If Lebby goes 5-7, which naysayers will admit

[Lucifer Morningstar]

He was an OK idea on paper that did not work out. Whatever it is, Lebby does not have it. It’s clear he is not going to be the coach moving forward. Why spend so much time talking about a guy that is done at the end of next year? Lebby is like that fat girl you hop on after a bad divorce. Yeah, you have a little fun, but then you move on. You do not tie your future to it.

This is not to say that Lebby could not one day be a good head coach, but he was not ready to be one at the moment. His decision to keep a friend that is clearly in over his head as DC does all we need to prove he is not ready. A coach that is ready puts program over friendship offering the fan base a bone in the process. Loyalty is cute in the Boy Scouts, but not high end college football.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

Mississippi State fans... Getting wooly over a hypothetical -- long shot 5-7 season. Just sit back, close your eyes, and think about how pathetic it is to start arguing about how good the coach is or isn't if he goes 5-7 or 4-8 in year 2.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Are the sheep on Genespage and ErectileD talking up Heavy like he's going to make it? Seems like the consensus here, save for a few morons and AD workers, agree that he's another Croomhead. Of course most of us were already negative then lived through the Croom years. Just curious if the eternal optimists are still around or if they've mostly died off.

 

[Maroon13]

State fans were excited about 5-7 in 2009 because Mullen was a confident coach that knew what to say to the masses. He backed it up beating OM that year.

Fans could get excited if State went 5-7 this year with a win over OM. But Lebby just doesn't have the presents or charisma of Mullen to rally the masses.

Lebby may be one hell of a guitarist. But Mullen was a lead singer.

 

[JackShephard]

He’s a decent coach?

I mean honestly 4-8 should get you to say it or consider it.

What has to happen this year for you to consider him a decent hire?

If he goes 5-7, I'll be pumped! I'm not a naysayer, nothing against him. I hope he never loses another game as long as he's here. Last year was just atrocious though, so I'm skeptical.

 

[Walkthedawg]

Honestly, and sixpack cool me all you want, but 5-7 is fine this year. Am I still going to be pissed at some losses? Yep. Probably. But last year we won two friggen games and half of our DL was off catching butterflies somewhere instead of lining up on a play or two in the FL game last year. We had OGs pulling in opposite directions and nearly running into each other.

Remember… a week ago we were ready to fight to the death against anyone who wouldn’t vote Lebby as SEC coach of the year with 6 wins.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I don't get too caught up in sheer numbers. While fact, they don't always tell the whole story.

As always, it's about how we look and how we manuever the schedule.

You can spot dumb people easily when they say things like "Leach only muh won 3 games in muh 2020!!111" without the context of the 10 game SEC only schedule.

I get what you mean.

There are folks here who marvel (rightfully, I might add) about DD Lewis's defensive play at State.

With that said, a clean MissStake pig is still just a pig…

Results matter.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

He’s a decent coach?

I mean honestly 4-8 should get you to say it or consider it.

What has to happen this year for you to consider him a decent hire?

This may seem nitpicking, but I would like to see him shave his 17ing face daily. If you can grow a descent beard, grow one I certainly do. But you have to maintain the 17ing thing.

He's a CEO of a $100mm a year business. That neck sweater growing in 19 directions in swirls around his jawls shows me he's either too lazy to shave every morning, he's too stupid to understand how slovenly it makes him look, or he surrounds himself with people who won't tell him he looks like an overweight redneck frat boy. Position coach can have that, but I just can't 17ing stand it on a head coach.

Lebby, lazy bastard... Follow these directions.

1. Buy bic disposable razor
2. Wet neck with warm water
3. Apply barbasol on bottom of neck
4. Put razor on neck and pull up a couple of inches to were you want the beard to start.
5. Repeat around entirety of neck to make a respectable neckline.

 

[Faustdog]

State fans were excited about 5-7 in 2009 because Mullen was a confident coach that knew what to say to the masses. He backed it up beating OM that year.

