Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Specifically Georgia, Florida and Michigan from last year.....all teams you say were reeling and imploding.<div>
</div><div>But I don't give a %#++ if they were reeling or not, we beat their ***, as we should because we were the better team. I could !@%+%@% care less the reason.</div><div>
</div><div>I don't see Auburn and South Carolina talk about MSU was "reeling". They call it a quality win.</div><div>
</div><div>If you ask me, you have more of the loser mentality than I do. If MSU wins, I guess there's always an excuse. If we lose, well that's the way things are supposed to be. %#++ that noise.</div>

Do you think we were better than AU this year? How about USCe yesterday?

 

[Hector.sixpack]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Saban's first gig at michigan state he went 6-6 his first 4 yrs. The were 6-6 the previous 3 yrs. Head coaches have to build programs. We currently have 56 players that are rs soph or younger. My perception is that Mullen is building.

 

[Goat Grindin]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

but unfortunately we played at their place, they were fired up, got the breaks and won. Nothing earth-shattering there. Carolina was a notch better than us.

 

[Goat Grindin]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

which renders your opinions useless.

 

[triton28]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

**

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Make sure to qualify all wins as quality as long as it's a big name school. Don't analyze the win. Would hate to make noise. Head in the sand. I bet you were on here doing the same thing in Croom's third year.

 

[hulkbuster]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Okay here's a post from a REALISTIC state fan that has ACTUAL knowledge about what he sees on the field. But first let me adress something. You said Georgia is an "average" team this year? Seriously? If i'm not mistaken I have heard MANY SEC booth people say Georgia is the ONLY team that can contend in the SEC title game Vs bama or LSU & this is before Lattimore got hurt. You also failed to mention in Mullen's 1st year we could've EASILY been 7-5 or 6-6 in his 1st YEAR! Dixon crossed the goalline on 2nd down Vs LSU that year. Plus Vs. Houston @ home Tyson hit Berry for a 20yd TD that got called back because of a "pass beyond the line of scimmage" phantom penalty in which he was CLEARLY short of. So that shows me Mullen took a walk on QB (Lee), & a kid who couldn't complete 50% of his passes in a WALKTHROUGH practice & was REALLY a bowl team in his 1st year. The next year, I will agree people thought Fla & Georgia in the preseason were better than they actually were. But we beat them! Arkansas was a SUGAR BOWL team, and we almost beat them. Michigan was ranked in the top 12 yesterday before they fell. Same talent, same kid @ QB & pretty much the same Offensive system. Now on to this year. Did u REALLY think we'd beat LSU? Seriously? The Auburn game took crooked refs & 1 bad play call @ the end. I'm not calling the play call bad just running behind Clausell was a bad move. But should've, would've could've. Georgia is an elite team this year. They play SC (pre Lattimore getting injured) they'd beat thier brains out! Realistically we beat Kentucky, Tenn Tech & Tsun we are in a bowl. Not in a LONG time has yhat happened! Under anybody! Mullen's the right guy, if you don't think so....you might wanna jump on the Bama or LSU train.

 

[drunkernhelldawg]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Of course, anybody who reads between the lines in my posts knows that I am a Mullen skeptic, even though I do like Mullen. I am surprised and disappointed that the well-educated people who post on this board took your "convince me" so literally when it is obvious that you are using the phrase to start a discussion. I think it's the kind of discussion that makes this board worth reading, and I hope you stick around and continue to make people uncomfortable with provocative questions and perspectives.

But one idea that is between the lines of your posts in this thread is this: The MSU Bulldogs are not their current coach. These guys do their best and get what they can and move on. We, the fans, the community, the born Bulldogs, we are left to either enjoy their success or endure their screw ups. Last year's huge increase for Mullen is a perfect example of people being so wrapped up in the moment that they lose perspective. Now we're not sure we've done the right thing, but it's too late to change now. We signed and we'll pay. The coaches we have hired or not hired have had and will continue to have long-term consequences even after they're gone. We need to look at it with open eyes and not get sucker punched again. Mullen is a great coach, which is the very reason that it doesn't do anything but make him and us stronger to discuss him objectively in this and other forums. His job is too important for his performance to be sugar coated.

