How long will Mullen be here?

[TXDawg.sixpack]

Just finished watching the Fox SportsSouth "Spotlight" on MSU athletics and I continue to be impressed by Coach Mullen. However, part of me continues to wonder if he's really committed to the program, or if it's all just coach speak.<div>
</div><div>What say you?</div>

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

Just finished watching the Fox SportsSouth "Spotlight" on MSU athletics and I continue to be impressed by Coach Mullen. However, part of me continues to wonder if he's really committed to the program, or if it's all just coach speak.<div>
</div><div>What say you?</div>

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

Just finished watching the Fox SportsSouth "Spotlight" on MSU athletics and I continue to be impressed by Coach Mullen. However, part of me continues to wonder if he's really committed to the program, or if it's all just coach speak.<div>
</div><div>What say you?</div>

 

[thatlonghairedguy]

he's going to retire here

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

He will be entombed in a mausoleum built in the junction after he passes away after coaching here for 50 years.

 

[Goat 4 Eva]

and the fans keep showing up. Fortunately, he has a way of uniting fanbases opposed to other coaches, like Nutt, who divide them. I could definitely see him being a Ferentz type guy as long as nothing out of the ordinary rears it's head, like a scandal or some big money cigar boy !*%%+$@ him over. <div>
</div><div>I am a little worried that his name comes up with every opening. He could put a stop to that if he wanted. I think there are definitely some jobs he'd leave for no matter what, like Penn State. The rest would depend on money. If he averages 8-9 wins a year, we can probably keep him. If he starts winning 10 or 11 and maybe wins the SEC, somebody will throw big money at him. But I don't know who. Somebody like Southern Cal or Texas.</div>

 

[Coach34]

He gets offered a job by:

Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State
LSU
Alabama
Georgia
USC
Oregon
UCLA
or
Fla State

Until then- we got him

 

[Msudawg985]

Does anyone know when this will replay or was this the final time?

 

[Mullenation]

Who wants to coach at Notre Dame where the expectations are sky high with an overly delusional fan base still considering themselves a national powerhouse.Yeah they could pay him boatloads, but he ain't winning a title there. UCLA? No way he would leave for a middle tier Pac-12 school.

 

[patdog]

basically you're right. There's about 12-20 schools that I think he'd leave us for, but there's no way of knowing if, or when, one of those schools will offer. In the meantime, I'm not going to sit around worrying about how long Mullen's going to be here. Whenever he does leave, and eventually he will one way or the other, we're going to be in far better shape to hire a good coach than we've ever been.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

i might not agree with the specific schools listed, but yeah, i think he's here until he gets offered an elite (top 15 or so) job. he's got something good going here, so no point in leaving for another so-so BCS conf job, like all the stupid minnesota talk this year.

 

[sldrboy2002]

but I believe as long as he is payed competively, improvements are made to the Football Facilities, and Fan support continues to increase Mullen will stay. If those begin to falter he will leave.

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

I might not agree with C34's list (UCLA & UGA) but I agree with his theory.

I also find it ironic to look at these poll results and contrast that against the reaction this board had 6 months ago when Miami and Minnesota were conducting their searches.

 

[GoodBourbon]

If they hired a Scientologist for a coach.

 

[scdog.sixpack]

We are going to have tough year next year on defense and I'm not convinced the OL will come together with the loss of DS. But I also didn't believe we would be as good as we were last year. I think he has another 2 years to prove he can continue the success, then I will be worried.

 

[boatsnhoes]

Is he really a scientologist? NS?

Well, if he keeps winning, his big recruits will come (like the group of unsavory....talented yes but unsavory characters we lost this year), big recruits come and he WILL DO huge things for MSU Football, if huge things come then some big money program will throw big money at him that MSU probably can't match. He can do big things here if he starts to get the 4 star/5 star recruits he wants....it will depend on his loyalty to us or lack thereof. I thought Cliff Lee was loyal to the Texas Rangers....and you see how that turned out.

Final answer is if we are able to keep him 5 years from here (so 7 total)we should consider ourselves blessed by John Travoltas/Tom Cruise's spaceship.

