly disclosed that he is not ready to be a head coach.
He hasn?t even written a resume in about 10 years.
BI?m going to have to work on one one of these days,C Mullen said. BI wouldn?t even know where to start on how to write a resume.C
Ask Harris, Smith, Leak or Tebow, and they might have some ideas.
