ESPN's Pat Forde;

Mississippi State will hire Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen to be its next head football coach, ESPN.com has learned from sources close to the search.

An announcement is expected later today. Terms of the deal are not known.

Mullen will bring instant credibility to Mississippi State while Urban Meyer loses a loyal lieutenant who was with him in Utah as well. It was Mullen who shaped Alex Smith and Chris Leak into spread quarterbacks and made Tim Tebow a force of nature. Mullen leaving is not much of a surprise, but this could be a problem;

It is unclear whether Mullen will stay with Florida through the FedEx BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma, a source said.

If Mullen leaves before the BCS Championship, it will add another layer of distractions UF does not need. But, the precedent is the other way. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was defensive coordinator at LSU and coached last year in the BCS title game.