Speaking of Mullen-- Buy / Sell:
- Thread starter skip dog
- Start date
2018 would’ve been one of the all time great seasons. After that I don’t know. He’d filled that team with upper class men, and juco.
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He had 2 seasons at Florida that were easily. Better than 2014 and 1 that was equal to 2014. He wasn't going to do that at Mississippi State.
2018 would have been great, but he had given up crootin so 2019 and 2020 could have been bad. But if he’d stayed engaged and committed, absolutely.
They gonna fire Franklin to hire another guy that’s just pretty good? I mean it wouldn’t surprise me but it’s not an upgrade.
Doesn't matter, Penn State has it and they're going to use it this time. Franklin is a fraud and Penn State was too stupid to realize it! The Big 10 needs Penn State as a bell cow until they get Notre Dame too, that conference is looking pretty bad this year, bunch of frauds
I’m not sure he would have accomplished any single thing higher than what he accomplished here or at Florida (NY6 wins, SECCG appearance, No. 1 ranking).
Also, 2018 is one of the great “what-ifs” in MSU history.
Truth. He had one game in his time here that got away from him for his gameday coaching - that South Alabama game.
He would have beaten Tennessee this year.
UNLV just is not that good. They have struggled against some bad competition. Their season is probably all about the game at Boise State next week. They will win 10 games but he has to go undefeated & win the MWC Championship Game to make the playoff.
We probably win 10 maybe 11 games in 2018 if Mullen hangs around another year. Reality is that it was probably time for him to leave when he left.
We probably win 10 maybe 11 games in 2018 if Mullen hangs around another year. Reality is that it was probably time for him to leave when he left.
I think this is the right answer, unfortunately. Depressing to think about in hindsight. We tend to think of his time at Florida as a failure, but he did have two really good seasons (albeit with somebody else’s players).
I also think NIL and the transfer portal would have eaten his lunch due to:
1. His lackadaisical approach to recruiting as a whole. I think that would have extended to keeping breakout players, high ceiling guys, and stars on campus.
2. Mississippi State not having the NIL infrastructure in place early.
3. The overall wealth disparity between the Mississippi State donor base and others in the nation to power NIL.
And if he had went with Fitz over Damian Williams then he might not have lost. That is up there with starting Brandon Holloway at RB.
Nick Saban would like a word with you.
Mullen was great until he faced a top team then his a s s h o l e puckered up tight. I mean who could forget when he faced that 2016 powerhouse South Alabama.
He probably wouldn’t be considered a Top 5 gameday coach in today’s SEC. He was a great developer of talent, but a lot of his gameday decisions were suspect.
I remember the complaints about gameday decisions too…
With that said, I think he was better than we thought back then…
I don’t know how he’d do now with NIL in the SEC…
Leach went off on tangents which was often cool…
Mullins’ mind was looking to be elsewhere which when you think of it is understandable considering the lives of assistant coaches are often moving from one place to another either every year or after a short amount of time. When you’re used to that life, it’s not surprising you’d feel like you were a bit stir crazy being at one place for a longer time than anticipated…
Mullin needs to stay in a mid major and build UNLV or whoever to a powerhouse program (like Peterson did at Boise). Mullen is a very good, hard nose coach that gets the most out of his players. If he stays at a mid major, he doesn't have to deal with all the NIL prima donnas that the big schools deal with. He wants the gym rats.
A fully engaged, I never want to leave Starkville version of Mullen would have had a better career here. But that’s not a realistic version. So, sell.
Hindsight is 20/20, but I bet Mullen realizes now that he had a huge opportunity to move us into the type of program that would be in the playoff conversation 50% of the time.
Hindsight is 20/20, but I bet Mullen realizes now that he had a huge opportunity to move us into the type of program that would be in the playoff conversation 50% of the time.
This is the key. IF he had been content here, we would be in great shape right now. But that was never on the table. Even at Florida, supposedly the type of program he wanted to coach at because it gave him a chance to compete for a national championship, he wasn't committed enough to put up with booster BS and hide the fact that he hated recruiting. I can't imagine he hated that BS more than Saban but Saban ate that pile of **** one spoonful at a time, day after day, because he viewed it as part of the process for winning.
I don't think his next big gig will be different, unless he is so pissed about his treatment at UF and wanting them to regret firing him that it drives him. No clue where his head is on that, but if he wants to rub it in Florida's face, somebody is about to make a very good hire.
He managed to parlay his stint at MSU to what was - at the time - a top 10 job in college football.
I think he’s pretty happy with this career path.
This is the correct answer. His strength was his development plan. He took a bunch of 2- and 3- stars to the top, which can't be done during the games on Saturday. It was done in the months leading up to that season on the recruiting trail, the practice field, in the weight room, etc. He had a system to develop players and put them in a position to succeed - that gets you a long way, until you run into a team like Bama who purely has 4- and 5-stars at every position and can out-athlete you to death, plus a coach who has as good or better development plan than you.