<font face="Arial" color="#800000" size="4">Mississippi State</font> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">Head Coach</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">: Dan Mullen
Former Coach: Sylvester Croom</font> <font size="2">
</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">Last Seen</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">: Coordinating the Florida offense</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">Reason to like the hire</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">: Hey, when you're Mississippi State and you land one of the hottest young coordinators in the country, it's cause for a celebration. Mullen is an Urban Meyer disciple, having been an assistant on his staffs at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida. He's been instrumental in the development of Meyer's quarterbacks, and his offenses have been both inventive and incendiary. At the age of 36, Mullen is just now hitting his stride, which has helped create a stir around a program that needed it.
Reason to question the hire: All of Mullen's success has come with Meyer not far behind. Now that he's broken the apron strings, is he about to get exposed? You know the routine about premier coordinators. Some are meant to be head coaches and others are better suited as cogs in a larger machine. Mullen will have to prove he's the former at one of the toughest SEC schools to win-and recruit-at.
The Early Hunch: There's really not much to dislike about this hire. Mullen could have gone in a number of different directions, but chose Starkville to call home. That's a big win for a school that rarely makes headlines in the SEC. The town and the campus have embraced the new coach, so there's plenty of equity to be tapped</font></span></p>
Former Coach: Sylvester Croom</font> <font size="2">
</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">Last Seen</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">: Coordinating the Florida offense</font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">Reason to like the hire</font></span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><font size="2">: Hey, when you're Mississippi State and you land one of the hottest young coordinators in the country, it's cause for a celebration. Mullen is an Urban Meyer disciple, having been an assistant on his staffs at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida. He's been instrumental in the development of Meyer's quarterbacks, and his offenses have been both inventive and incendiary. At the age of 36, Mullen is just now hitting his stride, which has helped create a stir around a program that needed it.
Reason to question the hire: All of Mullen's success has come with Meyer not far behind. Now that he's broken the apron strings, is he about to get exposed? You know the routine about premier coordinators. Some are meant to be head coaches and others are better suited as cogs in a larger machine. Mullen will have to prove he's the former at one of the toughest SEC schools to win-and recruit-at.
The Early Hunch: There's really not much to dislike about this hire. Mullen could have gone in a number of different directions, but chose Starkville to call home. That's a big win for a school that rarely makes headlines in the SEC. The town and the campus have embraced the new coach, so there's plenty of equity to be tapped</font></span></p>