Fans could get excited if State went 5-7 this year with a win over OM. But Lebby just doesn't have the presents or charisma of Mullen to rally the masses.

Lebby may be one hell of a guitarist. But Mullen was a lead singer.

"Just doesn't have the presence or charisma of Mullen" are words never spoken before in human history.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Every time I see someone compare a 5-7 year this year to a 5-7 year that year, it's like a strobe light marking another idiot. Lately it's been like an LED light show in our fanbase, no pun intended.

It's inherently uncomparable, since Mullen didn't have the transfer portal and immediate eligibility to supplement his roster in 2009 or 2010.

 

[Mr. Cook]

I get what you mean.

Results matter.

This. 24/7/365

But we digress: What of this new &tate logo? Keep it? Burn it? These are important times for image and influencing*****

 

[Faustdog]

It's inherently uncomparable, since Mullen didn't have the transfer portal and immediate eligibility to supplement his roster in 2009 or 2010.

Mullen also inherited a roster stacked with NFL players. Lebby inherited a MSU roster which didn’t have a single player even drafted for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Edited to add: I can make a good argument that Mullen underachieved in his 5-7 year, and yet we were all really excited because we beat an average Ole Miss team. He also lost to a four loss Houston team. His roster included Fletcher Cox, Pernell McPhee, Kyle Love, Jamar Chaney, Charles Mitchell, Jonathan Banks, Derrick Sherrod, Chad Bumphis, and Anthony Dixon.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

"Just doesn't have the presence or charisma of Mullen" are words never spoken before in human history.

The truth hurts… and makes people laugh…

**

 

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

He created those holes by running off existing players and going and getting portal guys who couldn't play. This reality escapes so many of you because you want it to be true so badly. Croom used the same excuse to fleece us for 5 years' worth of salary. Those of us who lived through that garbage won't buy it again.

Running them off and being unable to keep them are 2 different things. The reason why so many of them left is because of our NIL and probably more so because they were playing for their third different head coach in 4 years. Firing Lebby after year 2 would just throw gasoline onto the dumpster fire that we already have.

 

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

This may seem nitpicking, but I would like to see him shave his 17ing face daily. If you can grow a descent beard, grow one I certainly do. But you have to maintain the 17ing thing.

He's a CEO of a $100mm a year business. That neck sweater growing in 19 directions in swirls around his jawls shows me he's either too lazy to shave every morning, he's too stupid to understand how slovenly it makes him look, or he surrounds himself with people who won't tell him he looks like an overweight redneck frat boy. Position coach can have that, but I just can't 17ing stand it on a head coach.

Lebby, lazy bastard... Follow these directions.

1. Buy bic disposable razor
2. Wet neck with warm water
3. Apply barbasol on bottom of neck
4. Put razor on neck and pull up a couple of inches to were you want the beard to start.
5. Repeat around entirety of neck to make a respectable neckline.

Complaining about facial hair really is a new one in a long line of stupid arguments from our fanbase.



THIS GUY went to the playoff last year.

 

[3-2 Dawg]

Is that how you felt after Mullen's first year? And Mullen inherited some absolute studs/NFL guys on that team with Fletcher Cox, Kyle Love, Pernell McPhee, Anthony Dixon, Derrick Sherrod and possibly others I'm forgetting.

The cupboard was absolutely bare for Lebby.

This is right. Folks often forget that the freshman and juco class Mullen inherited from Croom was absolutely loaded. Plenty of reasons to criticize Croom but he did not leave the cupboard bare. Lebby inherited nothing.

 

[MStateDawg]

5-7 in year 2 during the portal era should be the bare minimum and yet that feels like a stretch to even entertain this team can win 5 games.

 

[John Deaux VII]

Damn Boy! Mullen went 5-7 and darn near 6-6 with the crap Crooked Cap Croom left him and the year after that won 9 still having to play half of Crooms 2008. Stiffs.

