Well, here we go

[OleYeller]

The reason? Starkville, for some reason, is just a tough place to win. Even though it has been proven that you can win here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/pick-6-most-wanted-coaches-081448810--ncaaf.html

 

[RocketDawg]

They just assume that MSU is a terrible place to coach, seemingly without any data. Dan reportedly is paid $2.6M and is at 21st in the nation; a raise to $3M would put him tied for about 10th. Not bad, and I suspect he will receive a healthy raise after this season. He says he loves MSU and living in Starkville, so I see no reason for him to leave.

 

[was21]

They just assume that MSU is a terrible place to coach, seemingly without any data. Dan reportedly is paid $2.6M and is at 21st in the nation; a raise to $3M would put him tied for about 10th. Not bad, and I suspect he will receive a healthy raise after this season. He says he loves MSU and living in Starkville, so I see no reason for him to leave.

I just posted on that article giving reasons why he will think more than twice about leaving and I believe it. Of course I don't know him personally so don't really know what his priorities in life are.

 

[DudyDog]

I wish someone would ask Mullen if he thought being put on all of the open coaching lists actually helps him in recruiting. I mean after all, recruits want to play for someone that is desirable. Hearing Mullen's name on ESPN in the thick of recruiting season gives him added exposure. By signing day all of the open positions have been filled and Dan is still telling them come play for me at MSU....

 

[00Dawg]

I particularly can't see him leaving for somewhere else in the SEC. The bottom line is that unless someone wants to set new salary records, we can come close to matching the money, and for all that I hate him, Mike Slive doesn't seem to favor SEC schools raiding each other for HC's.

 

[FISHDAWG]

with recruiting almost complete it will give the board a can to kick around when things get boring

 

[RougeDawg]

Yes, I have reason to believe he won't be departing Starkville....

I particularly can't see him leaving for somewhere else in the SEC. The bottom line is that unless someone wants to set new salary records, we can come close to matching the money, and for all that I hate him, Mike Slive doesn't seem to favor SEC schools raiding each other for HC's.

For a long time unless he follows in the footsteps of Harley Petrino.

Money will not be an issue in keeping/not keeping him.

 

[patdog]

That can't be right. Mullen is an average coach at best. He can't recruit. He hasn't even won an SEC West game against anybody other than Mississippi.**

** - Did I miss anything from the official Bear party line?

 

[Shmuley]

Damn, I'm gonna miss him.

 

[birdawg]

Why would anyone want a coach that hasn't beaten anybody?

Aren't these the same ppl that say we're over rated?

 

[jacksonreb]

it will always be harder to win consistently at ole miss and

at msu than a lot of other places. simple economics and a small state with two sec teams. assuming we've found our guy in freeze (and i realize the jury is still out) he's not going anywhere if we take care for him properly. will mullen, or anybody else, its just about how much he likes msu and starkville. he's proven you can win there, but is he willing to stay always knowing he's going to have to work harder to maintain than he would at some other places that he could move to. i have no idea, but he's got to be willing to make that committment.

 

[MetEdDawg]

It's all about what your definition of win is.

Is it likely Dan Mullen will win a national title at MSU in the short term? Realistically with how good Bama and LSU are right now, that's a long shot. And that's what most media people talk about when they talk about whether someone can "win" at a school. But can you win 7-10 games every year at MSU and have most fans be happy with that long term? Absolutely.

If Dan keeps doing what he's been doing for another 6 years, he will be the best coach we've ever had. He's already 5th all time in MSU history in wins in only 3 1/2 seasons. I think Dan is the kind of man that wants to be remembered as special for the rest of his life. He's never going to be that at a powerhouse school because of all the special people that would have come before him. But at MSU, he could be the best ever. He could always be remembered as the face of MSU football during a time when the SEC was at its strongest.

To me, that is winning, and I hope that's how Dan defines winning. He could stay in Starkville, build a family and a university, and walk away as our school's greatest of all time. And from what I've seen from his demeanor, I've got a feeling that might appeal to him.

 

[patdog]

I think it's just the opposite. There aren't many schools that could hire Mullen away from us. But about half of the ones that could are in the SEC. So if (and IF is the key word here) he leaves, there's a good chance it would be for another SEC school. Mike Slive isn't going to get involved in it.

