Selmon said the quiet part out loud ….

OG Goat Holder

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No that's not where I was going with that.

When we are competing with other programs for the same players and offering competitive NIL deals, why are they choosing the other programs?
Other programs give them a better chance of winning, more established coaches, like the schemes better, like the location better, like the school better, more program tradition, better culture, etc. Not sure what else it could be. Or other programs are overpaying. I'm not sure of the angle here.
 

mstateglfr

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Now, consider why Mississippi State has had challenges recruiting high school and the portal the last two years, even with more NIL money to spend, and you'll get closer to the root cause of all of this.
Off the top of my head, here are 3 challenges...
- Others have even more money.
- MSU isnt a traditionally appealing major program and has always struggled to land top talent.
- Coaching staff isnt known for placing players in the NFL.

Am I closer to the root cause of all of this?
 

Dawgzilla2

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Sorry but I don’t want to hear excuses for Cohen’s incompetence. The height of MSU football was heading into 2018 season. The most talented roster we’ve ever had. And Cohen threw it all away.

Cohen should be public enemy #1 for MSU fans
I dont see how I was making any excuses for Cohen. He wanted to hire JOE JUDGE.

Regarding 2018, though, who do you think Cohen should have hired? Moorhead turned out not to be a good choice, but, seriously, who was going to come in as first year head coach and win more than 8 games?

Say what you want about the 2018 roster, that season was ruined when Mullen left. And that wasn't Cohen's fault...we weren't winning a bidding war with UF and UT.

So, you had a stacked defensive roster, and an offensive roster built to run the ball. Who would you have brought in? Brent Venables? And then who would be his OC?

Moorhead turned out to be a bad hire, which I guess set us back in recruiting. But all these people lamenting the 2018 season that "should have been" need to blame the real culprit: Mullen.
 

Drebin

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Other programs give them a better chance of winning, more established coaches, like the schemes better, like the location better, like the school better, more program tradition, better culture, etc. Not sure what else it could be. Or other programs are overpaying. I'm not sure of the angle here.
The point I'm making is that all this stupid commentary about us being able to turn over the roster so fast that we shouldn't be blaming the Leach stuff for our talent is stupid. Our program was a dumpster fire and players don't want to come play for a dumpster fire, no matter how much you are paying. You have to climb out of it. How the Leach era ended and what we did in the aftermath is why we're where we are.
 

OG Goat Holder

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And we all wondered why Mullen wanted out so bad. Honestly, I don’t blame him.
To be honest Mullen was hitting on the maid of honor at the wedding reception
Regarding this, I think it speaks to a bigger thing. Cohen was not responsible for Mullen being unhappy at MSU, hell he helped get him here. So we can't pin that on him.

Mullen never wanted to stay a long time anyway. But that's a different story.

Always remember, our core group wanted to run Mullen in 2013. As soon as things got tough in 2011, there started to be rumblings. 2012 things got hotter.

What this tells me is that there is a toxicity, some lack of gratitude.....or something......regarding what needs to be done to win in football. And no accepting of the reality of our job and program.

We turned on Jackie quickly.

We turned on Leach quickly. All successful coaches.

Another thing.....we've always had trouble with quarterbacks. Yet we are always calling for the backup at the drop of a hat.

These things are not all a coincidence. Much of it has to do with just being the smallest program in a small state, and the frustrations that come with that. But our fanbase has never accepted this.
 

mstateglfr

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Ok but you are overlooking an important fact.

Lebby took over the worst talent we've ever had. Part of is on Leach. Part of it is on Arnett.
I am not overlooking that, but you sure are repeating it.

Analyze the talent we have right now. Whether it is great or not, just analyze it. Now know that Lebby has had 2 full Spring Transfer Portals to make 'his team' and upgrade talent, and 1 full HS recruiting cycle to do the same.

You are pointing to the cupboard being bare, but when 25% of FBS players transferred in a recent year, that cupboard cant be heavily relied on at most programs. So even if it were full, it would have changed out a ton. And its absurd to claim it would have been full, since MSU isnt an historically dominant program that loads up on talent.
 

