Syracuse, N.Y. — The man who spent several days at the center of rumors surrounding Syracuse football’s head coaching search in late November will be in close proximity to the team later this month.
Dan Mullen, the former coach-turned-commentator, will be the broadcast analyst for the Orange’s appearance in the Boca Raton Bowl at 8 p.m. Dec. 21.
Matt Barrie and Harry Lyles Jr. round out the ESPN broadcast crew. The trio was also on the call for Syracuse’s Thursday night road game at Virginia Tech.
ESPN announced commentator teams for its 40 bowl games, including the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six games, on Thursday.
Mullen and Barrie’s broadcast of the Miami-Boston College game on Nov. 24 stoked already-circulating rumors that Mullen was a candidate to replace Dino Babers as Syracuse’s head coach.
“Anything interest you up here currently?” Barrie asked.
“Clam chowder. Lobster rolls.” Mullen responded.
“I don’t know if there’s anything orange,” Barrie jested before jumping back into game commentary.
However, Syracuse University athletic director John Wildhack shut down any and all rumors that Mullen had been considered for coach hours after Fran Brown was announced as the new hire.
Mullen responded to an SU fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was not going to be the Orange’s next head coach.
Mullen, who’s from the northeast, has been a coach for nearly 30 years. His last two jobs prior to becoming a color commentator and analyst for ESPN in 2022 were head coaching gigs at Mississippi State and Florida.
He spent one season as a grad assistant at Syracuse in 1998.
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