 

[jacksonreb1]

in this area. it is simply going to be harder to win "big" at either place than it will at a number of other schools, due to simple economics. whether its mullen or nutt or whomever, if they do well at either school they are going to get other opportunities and ultimately unless they are an alum who just loves us, it comes down to business. nutt had two surprisingly good years and everybody loved him, then 2010 came along and if it weren't for the buyout, he might be gone. that's true everywhere meaning a coach has to make his money while he can. msu and ole miss can pay a HC a competitive salary but if 20 or 30 schools decide to, they can outbid us. in addtion, its not just his salary...its the total budget for assistants pay, recruiting (public and not so public) and on and on. i'd say that at least 8 other sec schools could probably take a coach form either of us if they set their minds to it...fla, uga, tenn, lsu, bama, aub, ark and maybe even usc now that spurrier has some momentum going. not to mention fla st, miami (?), and even some acc schools, plus the penn st's etc of the world.

i'm not dissing msu. i just think both of our AD's need to keep a short list of up and coming coaches in thier pockets when either of us starts having success that the rest of the world thinks is beyond what msu and ole miss "ought" to have.

 

[Johnson85]

If he averages 8-9 wins a year, we can probably keep him. If he starts winning 10 or 11 and maybe wins the SEC, somebody will throw big money at him. But I don't know who. Somebody like Southern Cal or Texas.

If hepeaks at 8-9 a year, then he'll feel like he can't compete for a championship here, and there will be ~20 schools thatwould be desirable to him and he would probably be on the radar of all but maybe the top five of them. If he wins 10 or 11 for a couple of seasons, then he can compete for a championship at MSU and then only maybe 5 or so schools would offer enough of an advantage to hire him away. Of course, if he wins 10 or 11 for a couple of seasons, those 5 schools will definitely want him.

This all assuming he's reasonably happy in Starville.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

Now, we really need to kick arse in recruiting this year.</p>

 

[MeridianDog]

1 - He will carryus to the level ofschools that consistently sellall their season tickets and have waiting lists for them.
2 - He will be responsible forimprovingus to the level of a team that consistently competes at a respectable level in SEC.
3 - We will become a "Toss up" or"Loss"game on everyone's schedule - never again a push-over guaranteed win when you play us.
4 - We will yearly go to bowl games and a majority will be New Year's day games.
5 - He will be here when stadium is closed in on North end - wish we could keep him until both ends are closed - money we're willing to pay will determine that.
6 - If he is here when stadium is fully bowled in, he will be the best coach MSU has ever had - He probably will achievethat level in next five years.
7 - He will add enough wins over Arky, Bama, Aub and LSU that they stop gloatng the week they play us and lose sleep Friday night before playing MSU.
8 - He will play in Atlanta for SEC Championship within the next seven years.
9 - OM will remain TSUN forever. Eventually they will learn to like it.
10 - Little children will ask to be driven past his house during pilgrimages to Starkvegas.

 

[TXDawg.sixpack]

If he averages 8-9 wins a year, we can probably keep him. If he starts winning 10 or 11 and maybe wins the SEC, somebody will throw big money at him. But I don't know who. Somebody like Southern Cal or Texas.

This all assuming he's reasonably happy in Starville.

If you listen to hiscomments, he and and his family love it here and it's the perfect place for them and they have no intention of ever leaving.

I just wouldn't be surprised if that starts changing as his son gets older and closer to school-age.

 

[Coach34]

I might not agree with C34's list (UCLA & UGA) but I agree with his theory.

I also find it ironic to look at these poll results and contrast that against the reaction this board had 6 months ago when Miami and Minnesota were conducting their searches.

call them a "middle-tier Pac-10 school" all you want- but if Mullen can recruit and win in Starkville, Miss- what the hell do you think he could do in LA?

 

[shsdawg]

That would be like going to Southern Miss. FIGHT ON! </p>

 

[MedDawg]

i might not agree with the specific schools listed, but yeah, i think he's here until he gets offered an elite (top 15 or so) job. he's got something good going here, so no point in leaving for another so-so BCS conf job, like all the stupid minnesota talk this year.

