But there are some things to remember about that situation.
First of all- he kept the previous assistants from the last staff. That helped him out as far as recruiting. He didn't have to re-establish relationships or start relationships with the coaches and recruits in the area because his assistants that were already there had already established them before he even got there. On top of that, I'm sure that Raffo knew of some guys in Mississippi- like Phillip Maletesta from Oxford to add in. In a sport where you have to wait a year for your first recruits to step foot on campus, he basically saved himself a year.
Secondly, he needed to get out from Polk's shadow regardless of whether he is the next Joe Torre or not. I know that he wanted to do things differently at MSU, but the fact of the matter is that a big reason why Polk wanted Raffo to still be around was so that he could still be around. I don't know how much Polk would have let him do what he wanted to do, and I don't know if Raffo would have had the balls to tell Polk no. I also think that there is a very good chance that if Raffo had been hired that Polk would have talked him into keeping Russ McNickle, and that would have been horrible because our pitching would have just sunk deeper and deeper into the depths of hell. Also, who would have replaced Raffo as the hitting coach? Wade Hedges? Who knows. And with Polk still around, there was always a possibility of Polk III. No matter how good Raffo is, Polk would have definately held him back.
I think if Raffo ever hopes of coming back to MSU, he is already more qualified now than he was when he applied the first time because he has experience, and he now has ties to some assistant coaches, and he is doing that successfully. Those were my biggest beefs against him and why I didn't want him, as well as what I typed above.
Had we hired Raffo, it MAY have been better in the short term. It would depend a lot on how many arms McNickle ruined. But, I think long term Cohen was the better choice.