Lebby drove Arnett's 5-7 Chevy straight over a cliff into the abyss!
Lots of differences there!

Despite all of Croom's shortcomings, the team he left Mullen to work with in 2009 would beat last year's Mississippi State team by 2 or 3 touchdowns, at a minimum.

ETA - It might have been worse than that. Dixon would have run for 300 yards against Hutzler's Hustlers...

 

[ckDOG]

If we end up 5-7 what's the forward look? Lebby is going to get significantly better at coaching or we have to get better at buying rosters? Program development isn't a thing any longer. You either have the coaching/talent right now, or you don't.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

Complaining about facial hair really is a new one in a long line of stupid arguments from our fanbase.

View attachment 862811

THIS GUY went to the playoff last year.

Heupel gets a pass on the neck beard. He has to hide that fupa of a 2nd chin. Mother17er looks the offspring of an owl that 17ed a hog.

 

[FreeDawg]

Is that how you felt after Mullen's first year? And Mullen inherited some absolute studs/NFL guys on that team with Fletcher Cox, Kyle Love, Pernell McPhee, Anthony Dixon, Derrick Sherrod and possibly others I'm forgetting.

The cupboard was absolutely bare for Lebby.

We won 2 games last year & were one of the worst teams in football. CFB today is a broken sport systemically. Mullen won 5, was competitive with good teams, & clearly was building in the right direction. Lebby could win 5 and then have to replace 60% of the roster going in to the next year. Today CFB winning consistently seems more fragile and you’re not really rebuilding towards anything.

 

[Seinfeld]

For any of yall thinking that we have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting 5 wins, I encourage you to give T&L’s Friday pod a listen.

We will be entering the season with a starting 22 that is half filled with guys that have not done a thing on any level, another 5-6 guys that must take a big jump this season, and then maybe a few that will at least look good against non-con opponents.

This roster may be better than last year’s abomination, but it is still laughably deficient to play in this league

 

[Walkthedawg]

He also lost to a four loss Houston team.

We were screwed out of that one with the BS illegal forward pass.

we were a few plays from being 7-5 in 09. The one jump pass in the LSU game where he shoulda fed Dixon and the BS illegal forward pass call in the Houston game.

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

State fans were excited about 5-7 in 2009 because Mullen was a confident coach that knew what to say to the masses. He backed it up beating OM that year.

Fans could get excited if State went 5-7 this year with a win over OM. But Lebby just doesn't have the presents or charisma of Mullen to rally the masses.

Lebby may be one hell of a guitarist. But Mullen was a lead singer.

Are you saying he doesn’t have “the gift”?

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

Arnett is a moron and it's obvious with his ridiculous sideline interviews and general behavior in the last 2 years. He was just OK as a DC too.

Like it or not this is year 1 with Lebby. Last year didn't count with the freaking terrible roster we had. We had 6 defensive lineman in the rotation and none of them were D1 quality. Vince Lombardi would have won 3 games with last year's team. Hopefully we have filled some of those holes with the portal.

As far as Lebby goes I do not know if he is the answer but I have far from given up on him. All I want to see is continuous improvement. If he goes 5-7 or 4-8 this year, that's improvement. The reason we are in the situation we are in right now is mostly due to instability in our head coach over the last 8 years. We showed some heart last year against some really good teams. Toledo was bad but let downs are part of the college game.

Unless we go 0-12 Lebby will be here in 2026. I am cautiously optimistic about this season. We need to be the most cautious about the Northern Illinois game. It's the classic let down game before Tennessee.

Arnett is a moron and it's obvious with his ridiculous sideline interviews and general behavior in the last 2 years. He was just OK as a DC too.

Like it or not this is year 1 with Lebby. Last year didn't count with the freaking terrible roster we had. We had 6 defensive lineman in the rotation and none of them were D1 quality. Vince Lombardi would have won 3 games with last year's team. Hopefully we have filled some of those holes with the portal.