Mullen's new salary is within the Top 12 or so in the country, and State just finished #15 in the AP poll.

It's going to take much better than a "top 15" program to steal him. I likethe lists shown so far, butthey aretoo big. It's going to take a Top 8-10 program to steal him.

Mullen might be one of those (rare) coaches that realizes you can win 7-10 games, get paid very well, andnot only keep your job but be alegend here, where the same results get you fired at other schools.Atthe top programs, evencoaches that win National Championships and multiple 11-game seasonscan be on the hot seat.

 

[821505]

Ara Parseghan wasn't Catholic.

 

[klerushund]

...will be a big factor in how long he stays. There's really no reason for us not to be in every single game. I see it playing out one of four ways:<div>
</div><div>A. We play REALLY well (like making it back to Atlanta well):</div><div>
</div><div>B. We play well (see: last year)</div><div>
</div><div>C. We play okay (not as good as last year but still bowl eligible)</div><div>
</div><div>D. We play poorly (a step backwards from last year)</div><div>
</div><div>If A, then I could see him staying until we win an SEC title (or more) or he realizes he's taken us as far as he can.</div><div>If B or C, then I think he'll be bolting if a big name comes calling. </div><div>If D, his name won't be as hot of a commodity so he'll probably be here for a while.</div>

 

[rebelette17er]

that last year, during the rumors of him leaving, he stated that there were only a handful of other programs he would consider leaving for. I think that his number was 3. For some reason I think he said Notre Dame and Penn State were 2 of them and I cannot remember the other(s). Did anyone else hear this, or am I completely wrong?

 

[formerpolkie]

want to see pictures of the rebelette you 17ed.

 

[Mjoelner]

I don't think it has anything to do with a paycheck. Stricklin has already said if he leaves it won't be because of money. It's more about ego and patience. There's no doubt that the man wants a championship. The question is how patient is he? Is he patient enough to wait for the huge ego stroke of lifting us up from nothing to a championship if it takes say 8 years or will his patience give in andcause him to go for the quick strike at a perennial power although the shot to the ego wouldn't be quite aslarge becuase the mountain wasn't as high?

Of course this is just him bs-ing with a friend of mine but he said he expects to be here 10 more years. He said he got a free pass the first 2 years and starting this year he expects to piss off 10% of the fan base every year so we'd be ready to run him off in 2021.

 

[drunkernhelldawg]

No way to know. Mine's just a feeling, like everybody else's.

It is exciting to have Mullen on our sideline. His intensity is something that you just can't fake.

 

[windcrysmary]

based on that fact alone, I think worrying about that is kinda silly... if it DID happen, I think our program would be in better shape than my 48 year old *** has ever seen...

I don't blame him for keeping the fanbase, cigar boys and the athl dept guessing...can't blame him for making sure he's paid as much as we can afford to shell out... so I understand him not wanting to "put it to rest", even though he needs to put some kind of balance in the situation to keep the recrootin' strong...

the sheep in me tells me he thinks he has a great gig, he and the family are happy in Vegas and can create something here no one else thought was attainable..

maybe stay and do the "impossible" till a NFL gig comes a callin'....

 

[Shmuley]

Darrell Royal. Seriously.

But leave he will.

 

[Resolved]

the NTSU Mean Green! That was a step-up at the time, right?

 

[topdawg.sixpack]

nm

 

[RebelBruiser]

The economics do hurt in keeping a coach, but also the recruiting ground is a big factor.

Take a look at what Urban Meyer did when he left Utah. He basically had his pick of Notre Dame or Florida. Notre Dame was his dream job, and you know they could match anything Florida put on the table. The only thing they couldn't match is the recruiting base that Florida had. Meyer turned down the money and his dream job in favor of other really good money and an easier recruiting job.

That is one of the biggest factors in whether a coach would consider a job better than another. MSU and Ole Miss share a state that produces a decent amount of talent, but not enough for two schools. If Ole Miss and MSU were one school, our recruiting situation would be better than Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas for sure. Florida, Georgia, and LSU might still have an edge, but it would be a great situation. However, with the state split, it not only means you have to split the top talent, but it means you have to work that much harder for that talent.

