ESPN's Joe Schad says that the list of candidates to replace Urban Meyer at Florida most definitely starts with Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen. There was some talk that Mullen was Meyer's choice to replace him last year, and that perhaps athletic director Jeremy Foley wanted to go in a different direction, prompting Meyer's return. With Miami sniffing around, will Foley acquiesce this time? Possible candidates at Florida Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: Many say Gators offense hasn't been the same since he left. Kyle Whittingham, Utah: Has continued Urban Meyer's success in Salt Lake City. Charlie Strong, Louisville: First-year head coach may not have enough experience. Chris Petersen, Boise State: Lots of similarities between Meyer of 2004 and Petersen of today. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: There was talk last year that former Gators DC might be ready to move on. Will Muschamp, Texas DC: Horns' head-coaching-in-waiting has SEC background at Georgia, LSU. Gary Patterson, TCU: Name always comes up for BCS-conference openings. Jon Gruden, Monday Night Football: Said no to Miami; is Florida preferable to an NFL gig? Bobby Petrino, Arkansas: Reportedly the second choice when Meyer was hired. Larry Fedora, Southern Miss: Gators OC under Ron Zook. Chip Kelly, Oregon: Could he be in need of another challenge already? Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins: Long-ago Gators OC is a good friend of Jeremy Foley's. Informed of Meyer's decision by Brad Locke of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Mullen texted, "News to me. Happy at State," and declined further comment. This seems to suggest that he was not aware that Meyer was going to step down and that he wasn't putting off the Hurricanes while waiting for this to happen. If Foley decides to go with a defensive-minded coach, Meyer's successor at Utah, Kyle Whittingham, whose name regularly comes up in discussions at BCS-conference schools, figures to be a prominent target, as does Louisville's Charlie Strong, Meyer's former defensive coordinator. Stepping outside the Meyer coaching tree, Tom Dienhart of Yahoo! Sports tweets that he thinks that Boise State coach Chris Petersen and Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will also be on Foley's list. And TCU coach Gary Patterson's name always comes up for BCS-conference jobs. Could this be the job that finally gets any of them to leave their current situations? ESPN The Magazine's Bruce Feldman says that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, fresh off his dalliance with Miami, will also be in the mix. Two other possibilities whose names surfaced last year when Meyer first stepped down: Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Arkansas' Bobby Petrino. And might Foley take another run at good friend Mike Shanahan, who has had an up-and-down season with the Washington Redskins? FootballRumorMill.com chimes in with these additional names: Southern Mississippi coach Larry Fedora and Oregon coach Chip Kelly. In addition to Mullen and Strong, five other former Meyer coordinators have gone on to become head coaches elsewhere (former Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon, now Virginia's OC; former UNLV coach Mike Sanford, now Louisville's OC; Toledo's Tim Beckman; Marshall's Doc Holliday; and newly appointed North Texas coach Dan McCarney), but we doubt any of them have a big enough name to earn the Florida job. And what to make of earlier reports that Meyer was having discussions with possible OC candidates? Was it so he could suggest an OC to his successor? Or could Meyer possible want embattled OC/one-time interim coach Steve Addazio put in charge, with a new coordinator to run the offense? - Albert Lin Joe Schad No shortage of candidates "Dan Mullen would be an obvious choice and the timing is right following strong interest from Miami and an outstanding successful campaign in his second year at Mississippi State. Louisville's Charlie Strong and Utah's Kyle Whittingham are obvious choices, too. If Meyer had stayed retired last year Oregon's Chip Kelly could have been a hot target but that time may have passed."