As far as Lebby goes I do not know if he is the answer but I have far from given up on him. All I want to see is continuous improvement. If he goes 5-7 or 4-8 this year, that's improvement. The reason we are in the situation we are in right now is mostly due to instability in our head coach over the last 8 years. We showed some heart last year against some really good teams. Toledo was bad but let downs are part of the college game.

Unless we go 0-12 Lebby will be here in 2026. I am cautiously optimistic about this season. We need to be the most cautious about the Northern Illinois game. It's the classic let down game before Tennessee.

Your second paragraph is absolute Bovine Scatology and belongs on that page. We don't get to remove last years results from our record books. We don't get to claim that State didn't finish dead last. We don't get to erase that State not only lost to Toledo but gave up over 40 points and 500 plus yards and their QB completed over 80% of his passes, most to wide open receivers that our defenders treated like they were in Covid quarantine.

Lebby & Hutzler OWN those results! Arnett went 5-7 with similar players. Lebby wasn't ready. There are lay least 3 other games State should have won last year with that team if they were better prepared and had smarter coaches.

This is year 2 in the Lebby NIL rebuild. Rosters are going to change dramatically every 2 years from now own. You know longer get 3 years to "rebuild from scratch" because every 2 years is now "purchase the rebuilt team".

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

Is that how you felt after Mullen's first year? And Mullen inherited some absolute studs/NFL guys on that team with Fletcher Cox, Kyle Love, Pernell McPhee, Anthony Dixon, Derrick Sherrod and possibly others I'm forgetting.

The cupboard was absolutely bare for Lebby.

Just shows how bad Croom was that he couldn't win with that kind of talent. These same "stars" were murdered in Oxford in 2008. I witnessed it in person. Mullen and staff "made" them stars.

 

[Chesusdog]

I’ve never disliked the idea of Lebby, I’m a big fan of his style of offense. I think his staff hires are the big negative to this point and that’s enough to kill a coaching tenure If you never get the staff right.

I think most of our fans would take a 2009 type competitive 5-7 in a heartbeat. That’s the biggest thing, just make us at least interesting again. The last two years have been non competitive and non interesting.

That's kinda where I am. His staff hires leave a lot to be desired, especially on the defensive side. We actually did okay with offense, but the defense has been the worst, least prepared I've seen at State in my lifetime. If our defense was even average we'd have been flirting with .500 last year.

 

[40 acres and a mule]

Heupel gets a pass on the neck beard. He has to hide that fupa of a 2nd chin. Mother17er looks the offspring of an owl that 17ed a hog.

View attachment 862857

I am old and had to google FUPA to know what it meant. Now I can't stop laughing.

 

[dawgstudent]

Lebby got some bad luck with this.

1. Coming off a Leach cultivated roster which is always a problem
2. A schedule that is absolutely brutal

The chances of success are slim but if he gets 4 wins - that means he wins a game he probably was not supposed to. 5 or above wins - I would consider that a success for this season and have something to sell going forward. At the end of the day, he's making almost $5 million/year and will go back to being a Power 4 OC if State doesn't work out.

 

[patdog]

Lebby got some bad luck with this.

1. Coming off a Leach cultivated roster which is always a problem
2. A schedule that is absolutely brutal

The chances of success are slim but if he gets 4 wins - that means he wins a game he probably was not supposed to. 5 or above wins - I would consider that a success for this season and have something to sell going forward. At the end of the day, he's making almost $5 million/year and will go back to being a Power 4 OC if State doesn't work out.

Very much agree. What really concerns me though is he hasn’t done much, if anything, to improve the roster talent level & he’s made a lot of hiring & coaching decisions that are questionable at best. Just looks like a guy who is in over his head.

 

[Indndawg]

Is that how you felt after Mullen's first year? And Mullen inherited some absolute studs/NFL guys on that team with Fletcher Cox, Kyle Love, Pernell McPhee, Anthony Dixon, Derrick Sherrod and possibly others I'm forgetting.

