ESPN doing God's work....

[HomeBoyDawg]

Why can't MSU be an elite football school? (I know this opens me up to ridicule.) If Saban was our coach, could we be an elite school? If so, why? I know recruiting has a lot to do with it but Ole Miss appears to be doing a pretty good job of competing with Alabama, Georgia, Florida, etc. for recruits. Is it money? Money's sort of a chicken and egg thing--win and the money comes. I know I can dig deeper into my pockets. I know most of you can dig deeper. Does Alabama alumni have that much deeper pockets than MSU's?

I guess I'm just sort of tired of hearing that it's not possible. I'd like to hear the perception changed from "we can't" to "how can we."

 

[Dawgzilla]

I don't think you can read anything into Mullen leaving. If he left, it wouldn't necessarily be based on our current talent, but on what he sees as an opportunity for himself. We could have a National Championship caliber team coming up, and he still might leave if the situation and money were right. That said, I do think that Dak being done could provide Mullen some feeling that this chapter is over.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and Mullen is even more excited about Fitz and Staley stepping in....

 

[Dawgg]

Between Scarborough, Aschoff, and Dinich these ESPN op-ed pieces have gotten nigh-unreadable. Scarborough and Aschoff can easily blame their subpar education, but Dinich went to Indiana, an AAU school since like 1909.

My espn.com usage today consists of "click NCAAF". Click "Scores". Even that's more of a hassle on a phone than it used to be with their new design.

 

[was21]

There are many who like Dan's personality. He's actually a personable guy according to many

 

[TBone.sixpack]

No one here gives a 17 what you think you obsessed *******.

 

[johnson86-1]

I don't think you can read anything into Mullen leaving. If he left, it wouldn't necessarily be based on our current talent, but on what he sees as an opportunity for himself. We could have a National Championship caliber team coming up, and he still might leave if the situation and money were right. That said, I do think that Dak being done could provide Mullen some feeling that this chapter is over.

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and Mullen is even more excited about Fitz and Staley stepping in....

If he goes to UGA or USCw or somewhere similar, you can't read into it. If he goes anywhere else, I'll read into until proven otherwise.

ETA: for all the supposed vacancies, what vacancies are coming up at a school that would actually be a threat? Maybe I'm just not thinking of all the vacancies likely to come up, but I don't see any obvious threats other than UGA or USCw.

 

[RocketDawg]

Who knows? He might be another Frank Beamer and take it from cradle to grave in Starkville. It would be nice if he did. I don't think we're like we were in the '50s with Darrel Royal, where a decent year or two means he's up for grabs by the 'football schools'. We're not elite, but we're a major player in the SEC.

 

[RocketDawg]

We're on our way to being elite, but it'll take a long time. I think the primary reason is that Mississippi has two major SEC schools, plus Southern Miss, with a small population base under 3M. Alabama on the other hand has 2 major SEC schools and no other major football programs, and a population almost twice as large (around 5M). Louisiana only has 1 major football school. So does Arkansas. Use the same logic on the rest of the SEC and other major programs in the country.

 

[RocketDawg]

I've met and talked briefly to Dan one time. Never have met Freeze. But based on my one encounter, and many times on television for both, I'd take Dan's personality over Freeze's for a football HC any day. Freeze is really a turn-off for me.

 

[anon1787432961]

Rumor is South Panola will make a run at Feeze after he loses the next 2 games.

 

[patdog]

If he goes to UGA or USCw or somewhere similar, you can't read into it. If he goes anywhere else, I'll read into until proven otherwise.

Yep. If he goes to Southern Cal or UGA, he just left us for an elite job. If he leaves for VA Tech, South Carolina or Miami, that raises some red flags. I honestly don't think he's going anywhere though.

 

[Shamoan]

HE JUST CALLED US "MIDDLING" stogies for EVERYBODY!!!! movin on up bitches**

 

[BulldogBlitz]

i'm going to have to read ESPN more often. do they do this with each and every coach? "is it time for saban to leave for (pine bluff jc)"?

hehe.

i did enjoy what was the obvious reader comment and mock the article asking if it's time for this writer to leave.

 

[jack daniels dog]

Correct me if I'm wrong but we have literally had this conversation EVERY year since Mullen has been here. If he is successful, the big schools are coming to steal him. If he has a middling to down year, he's bolting because he cannot achieve the next level at a school like MSU. Amazing this topic is discussed obsessively by fans and outsiders alike without fail each year.

 

[00Dawg]

I'll probably always point to the Virginia Tech model as saying we can. Beamer got them to their first huge bowl in year 9, and then was able to keep them in the Top 10 conversation almost year-in and year-out for 17 years (13 of those with double-digit wins). To me, that's the standard that's within reach for State. You do that long enough, you'll get a year where you get a shot at the title (unfortunately Vick couldn't quite beat FSU himself).
There's also a lesson in there on knowing when to retire, but it's not like the bottom fell out for VT.

 

[OliveBranchDAWG]

Yea, but Freeze is about to sign his best class yet...by a good margin if things fall like they expect they will, and I think he's going to want to coach those kids rather than starting over elsewhere.

I don't see Mullen leaving for a few reasons.

1) I think he's paid at market value.
2) His personality, like it or not, is a turn off to many.
3) The pool of schools able to pay a head coach above his current contract is not a large pool.
4) Of that pool, I don't think many would go over market value for him at this point.

Point being, I don't think he's going to have opportunity to leave, even if he wanted to do so.

Ahhh.. the ol' "best class yet" phrase, the same one we've been hearing the last 4 years. Well, they have their work cut out for them to reach the standard set by the 2013 'croots. Peach bowl participation rings are definitely a rare possession.

 

[Drewbowski]

The article said first in 70 years, not very first.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Here's how it goes (every damn year).

If a coach at MSU is successful, then he will be hired by a bigger school.
If a coach achieves results at Mississippi State's highest possible performance level, then he is successful.

No other school has hired Dan Mullen, therefore he is not successful. Since he is not successful, we can do better.

There's the logic**

 

[patdog]

He's edited the article to remove the errors pointed out in this thread.