OG Goat Holder

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Neither of which play in leagues that play defense.
That trend was there, I admit. But he did modify the offense and defense here to play more 'SEC' level ball. He slowed the offense way down to where it was operating like a run-based offense, and led with defense, which is what works at MSU.
 

Drebin

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Regarding this, I think it speaks to a bigger thing. Cohen was not responsible for Mullen being unhappy at MSU, hell he helped get him here. So we can't pin that on him.

Mullen never wanted to stay a long time anyway. But that's a different story.

Always remember, our core group wanted to run Mullen in 2013. As soon as things got tough in 2011, there started to be rumblings. 2012 things got hotter.

What this tells me is that there is a toxicity, some lack of gratitude.....or something......regarding what needs to be done to win in football. And no accepting of the reality of our job and program.

We turned on Jackie quickly.

We turned on Leach quickly. All successful coaches.

Another thing.....we've always had trouble with quarterbacks. Yet we are always calling for the backup at the drop of a hat.

These things are not all a coincidence. Much of it has to do with just being the smallest program in a small state, and the frustrations that come with that. But our fanbase has never accepted this.
We turned on Jackie quickly because it went to shlt quickly. Like...overnight. And we let him stick around too long.

We never really turned on Leach. But a segment was rightfully frustrated with the recruiting.

Mullen did a lot of things that deserve criticism. He lost his fire somewhere. He was never a good recruiter....country club, etc., etc. And he started getting his teeth kicked in by Ole Miss.

And this is the common theme across all of these things....what was Ole Miss doing at the same time? Our folks get restless when we lose but they get more restless when we lose while Ole Miss is winning.
 
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L4Dawg

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Come on, man. I know where you are going with this. Placating the dumbassedry that is MS high school football coaching circles is not the route we need to go. They all got their way in 2023 and we see how that turned out.

Neither Mullen nor Leach did that and bam, both were successful.
Placating MS high school circles, or at least not pissing them off, is the ONLY way for MSU. JWS knew that, Mullen knew that. If you think Mullen didn't do that then you are dumber than I thought, and that's saying something. Mullen recruited well in Mississippi. Now Leach....he burned a lot of bridges. He wasn't much interested in Mississippi kids. They didn't really fit his system.
 
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retire the banner

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I dont see how I was making any excuses for Cohen. He wanted to hire JOE JUDGE.

Regarding 2018, though, who do you think Cohen should have hired? Moorhead turned out not to be a good choice, but, seriously, who was going to come in as first year head coach and win more than 8 games?

Say what you want about the 2018 roster, that season was ruined when Mullen left. And that wasn't Cohen's fault...we weren't winning a bidding war with UF and UT.

So, you had a stacked defensive roster, and an offensive roster built to run the ball. Who would you have brought in? Brent Venables? And then who would be his OC?

Moorhead turned out to be a bad hire, which I guess set us back in recruiting. But all these people lamenting the 2018 season that "should have been" need to blame the real culprit: Mullen.
We hired a coordinator with no HC experience at the height of our program’s attractiveness. Cohen’s mind is just too small to be a SEC AD. He’s in way over his head. We can play “ what if” or “who would you have hired?” But ultimately a wise AD wouldn’t have Moorhead as a top 2 or 3 candidate. As I recall, Cohen’s top 3 choices were Judge, Moorhead and Jeremy Pruitt. Pretty awful list

But yes, it’s very frustrating to look back at what Mullen left. It felt like 2018 is what he was building for his entire tenure, Fitzgerald was a senior and 2 very talented RBs. With the #1 defense in the country
 

OG Goat Holder

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We turned on Jackie quickly because it went to shlt quickly. Like...overnight. And we let him stick around too long.
Big segment wanted him gone in 1995. 1996 Alabama saved his job much like the 2 wins at the end of 2013 saved Mullen's.

