I seriously think that Dan will be here for a while. Im a student here at state, and ive seen him around campus, he always looks so happy to be here. after the egg bowl he came out and took pictures with the student body with the egg, not to mention the speech he gave after we won. The amount of excitement he creates here is amazing, and i dont think that is a front with as much as he has done in his first year here, we broke what like 2 records for attendance? we may be a lower tier team in the SEC but we are definatly on the rise, i seem to be way too optimistic than most on the six pack, but i think we will win 8-9 games next year and go to a nice bowl, i dont think that Keenum would let him leave with as much money as he is bringing in to this school.
Am i the only one who thinks Mullen will stay for a while?
- Thread starter FordRanger4x4
- Start date
And I have a bit of history, since I was an undergrad almost 50 years ago.
I saw Greg on campus, talked with him there and in various other venues, and thought he'd found a home at S'Vegas.
Alas, not.
Also, I've picked up on those same positive vibes from CDM.
I agree with your opinions (and dang, I hope we win those 8-9 games your undergrad optimism projects), but paradigms shift without warning.
Perhaps CDM will stay with us, live up to his billing, lead us to the Promised Land....but, if he should, he will be a hot-ticket item on the Coach Trading Market.
That's justhow it goes down.
I saw Greg on campus, talked with him there and in various other venues, and thought he'd found a home at S'Vegas.
Alas, not.
Also, I've picked up on those same positive vibes from CDM.
I agree with your opinions (and dang, I hope we win those 8-9 games your undergrad optimism projects), but paradigms shift without warning.
Perhaps CDM will stay with us, live up to his billing, lead us to the Promised Land....but, if he should, he will be a hot-ticket item on the Coach Trading Market.
That's justhow it goes down.
Maybe it's hindsight, but I always assumed he'd be here a few years and take off to greener pastures.<div>
</div><div>I never thought it would take less than two years, though. Bastard.</div>
</div><div>I never thought it would take less than two years, though. Bastard.</div>
like someone else said, "Starkville" is an old Indian word loosely translated into "big *** cemetary".</p>
Now I am suprised that he left this soon. He seemed to never lay down roots anywhere. I am just glad that we got what little time we had with him. He sure left us better than when he arrived.
there is a job opening that is a good fit for him. He has no ties to Mississippi or MSU. He is an ambitious coach who has been involved with a national championship program. I'm sure he saw MSU as an SEC program that could give him a lot of exposure due to the teams we will play and the tv deal and give him some coaching credibility if he is able to take us to a bowl after our long suffering run. We have had success in the past under Coach Sherill so he knows he can win here but winning consistently over a period of years can be a problem.
If Mullen leaves because heis successful (assume 8 wins and a bowl game), think how much better off we will be.
What we sold to Mullen:
1. No talent on roster
2. Half empty stadium
3. Budget hurt by money spent to buyout Croom
4. losing seasons
What we could sell to new coach
1. Talented roster
2. Full stadium
3. Budget helped by buyout Mullen pays us
4. winning seasons
I like Byrne's move. Go for a great young coach and if he uses you as a stepping stone, then so be it.</p>
Edited to explain. Not better off because he left, but better off than when Croom left.</p>
What we sold to Mullen:
1. No talent on roster
2. Half empty stadium
3. Budget hurt by money spent to buyout Croom
4. losing seasons
What we could sell to new coach
1. Talented roster
2. Full stadium
3. Budget helped by buyout Mullen pays us
4. winning seasons
I like Byrne's move. Go for a great young coach and if he uses you as a stepping stone, then so be it.</p>
Edited to explain. Not better off because he left, but better off than when Croom left.</p>
There are plenty of schools he might choose over state if he were looking at multiple offers for his first head coaching job, but now that he's head coach at state, by the time he has the record to be an attractive candidate for other schools, he'll already be head coach of a moderately successful SEC school. At that point, the head coaching jobs he would leave for should become much smaller. Certainly wouldn't have to be a UF, Texas, USC type job,but most of the middle tier schools from other BCS conferences should no longer be threats.
If schools come after him after a 5-7 season and say a 7-5 season with a win at a lower tier bowl, then this probably goes out the window. Likewise if we roll to 8-9 wins next year and he feels like personnel will be taking a step back. But overall, I see him leaving as much less inevitable than I saw Byrne leaving, but still pretty likely in the long term. Of course I also thought Byrne would on a three year plan with MSU, not an 18 month one.
If schools come after him after a 5-7 season and say a 7-5 season with a win at a lower tier bowl, then this probably goes out the window. Likewise if we roll to 8-9 wins next year and he feels like personnel will be taking a step back. But overall, I see him leaving as much less inevitable than I saw Byrne leaving, but still pretty likely in the long term. Of course I also thought Byrne would on a three year plan with MSU, not an 18 month one.
Exactly. So if Dan's stock rises due to a year or two of success, he will be gone in a heartbeat. Because as much as winning here will raise your stock for being succesful at a school with no history, getting fired from the same school for not winning is a career-ender. The window of opportunity may not last long.
MadDawg said:
Who was the last coach to use MSU as a stepping stone? Was it Darrell Royal, or did someone else do it between then and now?
I want to say Tuberville is the only coach we've had that really used us as a stepping stone, unless there was some pre-Vaught which basically means pre-WWII. We've fired the rest. We haven't even had any retire on their own merit really.
Haven't you fired just about all of your coaches? I'd say Sherrill was the closest thing to a coach that left on his own, but I don't know how much of that was his own decision.
I do agree that depending on the situation, you often need to strike while the iron is hot, especially if your success is largely due to one or two really good players moreso than your own abilities. That's more common in basketball than in football, but it happens sometimes where a guy shows loyalty after having some success that's due to some good fortune in terms of players, and they later get canned when things go south.
And I'm thinking three bowl games. The pizza bowl, the Independence Bowl and probably Music City. Once he realizes how hard he has to work to get these 6-8 win seasons and lower tier bowls(which I would kill to go to), he will find a place where winning is easier.
At the pessimists who think he'll be one and done...quick guys, name all the coaches who have left non top tier programs after one winning season....He won't be here forever but I think he'll be here for another 3-5 years...You know, long enough to actually prove he can produce a consistently winning program.