At one time Ron Polk was the leading coach of the best baseball team in the SEC. Because of his success other SEC schools saw what could happen to their baseball programs... and while everyone else in the conference got stronger, the former leading program fell further and further behind.
We can talk all the time about giving Mullen the chance to get better, but that is what MSU did with Polk... and it took one of his former players to finally see the National Championship series. MSU waited too long to pull the plug on Polk and although the team made the championship series the home facility is no longer top quality.
The ultimate truth is in the SEC there is no leeway when it comes to building a program. You either have to get it done soon or move on. No other school in this conference is going to wait on MSU to decide how to "build a program" while they are bulldozing the rest of the college football world. Unless you want to accept the place where Vanderbilt and Kentucky once was, there has to be a very short leash now.
If those who are worried about how other coaches may view the "pulling of the plug" after a short period, then Hudspeth would be the best choice. If MSU is such a small attraction for a "big name," then let's get a successful coach who has done great in a lower division and let him try his hand to set up a long-term program. Hudspeth fills this spot because of his success at the lower level. Of course, heading an SEC program would be attractive in its own right.
I went through five years of Emory Bellard and was very excited when State toppled Alabama in 1980. Since then there has been many other exciting wins, but none during Mullen's tenure. Sorry, but the way Mullen has operated is no longer acceptable in the hyper-competitive SEC -- you must be competitive and occassionally win the big one to be part of it -- or be left further in the dust.
We can talk all the time about giving Mullen the chance to get better, but that is what MSU did with Polk... and it took one of his former players to finally see the National Championship series. MSU waited too long to pull the plug on Polk and although the team made the championship series the home facility is no longer top quality.
The ultimate truth is in the SEC there is no leeway when it comes to building a program. You either have to get it done soon or move on. No other school in this conference is going to wait on MSU to decide how to "build a program" while they are bulldozing the rest of the college football world. Unless you want to accept the place where Vanderbilt and Kentucky once was, there has to be a very short leash now.
If those who are worried about how other coaches may view the "pulling of the plug" after a short period, then Hudspeth would be the best choice. If MSU is such a small attraction for a "big name," then let's get a successful coach who has done great in a lower division and let him try his hand to set up a long-term program. Hudspeth fills this spot because of his success at the lower level. Of course, heading an SEC program would be attractive in its own right.
I went through five years of Emory Bellard and was very excited when State toppled Alabama in 1980. Since then there has been many other exciting wins, but none during Mullen's tenure. Sorry, but the way Mullen has operated is no longer acceptable in the hyper-competitive SEC -- you must be competitive and occassionally win the big one to be part of it -- or be left further in the dust.