 

[mstatedawgs]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Way too much time on your hands

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Of course, anybody who reads between the lines in my posts knows that I am a Mullen skeptic, even though I do like Mullen. I am surprised and disappointed that the well-educated people who post on this board took your "convince me" so literally when it is obvious that you are using the phrase to start a discussion. I think it's the kind of discussion that makes this board worth reading, and I hope you stick around and continue to make people uncomfortable with provocative questions and perspectives.

But one idea that is between the lines of your posts in this thread is this: The MSU Bulldogs are not their current coach. These guys do their best and get what they can and move on. We, the fans, the community, the born Bulldogs, we are left to either enjoy their success or endure their screw ups. Last year's huge increase for Mullen is a perfect example of people being so wrapped up in the moment that they lose perspective. Now we're not sure we've done the right thing, but it's too late to change now. We signed and we'll pay. The coaches we have hired or not hired have had and will continue to have long-term consequences even after they're gone. We need to look at it with open eyes and not get sucker punched again. Mullen is a great coach, which is the very reason that it doesn't do anything but make him and us stronger to discuss him objectively in this and other forums. His job is too important for his performance to be sugar coated.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Okay here's a post from a REALISTIC state fan that has ACTUAL knowledge about what he sees on the field. But first let me adress something. You said Georgia is an "average" team this year? Seriously? If i'm not mistaken I have heard MANY SEC booth people say Georgia is the ONLY team that can contend in the SEC title game Vs bama or LSU & this is before Lattimore got hurt. You also failed to mention in Mullen's 1st year we could've EASILY been 7-5 or 6-6 in his 1st YEAR! Dixon crossed the goalline on 2nd down Vs LSU that year. Plus Vs. Houston @ home Tyson hit Berry for a 20yd TD that got called back because of a "pass beyond the line of scimmage" phantom penalty in which he was CLEARLY short of. So that shows me Mullen took a walk on QB (Lee), & a kid who couldn't complete 50% of his passes in a WALKTHROUGH practice & was REALLY a bowl team in his 1st year. The next year, I will agree people thought Fla & Georgia in the preseason were better than they actually were. But we beat them! Arkansas was a SUGAR BOWL team, and we almost beat them. Michigan was ranked in the top 12 yesterday before they fell. Same talent, same kid @ QB & pretty much the same Offensive system. Now on to this year. Did u REALLY think we'd beat LSU? Seriously? The Auburn game took crooked refs & 1 bad play call @ the end. I'm not calling the play call bad just running behind Clausell was a bad move. But should've, would've could've. Georgia is an elite team this year. They play SC (pre Lattimore getting injured) they'd beat thier brains out! Realistically we beat Kentucky, Tenn Tech & Tsun we are in a bowl. Not in a LONG time has yhat happened! Under anybody! Mullen's the right guy, if you don't think so....you might wanna jump on the Bama or LSU train.

pre Latt. injury. They did play USCe pre Latt injury and they lost. Not following you there. Whatever you are trying to say, beating South Cackalacky pre Latt or not is nothing to crow about this year. That team has issues.

 

[triton28]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Nm

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Saban's first gig at michigan state he went 6-6 his first 4 yrs. The were 6-6 the previous 3 yrs. Head coaches have to build programs. We currently have 56 players that are rs soph or younger. My perception is that Mullen is building.

have done better. I thought you were talking about Former LSU Championship coach / just left the Dolphins Saban. I should have clarified.

FYI, Jr. High QB (16 year old) Nick Saban would be doing worse than Mullen. lol.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Nm

 

[triton28]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

But im surprised you can see Hud on my chin considering how far ahead of us he is in the bcs standings.

 

[Temple of the Dawg]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Since you tossed aside his time at Michigan State, lets examine where he has recruited since.

LSU- The state of Louisiana is ridiculously stacked with D1 talent every single year. 99.9% of kids in the state will choose LSU if they have an offer. The rest of the rosters of the SEC are littered with 3* players from LA that essentially didn't get an offer from LSU. I mean freakin' Les Miles who can barely string together 5 words coherently pulls top 10 classes every year. Mullen would be a recruiting genius at LSU.