We never really turned on Leach. But a segment was rightfully frustrated with the recruiting.
Heck a certain bunch never accepted him to begin with.

And he started getting his teeth kicked in by Ole Miss.

And this is the common theme across all of these things....what was Ole Miss doing at the same time? Our folks get restless when we lose but they get more restless when we lose while Ole Miss is winning.
Probably starting to hit on the biggest problem right here. I've long wished we could shed ourselves of this inferiority complex.
 

OG Goat Holder

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Placating MS high school circles, or at least not pissing them off, is the ONLY way for MSU. JWS knew that, Mullen knew that. If you think Mullen didn't do that then you are dumber than I thought, and that's saying something. Mullen recruited well in Mississippi. Now Leach....he burned a lot of bridges. He wasn't much interested in Mississippi kids. They didn't really fit his system.
More nonsense. Jackie, Mullen and Leach all told those coaches where they could go, because they were the boss. And they all recruited MS well.
 

L4Dawg

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Regarding this, I think it speaks to a bigger thing. Cohen was not responsible for Mullen being unhappy at MSU, hell he helped get him here. So we can't pin that on him.

Mullen never wanted to stay a long time anyway. But that's a different story.

Always remember, our core group wanted to run Mullen in 2013. As soon as things got tough in 2011, there started to be rumblings. 2012 things got hotter.

What this tells me is that there is a toxicity, some lack of gratitude.....or something......regarding what needs to be done to win in football. And no accepting of the reality of our job and program.

We turned on Jackie quickly.

We turned on Leach quickly. All successful coaches.

Another thing.....we've always had trouble with quarterbacks. Yet we are always calling for the backup at the drop of a hat.

These things are not all a coincidence. Much of it has to do with just being the smallest program in a small state, and the frustrations that come with that. But our fanbase has never accepted this.
And you turned on Lebby before he ever coached a game.
 

L4Dawg

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That trend was there, I admit. But he did modify the offense and defense here to play more 'SEC' level ball. He slowed the offense way down to where it was operating like a run-based offense, and led with defense, which is what works at MSU.
He still didn't put any emphasis on recruiting defensive players. He didn't care about that side of the ball.
 
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L4Dawg

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We hired a coordinator with no HC experience at the height of our program’s attractiveness. Cohen’s mind is just too small to be a SEC AD. He’s in way over his head. We can play “ what if” or “who would you have hired?” But ultimately a wise AD wouldn’t have Moorhead as a top 2 or 3 candidate. As I recall, Cohen’s top 3 choices were Judge, Moorhead and Jeremy Pruitt. Pretty awful list

But yes, it’s very frustrating to look back at what Mullen left. It felt like 2018 is what he was building for his entire tenure, Fitzgerald was a senior and 2 very talented RBs. With the #1 defense in the country
Moorhead was one of the hottest coaching properties out there at the time. It was considered a homerun hire by all the experts. His problems were that deluded MSU fans thought we going to compete for the SEC his first year AND.....he turned out not to be a good fit or a good coach. I thought Cohen was terrible, but the Moorhead hire on paper AT THE TIME was considered a very good one. In retrospect it wasn't.
 

Dawgzilla2

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We hired a coordinator with no HC experience at the height of our program’s attractiveness. Cohen’s mind is just too small to be a SEC AD. He’s in way over his head. We can play “ what if” or “who would you have hired?” But ultimately a wise AD wouldn’t have Moorhead as a top 2 or 3 candidate. As I recall, Cohen’s top 3 choices were Judge, Moorhead and Jeremy Pruitt. Pretty awful list

But yes, it’s very frustrating to look back at what Mullen left. It felt like 2018 is what he was building for his entire tenure, Fitzgerald was a senior and 2 very talented RBs. With the #1 defense in the country
It wasnt Judge, but Im struggling to remember who the third finalist for the position was. Venables? Diaz? Chad Morris? Someone help me out.

