I might rehire Dan Mullen. I've got plans for Jeremy Pruitt, Jimbo Fisher, too | Toppmeyer

The luminaries spilled from Scott Stricklin’s house onto his pool deck on a warm Friday evening in September 2021. Gainesville buzzed with excitement on the eve of Florida’s top-10 clash with Alabama, and UF's athletic director organized a gathering at his house to celebrate the moment. Steve Spurrier attended. So did the SEC Network’s Tim Tebow and Laura Rutledge and others from the national media.

Days before the game, Sports Illustrated published an in-depth story celebrating Stricklin’s hire of Dan Mullen “that remade Florida football,” as the magazine put it.

I admit, I was a believer.

That Saturday, The Swamp roared as loudly as I’ve ever witnessed it. The Gators pushed Alabama to the brink but lost 31-29. A week later, Florida punished Tennessee.

Florida and Mullen appeared to be blossoming.

Two months later, Stricklin fired Mullen after a loss to Missouri, his sixth SEC loss of that season.

Coaching tenures can spiral quickly in the SEC.

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Florida hired Mullen before the 2018 season as part of a blockbuster offseason in the SEC. Tennessee also pursued Mullen during that coaching carousel. In total, six SEC coaches were hired that offseason. Every single one has been fired.

Jimbo Fisher lasted longest. Texas A&M fired him in November.

Here’s how I view those six fired SEC coaches who were hired before the 2018 season:

The coach I’d hire again

Dan Mullen

Florida's fan base soured on Mullen while the 2021 season imploded. Mullen’s image evolved from quirky mastermind to goofy Dan. Recruiting momentum stalled. I understood why Florida fired Mullen. And yet, I now wonder whether Florida would have been better off sticking with him. I respect Mullen’s offensive acumen, and I think he could’ve positioned UF as appealing transfer destination. His 103-61 career record, all of which came within the SEC, showed he can coach. And I don’t think he’s as poor of a recruiter as the narrative became in ’21. Mullen, 51, enjoys a good gig at ESPN. He seems content, but at the right school, I still think he could excel.

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The coach I’d hire as an assistant

Jeremy Pruitt

Tennessee never should have hired Pruitt. This proved a classic case of the Peter Principle. He was never CEO material, and his regime’s sloppy recruiting operation trampled on NCAA rules. Losers who cheat don't last. Pruitt deserved to be fired for cause. The NCAA piled on a six-year show-cause penalty. His goose is cooked. If only he’d remained a defensive coordinator, a job he excelled at from Florida State to Georgia to Alabama, he could’ve had a long SEC career. If not for the show-cause penalty, I’d still take Pruitt as a defensive aide. Alabama hasn’t been as fierce since Pruitt departed Nick Saban’s staff for Tennessee. Anyway, his NCAA misdeeds seem petty in this NIL era.

The coach I’d hire as an interim

Matt Luke

An interim job fits Luke. You can trust he won't call escorts. He stepped into a sticky situation at Ole Miss after Hugh Freeze’s 2017 resignation and delivered a 6-6 season. Ole Miss mistakenly thought that proved Luke was up to the full-time job. Under normal circumstances, he probably never would’ve been considered, but Ole Miss didn’t enjoy normal circumstances in that moment. The Luke era fizzled. On the bright side, he bought Ole Miss a couple of years before it was positioned to hire Lane Kiffin. Luke is a qualified offensive line coach. He's now in that role for Clemson. And, you could do worse if you needed an interim than cool-hand Luke. Just don’t make it permanent.

I barely remember ol’ what’s-his-name

Joe Moorhead

Jeff or Joe? While writing this, I had to look up Moorhead’s name. That’s how brief his Mississippi State tenure was. Moorhead seemed like a nice enough guy when I met him briefly at the SEC spring meetings in Florida. You know what they say about nice guys, tough. Moorhead lacked any SEC experience and was an unusual choice for State. Credit Moorhead for his quotability, though. “You’ll have to drag my Yankee ass out of here,” he said after beating Ole Miss in 2019. Great line from ol’ what’s-his-name. State didn’t drag Moorhead out. It just paid his buyout.

I still don’t know what they were thinking

Chad Morris

Morris had a 14-22 record in three seasons at SMU when Arkansas hired him. Seriously, what were the Razorbacks thinking, hiring this coach with no SEC experience? This remains one of the all-time worst hires. Morris failed to beat a single Power Five opponent in two seasons calling the Hogs. Formerly a successful high school coach, Morris could at least recruit a bit. His 2019 signing class included KJ Jefferson and Treylon Burks. They laid the groundwork for Arkansas going 9-4 in 2021, two years after Morris’ firing.

I’d cast him for an appearance in ‘Yellowstone’

Jimbo Fisher

Fisher looked the part at Texas A&M. Cowboy boots and ranch life suits him. Maybe, that helps explain how he bamboozled the Aggies so effectively, for so long. As one mediocre Aggies season faded into the next, it finally became evident that Fisher’s peak was long gone. Jameis Winston made Fisher, not the other way around. Still, Fisher built such a convincing image as a blue-collar rancher that I think he’d fit nicely into an episode of Kevin Costner’s hit show “Yellowstone." Picture this: Fast-talking Fisher moves into the bunk house and chums up to the ranch hands before wearing out his welcome and turning on Costner, calling him a narcissistic false god. Episode ends with Rip taking Fisher to the “train station.”

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: SEC football: My plans for Dan Mullen, Jeremy Pruitt, Jimbo Fisher