Bama- More of the same. The state isn't as talent rich as LA, GA, or Fla, but it does produce plenty of D1 talent every year. Additionally, the Bama name carries more weight than just about any college team in the nation. It isn't difficult to go into surrounding states and pluck the talent you want from MS, UGA, LA, FLA, TX, TN, SC, NC and so on based on the script A on the shirt.

The biggest card Saban has going for him is his on the field results. The man wins and he knows how to develop players to get them to the league. You add that ability to being coach at either one of these schools, and suddenly you become an elite recruiter.
However, he has been a college head coach for 16 seasons now. Expecting Mullen to be comparable to Saban at this point is just foolish.

I would argue all day that if you put Saban at MSU (prior to LSU and Bama where he became a household name as a genius coach), that he would struggle to bring in the kind of talent that you think we should be getting. The fact that Saban was 6-6 his first four years at Mich St. is a perfect example. Mich St has more history than we do in football and it took him until his fifth season to get beyond .500. Saban's success in recruiting is as much if not more a result of the places he coached than him being a master recruiter.

Don't get me wrong, I do think Mullen has plenty of room to improve at recruiting. But, at MSU, it is going to take time. We are a .400 team historically. That is not a loser mentality, it is simple fact. At places like MSU, you can not go from primarily 65% 2* & 25% 3* recruits to primarily 4* recruits on the back of one 9-4 season, a season which you said wasn't nearly as good as it looks on paper.

 

[dawgstudent]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Is this season disappointing? Yes. Have I questioned Mullen this season? Of course. Did I think we were lucky to have him before the season? Yes. Do I think we are lucky to have him now? Not at this moment b/c we are losing games. Last year we were winning. Am I going to ask myself another question? I think I am through for now.

But there is no thought in my mind that said we should entertain any thoughts of forcing him out. It would be idiotic. Mullen has made some decisions that leave me scratching my head but we are still paying Mullen the least amount of any coach in the SEC West.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Is this season disappointing? Yes. Have I questioned Mullen this season? Of course. Did I think we were lucky to have him before the season? Yes. Do I think we are lucky to have him now? Not at this moment b/c we are losing games. Last year we were winning. Am I going to ask myself another question? I think I am through for now.

But there is no thought in my mind that said we should entertain any thoughts of forcing him out. It would be idiotic. Mullen has made some decisions that leave me scratching my head but we are still paying Mullen the least amount of any coach in the SEC West.

Currently feels about Mullen. And if it's a positive feeling, explain why. Glad to know that others are raising questions. I certainly think it's way way way too premature to push him out now. That would be ridiculous. I will say that if next year we are sitting in the same position we are currently sitting in then he needs to be canned. My fear is that 2010 has bought him 2-3 years of being able to suck with no consequences.

 

[the next big thing]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

and seems pretty well-versed to have only 37 posts.

ill leave it at that. interpret it how you will.

 

[bigiron.sixpack]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Embrace the threaded view of the board.

 

[Johnson85]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

...I will say that if next year we are sitting in the same position we are currently sitting in then he needs to be canned. My fear is that 2010 has bought him 2-3 years of being able to suck with no consequences.

1st: We don't suck right now. We're not good, and certainly we missed a chance to have a special year by failing to address critical needs in recruiting, but we're in pretty decent position considering what kind of program Mullen inherited.

2nd: We are going to be in the same position next year that we are now. Unless we're on some JUCO talent I don't know about, we're going to be solid or better everywhere but OL and DE and probably have a weakness at one linebacker spot. In the SEC, that spells 6-6 or 7-5 at best. That's still not anywhere near the position where we should be considering firing Mullen. Had Mullen not had his head up his *** regarding recruiting, he'd probably be able to take the team up another level next year. Unfortunately, by the time we can fill some of the holes we have, we'll be seeing new faces in the positions where we are strong right now, so we may be another three years away. Sucks, but no coach is going to be perfect and Mullen has been much more good than bad. If he doesn't turn recruiting around and doesn't get beyond 6-6 or 7-5 in 2012 or 2013, then it will probably be time to assess what is good enough.