None of those names inspire confidence, but at the time Moorhead was far and away the most attractive candidate. Im serious, I dont think you should be so critical of the Moorhead hire without suggesting an alternative direction. On paper it was an inspiring hire...it obviously didnt work, though.
 

OG Goat Holder

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And you turned on Lebby before he ever coached a game.
I've turned on the program. Or, woke up from and it and disengaged. Every football decision that has been made since 2022 has been a bad one. From the logo to how to approach NIL.

He still didn't put any emphasis on recruiting defensive players. He didn't care about that side of the ball.
Fart.
 

Drebin

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Probably starting to hit on the biggest problem right here. I've long wished we could shed ourselves of this inferiority complex.
I don't think it's an inferiority complex than it is just jealousy. They do the same thing when they suck while we're good.
 
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OG Goat Holder

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It wasnt Judge, but Im struggling to remember who the third finalist for the position was. Venables? Diaz? Chad Morris? Someone help me out.

None of those names inspire confidence, but at the time Moorhead was far and away the most attractive candidate. Im serious, I dont think you should be so critical of the Moorhead hire without suggesting an alternative direction. On paper it was an inspiring hire...it obviously didnt work, though.
You are correct. Me personally, I'd have rather seen us go with a defensive hire, and leave the offense alone. But that could have been bad too, I mean we see what Arnett did in 2023 and he had an offense/QB/OC set on a silver platter for him.
 

L4Dawg

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Big segment wanted him gone in 1995. 1996 Alabama saved his job much like the 2 wins at the end of 2013 saved Mullen's.


Heck a certain bunch never accepted him to begin with.


Probably starting to hit on the biggest problem right here. I've long wished we could shed ourselves of this inferiority complex.
1: correct
2: with reason
3: What Ole Miss is doing matters. It really does. They are the rival and your main recruiting competition. If you aren't competitive against them, you won't last long. It's the same way for them even though they won't admit it.
 

Maroon13

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It wasnt Judge, but Im struggling to remember who the third finalist for the position was. Venables? Diaz? Chad Morris? Someone help me out.
If I recall correctly, the Dec 17 hire was down to Jeremy Asparagus and Moorhead.

The Dec 19 hire, Stark passed, and was down to Judge before The Giants stepped in. Then Cohen was left flying to Key West to beg Leach.
 
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L4Dawg

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More nonsense. Jackie, Mullen and Leach all told those coaches where they could go, because they were the boss. And they all recruited MS well.
You are flat out wrong on all of that except Leach recruiting Mississippi well. He burned a LOT of bridges for us.
 

OG Goat Holder

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3: What Ole Miss is doing matters. It really does. They are the rival and your main recruiting competition. If you aren't competitive against them, you won't last long. It's the same way for them even though they won't admit it.
Keep doing what we've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. Which is a losing football program.

And that's all Selman wants to do here.....keep up. That, and sell himself to the Oklahoma brass, which is probably the whole point of the article. Chris Low happy to oblige that platform. No question in my mind Selman intends to cash in off the easiest part of our football schedule.
 

Ranchdawg

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We didn’t invest in the initial coach. Gotta remember that we didn’t go straight from Mullen to Leach. We had maybe our most talented team in a generation coached by Moorhead.
Yes but the statement went from Dak to present. We spent $5,000,000 on Leach per year.
 

L4Dawg

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Keep doing what we've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. Which is a losing football program.
The fact remains they are the main competition for Mississippi players, and we HAVE to get the better of them there or we will always suck. Trying to say they don't matter is pure wishful fantasy.
 

paindonthurt

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I am not overlooking that, but you sure are repeating it.

Analyze the talent we have right now. Whether it is great or not, just analyze it. Now know that Lebby has had 2 full Spring Transfer Portals to make 'his team' and upgrade talent, and 1 full HS recruiting cycle to do the same.

You are pointing to the cupboard being bare, but when 25% of FBS players transferred in a recent year, that cupboard cant be heavily relied on at most programs. So even if it were full, it would have changed out a ton. And its absurd to claim it would have been full, since MSU isnt an historically dominant program that loads up on talent.
Math isn't your strong suit is it.