The cupboard was absolutely bare for Lebby.

Not a Libby apologist but this IS true. Croom did a good job getting the team we needed and getting rid of the riff-raff. Just was a terrible coach.

 

[Indndawg]

It was a down year for the SEC & Arizona State. **

Seriously, if he goes 5-7 even I think he’s earned a 3rd year.

I have to agree w/this. 4 early wins and suck down the stretch and luck out w/win late...that's different. Looking progressively better, playing superior opponents tight...beating OM...yes I'd keep him if it equals 5

 

[Indndawg]

Bull. Mullen inherited an infinitely better roster than Lebby. We were broken after the system overhaul/Arnett year. Mullen also also lost to Houston that year, who wasn't bad and probably is comparable to one of the better USM teams.

Houston had an NFL starter as QB

 

[mcdawg22]

He’s a decent coach?

I mean honestly 4-8 should get you to say it or consider it.

What has to happen this year for you to consider him a decent hire?

The only tangible things I have seen from Lebby since the clock hit zero last Thanksgiving are not firing Hutzler and our commit list. Both are very concerning. If we go 5-7 all of my concerns are alleviated

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Mullen also inherited a roster stacked with NFL players. Lebby inherited a MSU roster which didn’t have a single player even drafted for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Edited to add: I can make a good argument that Mullen underachieved in his 5-7 year, and yet we were all really excited because we beat an average Ole Miss team. He also lost to a four loss Houston team. His roster included Fletcher Cox, Pernell McPhee, Kyle Love, Jamar Chaney, Charles Mitchell, Jonathan Banks, Derrick Sherrod, Chad Bumphis, and Anthony Dixon.

Oh my holy damn. YOU my friend, are a neon LED light blinking idiot. Mullen goes 5-7 against the #1 schedule in America, is a whisker from 7-5, and actually signed half the players you listed, who were about to bail because Croom sucked. And looked good doing it.

Heavy, on the other hand, got blown out in basically every game. After bringing in his own players.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Not a Libby apologist but this IS true. Croom did a good job getting the team we needed and getting rid of the riff-raff. Just was a terrible coach.

Thug 6? All Croom did was just recruit MS players like all MSU coaches do, and had nothing at QB and WR.

Croom also didn’t inherit nearly as bad of a situation as people will tell you.

 

[paindonthurt]

1) As soon as he opened his mouth at the introductory press conference I knew he was an idiot

2) An ole miss acquaintance that is a “he w h o r e” that recruits money for a “fund” has known him for awhile. “Lebby’s alright. He’s a young Jackie”. Kiss of death.

A young Jackie is a bad thing?

 

[paindonthurt]

Damn Boy! Mullen went 5-7 and darn near 6-6 with the crap Crooked Cap Croom left him and the year after that won 9 still having to play half of Crooms 2008. Stiffs.

Lebby drove Arnett's 5-7 Chevy straight over a cliff into the abyss!
Lots of differences there!

If you think Lebby had more talent in year one than Mullen did in year one you are a 17ing idiot and should be banned from the entire internet.

I can prove that as well.

 

[paindonthurt]

Which 5 teams are we beating with our most expensive roster ever assembled?

That’s not what I asked but I’ve come to realize you aren’t good a comprehension

 

[paindonthurt]

Hutzler may in time become a good DC. But I will always think it was a bizarre hire for a first time head coach in a major rebuild to also hire a first time DC.

We should be better defensively this year but I’m not sure better equals good. Improved DT and LB play should have us better against the run but the CB room is Sun Belt quality and if we can’t find a pass rush, we are going to have major problems against the pass. And the pass rush issue is at best an unknown:

The most likely outcome is this season we improve but not drastically and there are a number of staff changes on defense this offseason.

Definitely a bad hire but it’s hard to hire experienced coordinators at state especially when you are where Lebby was at time of his hiring.

our defensive talent was terrible last year. Worst ever probably.