 

[drt7891]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

right guy for the job????? Your logic makes no sense.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

1st. We do suck. Don't kid yourself.

2nd. This is exactly what I am talking about. This guy already thinks only 6-7 wins next year is a given. 17n loser mentality. Glosses over Mullen head up his *** in recruiting. That's part of the problem! Mullen did suck it up in recruiting. We don't have any difference makers waiting in the wings. You want to assess in 2014? Good grief.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Nm

 

[Sutterkane]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

We finished 15th in the country. A whole lot of other people, most of which weren't even state fans, thought we were a damn good football team; and we were. You are completely in the minority here among pretty much everybody that follows college football and get paid to do so.

I'm sorry that in year 2 or 3 Mullen doesn't have us in the top 10 competing for the SEC championship just 2 years removed from a 4 win season and an absolute gang rape from our in state rival, but that simply isn't how college football works. If you're wanting improvement every single year from a record standpoint, you're going to end up a very disappointed fan no matter what school you follow unless you invent time travel and go back in time to root for Alabama under the bear. Which, given the fact that you've shown that you don't really know dick about college football I doubt you understand how astrophysics works.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

We were a solid football team. Just shedding a little light on the fact that maybe 2010 wasn't the dream season we all thought it was at the time and thus, maybe Mullen isnt the dream coach we all thought he was just 2 months ago.

 

[Sutterkane]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

While we're on the subject of "never said that", nobody has stated that Mullen is our dream coach except you. Also, nobody has said that last year was a dream season either. We've had better teams and better records, period.

 

[Dawg in a pile]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

What if I told you !*# attempted to get out of Starkvilke last year? Would that change your opinion of him in any way?

I don't know what or who you think you know but this is ********. Everyone responding in this thread to you should take everything else you say with a grain of salt because of this comment. It's simply a lie and something you just made up or heard from someone else that made it up. Regardless of the coaching job this year (and I would love to cuss his *** out about why he played the worst QB in the history of football Tyson Lee his first year all damn season, especially on that 4th down with LSU), he is loyal to State and is happy in Vegas and has not been looking to leave. Sorry, I know you don't like him and all but don't just make **** up.

 

[bullysleftnut]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

We were a solid football team. Just shedding a little light on the fact that maybe 2010 wasn't the dream season we all thought it was at the time and thus, maybe Mullen isnt the dream coach we all thought he was just 2 months ago.

Last year was a $++@!@% dream season because we won 9 games. Sorry, at MSU that is an accomplishment. You can be a smug ******* and tell me I have a loser mentality, but I cordially invite you to look at the record books in any given 10 year period of MSU football history and then come back and explain to me why exactly you feel like our coach isn't any good.

I mean Christ, it's bad enough that you post this **** about a coach that has a winning record, but then you have to run down what we accomplished last year too? Like what, winning isn't good enough - our victories are only allowed to be over BCS bowl teams or something?
We lost Saturday. We are 0-4 in the SEC currently. Get over it.

Guess what? Our best scenario for the season is 2-6 in the SEC and a lower-tier bowl. And I will be okay with that. Why?

BECAUSE OUR FOOTBALL PROGRAM HAS SUCKED *** FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. And other than a roller-coaster decade with Jackie Sherrill, it sucked for the previous 50 too.

Now we have a head coach who's on the verge of getting us to a second consecutive bowl game and you're talking about how he needs to improve or he should be run off.

We aren't Bama or Texas. You have to crawl before you can walk, and you have to walk before you can run. Why can't you just be okay with making it to bowl games for the next couple of years before you start talking about running off Mullen for not winning SEC and national titles?