Cupboard was empty.

Our talent isn't great right now but it appears to be significantly better than last year. Thats on Lebby and in spite of Leach/Arnett.
 

Arnept

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Leach pushed out Sawyer Robertson for Noodle Arm.

Leach was a terrible recruiter and evaluator. I'm not sure if a single Leach commit is still on our roster.

Despite all of Moorhead's faults, he was a pretty good recruiter. Leach's best players were recruited by Moorhead.

Leach has a system on offense that's very unique. Wide splits, no TEs, Pocket QB, etc. When he was gone, all of a sudden you're asking players to learn a completely new scheme with a new coach.

In 2023, we had to play a DE at TE for the entire year. That's an example of how post-Leach rosters look like.

All of this is true.

HOWEVER, Leach died in 2022. There comes a point where you have to stop blaming his death for our current state of affairs.

If you want to blame 2023 and 2024 on his untimely death, be my guest.

But by now, we should be able to move on, and Lebby's 2025 season will show whether or not we are competitive 3 years after Leach's death.

Leach's death is no longer an excuse for mediocrity. It has been milked enough.
 
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STATEBALLIN

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From the Chris Low article:

“I always think of … pre Dak and post Dak, because after that run we had with him in 2014 and 2015, most schools would have doubled down on their football investment,” Selmon said. “We didn’t. Our season ticket sales started really dipping right after Dak. There was mostly investment with the baseball program. Whether that’s right or wrong, it’s probably not the best economic decision for the totality of the department…..

So we’ve had to really try to make up a lot of ground as far as investing in football, and that’s what we’ll have to continue to do at warp speed.” - Zac Selmon
All you need to know. I don’t blame Dan for leaving after reading that. Probably felt hamstrung.
 

Dawgzilla2

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You are correct. Me personally, I'd have rather seen us go with a defensive hire, and leave the offense alone. But that could have been bad too, I mean we see what Arnett did in 2023 and he had an offense/QB/OC set on a silver platter for him.
How do you "leave the offense alone" when you're entire offensive staff is leaving? Hire Zach Smith? That would have ended well...

No one was going to run the offense the same way Mullen did. The trick was trying to find someone who could be successful with the current offensive roster while building something more modern. Seemed like Moorheads could be that guy, but he obviously wasn't.
 

Ranchdawg

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Leach wasn't an investment. Leach was a gimmick. Yeah, he passed early on us and it was unfortunate. But he wasn't going to be a long termer any way you look at it. He wasn't a program builder here. He was a quick fix, and with the benefit of hindsight, it wasn't a smart hire.
Call it what you like. Selmon said we didn't invest but $5,000,000/year for a coach at the time was an investment when we hired him. Whether you agreed with the hire or not Cohen made the decision to pay a Division 1A coach to come to State.
 

Drebin

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Call it what you like. Selmon said we didn't invest but $5,000,000/year for a coach at the time was an investment when we hired him. Whether you agreed with the hire or not Cohen made the decision to pay a Division 1A coach to come to State.
It was about what we were paying Mullen before. So it's not like we made some big investment. We had a history of paying coaches. We saved a couple of bucks on Jomo but in reality that much for a coach is not an investment...but the cost of business in this conference. Jeff Lebby is at 4.5M now and hasn't done jack shlt.
 

mstateglfr

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Math isn't your strong suit is it.

Cupboard was empty.

Our talent isn't great right now but it appears to be significantly better than last year. Thats on Lebby and in spite of Leach/Arnett.
I would hope our talent is better this year vs last year...thats one of the expectations of a coach- to continually improve the overall level of talent in the program.
You are now combining Leach with Arnett in your comparison, but I was only talking about Leach. I was saying its dumb to claim Leach is to blame, given how much roster turnover there has been in the sport over the last couple years. Dont add Arnett into the discussion because I didnt mention him.


I am not pissed with Lebby about recruiting or anything related, to be clear.