In a state like Louisiana, not only do they produce more talent than Mississippi overall, but with a lot of the top talent, all it takes is an LSU offer to get a commitment. You don't have to work as hard at pounding the trail to get the talent.

 

[boatsnhoes]

It's a sheepish post I know. If he were able to get nearly all the 4 or 5 star talent in state (assuming Lemmings, superprep, rivals ability to apply star value is correct) for a few straight years...he would whip any SEC teams a** with it. If you can do that then you can beat any team in the nation....best teams come for the SEC....see last 5 National champs. With that talent level pushed up I would gladly put him upagainst anything LSU, Florida, Georgia, Bama has.He wouldskull17 everyone with equal talent....right now he is outcoaching/outpreparing most folks with what he has.

I can remember as a small tyke being an MSU fan hoping Georgia, Florida, Tenn, Bama didn't blow us off the field or make the school look stupid. Nowadays I feel a little different.

 

[idog]

He gets offered a job by:

Texas
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Penn State
LSU
Alabama
Georgia
USC
Oregon
UCLA
or
Fla State

Until then- we got him

 

[mstatefan88]

It's a sheepish post I know. If he were able to get nearly all the 4 or 5 star talent in state (assuming Lemmings, superprep, rivals ability to apply star value is correct) for a few straight years...he would whip any SEC teams a** with it. If you can do that then you can beat any team in the nation....best teams come for the SEC....see last 5 National champs. With that talent level pushed up I would gladly put him upagainst anything LSU, Florida, Georgia, Bama has.He wouldskull17 everyone with equal talent....right now he is outcoaching/outpreparing most folks with what he has.

I can remember as a small tyke being an MSU fan hoping Georgia, Florida, Tenn, Bama didn't blow us off the field or make the school look stupid. Nowadays I feel a little different.

That will never happen on a consistent basis. Even if OM continues to do what they do, there will still be talented kids who end up being driven to OM. But I think ifDan can get 60 percent of the Top 10 or 12 every year, and supplement that witha couple of talentedout of state guys, like our recruiting board looks like right now with highly rated out of state guys, we can be very successful. But I think over any 5 year period it will be tough for either OM or MSU toaverage more than 60 percent of the Top 10 or 12 in the state of MS.

 

[jacksonreb1]

have competed with fla on $, but i'm not sure they "would". they're all squeamish about their academic reputation being tarnished by sports. which is another reason myer went to fla....ND's entrance requirements are a hinderance and at least at that time they would not cut any slack for athletes. that also makes recruiting tougher.

as to MS, i agree. whatever level of sustained (or short term) success is acheived at either msu or ole miss is going to be a lot harder to build and maintain than any number of other places. that's just going to make it that much harder for either of us to keep a seriously good coach. its sad but we've both got a lot to overcome.

 

[RebelBruiser]

That's why I've always said that the biggest things that could happen to either of our programs would be for something to create a population boom in the state of Mississippi, whether it would be someone founding and growing a Fortune 500 company in Jackson, significantly boosting the city's population, or it becoming some sort of mecca for retirement that creates industry.

We already have a very good per capita amount of talent in this state. The problem is the overall population. We need a significant population increase to lead to more Ole Miss/MSU fans and a larger athlete population.

That would go a lot further than anything else in boosting our athletic programs.

On that note, I think it would be good for the long term outlook of both the state and the universities if both would try to grow the out of state population, and if the state would encourage it. I realize that a good portion of out of state students just leave the state again when they receive their degree, but some of them stay. How are you ever going to increase the population of the state if you aren't trying to bring students in to at least get a taste of the state and possibly decide to start their businesses or working life in the state?

The boom of Olive Branch will help both departments in the long run some, because those students, even though most of them are really Memphians, will have in-state tuition to both schools. If Memphis and Shelby County keep driving more and more of their residents out of the county that helps, but it can't be the only growth of the state.