****, you sound like Ole Miss fans circa 2003.

 

[yakalot]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

The clincher is how much Mullen hates Starkville and wants to get out.<div>
</div><div>There is no bear fan alive that thinks anyone could like Starkville. It's a bigger mantra than "LSU is our true rival".</div>

 

[Hector.sixpack]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Coaches learn and grow up too.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

nm

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Lmao. I think you got my point. Try not to take everything so literal kid.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

about Starkville. All indications are he and his family enjoy it here. All I am saying is that he did put his name out there for other jobs. He would have left if given the right opportunity. I don't think believing that is so far fetched. What rubbed me the wrong way is that when nothing came of it, he portrayed it publically like he was some kind of loyal coach and a bulldog for the long haul. It's not that big a deal really. Most coaches would have done the same thing. You float your name to get more money, you look for the best opportunities, and if you have the chance to rally the fanbase and get everyone to love you even more, you take it.

 

[Swampazz]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

Is that why you hate him? You say that Mullen tried to get out after last season. Why don't you tell us where he tried to go....you can do that....this is only a message board.

 

[Johnson85]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

That's the only thing MSU really needs to be an attractive job, is to fire coaches that prove to be less than post-Miami Nick Saban in the first three years.

What a 17ing moron.

And how is pointing out that Mullen had his head up his *** in recruiting glossing over the fact that Mullen had his head up his *** in recruiting. I don't think you understand what "glosses over" means.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

in recruiting, but doesn't hold him accountable for it. Without going back and reading the guy's post I interpreted it like "he had his head up his ***", but other than that he was fine. Having your head up your *** in recruiting is a pretty big deal dont ya think? He wasted a golden opportunity last year to capitalize on the top in state talent after a 9 win season, thumping Ole Miss, winning the Gator Bowl.Now we are 0-4 in the SEC and I can't for the life of me see any legit players waiting in the wings.

If we are 0-4 in the SEC on Oct 15th 2012 and you still want to keep him around, I don't know what to say to you. State has tried the bend over backwards and give the coach 5-6-7 year thing and it didn't work out so well did it?

 

[TheCosmoKramer]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

why would we not consider Saban's record during his first 3 years as a head coach for this argument? That seems to be the most relevant comparison.

We know now that Saban is a good college coach. During his first 3 years at Michigan State, he was comparable to Mullen during Mullen's first 3 years at Mississippi State. Therefore, it's reasonable to look at Saban's first 3 years and hope that Mullen may develop as Saban did. Will it happen? No one know. Is it too early to say that Mullen isn't the head coach for MSU? Yes.

In his second season as head coach, Mullen's team finished ranked 15th in the nation. Can we point to wins that were not as impressive as we thought at the time? Yes, but it's still a 9-win season and top-15 ranking. I think it's too early to say half a season later that he might not be the right coach, particularly when all of the losses have been against top 30 ranked teams. If this trend continues for another season and a half, you might have a point. You don't yet, though, particularly when you consider how Mullen has energized the fan base and taken the right steps to publicize the program.

As for whether Mullen tried to leave after last season, it doesn't change anything about whether he's a good coach, and I think the fact that no one knows whether he tried to leave or not (unlike Nutt in the past) is an argument for why he is good at handling the off-the-field aspects of being a head coach.

 

[Maroonlegacy]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

neither would Bear Bryant or Rockne or whoever else we want to compare him to.

Actually, I change my mind. Given the team State has this year, no question in my mind Saban would have gone down to JH and beaten Auburn. I take back what I said, Saban would do better given the exact same circumstances. He would also recruit better because he is a tremendous evaluator of talent. Alabama has numerous 3* guys that are impact players.

It is too early to definitively say whether Mullen is the right coach or not. But it's not too early to have the conversation without being called a dumbass or a 17n idiot or bigot or a bear or whatever else I've been called in this thread.

 

[Hector.sixpack]

Convince me that Mullen is the right guy for the job. Tell me why he is a good head coach

took him 5 years to reach 9 wins. Saban is the best coach in football, but he didn't get that way overnight. I believe in the vision of the current administration and coaching staff. It makes sense, it looks promising-get kids to campus (camps), evaluate talent first hand, focus on instate recruits, redshirtplayers, have 24 seniors every year that are 23 yrsold, beat your instate rival,develop quarterbacks, runanoffense to fit players talents, build new facilities,market like hell and raise more money than ever.

What's your vision?