 

[biguglyjoe]

For a long time unless he follows in the footsteps of Harley Petrino.

Money will not be an issue in keeping/not keeping him.

Exactly. We are in a great position to address this issue. It doesn't concern me in the least.

 

[DawgNsuds]

working hard is not an issue with these guys, it comes with the territory. Changing to another SEC school is not going to lessen the workload. Dan saw first hand, the toll that the Florida job took on Meyer, I think that plays in our favor.

 

[Incognegro]

I like how Dan is the only coach on that list that doesn't have a definitive program on the likely location he'll bolt to. Every other coach has a school the writer predicts they'll go to but Dan. Instead, he just arbitrarily says "Somewhere else in the SEC". He's not going to Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee and definitely not Kentucky. Florida and Georgia are still good for the foreseeable future. The only school that may take a shot (still not very likely) is Alabama if some freak occurrence happened where Saban wouldn't be their coach any more or he decides to go to Texas.

His name has come up so often now that I think that these reporters are starting to feel obligated to just say his name now. Across the nation, there aren't too many schools that will have vacancies that would be able to legitimately compete with us to get Dan, and the ones that may open up would feel like they could do better than him. It just doesn't look likely.

 

[jacksonreb]

one thing i disagree with you on is that fans are fans and

if you win 7-9 games a year for even a couple of yrs the fans are going to want more. cutcliffe won more for us than anybody since vaught and it wasn't enough. and regardless of what some say, we're no more delusional than any other fanbase. a hc knows that. i also guess i disagree on mullen...if he's the guy, then he's not going to just want to be the hero at msu. he'g going to want to win big. his decision will rest on whether he prefers to take an easier route to winning big or cares enough about msu to try it there.

 

[patdog]

Agree about the fans. No matter what you do, after a couple of years people are going to start wanting more. Cutcliffe is a good example. Richt at Georgia is another. He's won more often and more consistently than any coach in their history (and against tougher schedules) and they still ***** about him. It's just the nature of the beast. People are never going to be satisfied.

To be honest, none of us really know Mullen's mind. I doubt he's quite as committed to staying in Starkville as most MSU fans would like to believe and I doubt he's looking to leave anywhere near as bad as most UM fans would like to believe. The impression I get is that he's happy here and would only leave for a handful of the biggest jobs in the country. But really, none of us know. I do know that's he's done a good job at MSU and if he does leave, we'll have a very attractive job to offer to the next coach.

 

[was21]

if you win 7-9 games a year for even a couple of yrs the fans are going to want more. cutcliffe won more for us than anybody since vaught and it wasn't enough. and regardless of what some say, we're no more delusional than any other fanbase. a hc knows that. i also guess i disagree on mullen...if he's the guy, then he's not going to just want to be the hero at msu. he'g going to want to win big. his decision will rest on whether he prefers to take an easier route to winning big or cares enough about msu to try it there.

Maybe it would be a good idea if you didn't get your fan base confused with ours...they're a lot different.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

i agree completely about the sec part of it. and i've never heard anyone mention it before but sooner or later chip kelly is going to go to the nfl. hell everyone thought he was the coach of the bucs for a short time last year. i don't know anything about their assistants so they could look within, but he would be perfect fit with them and with him and chip kelly knowing each other he could be recommended. that's one school that i don't think anyone right now would or could turn down.

 

[engie]

I think it's just the opposite. There aren't many schools that could hire Mullen away from us. But about half of the ones that could are in the SEC. So if (and IF is the key word here) he leaves, there's a good chance it would be for another SEC school. Mike Slive isn't going to get involved in it.

Disagree strongly on this...

There have been zero head football coaches poached from within conference in the Mike Slive tenure. The last one to be poached period was Tuberville in 1998 under Kramer. This is over about 35 head coaching changes. Not once in 35 changes in over a decade? Statistically, that is more than coincidence. I don't know if Slive has the power to block it or not, but do know for a fact that he strongly discourages it... No school has seen fit to test him on it yet, and if Florida didn't come after Mullen seeing how their offense dropped off without him, it's pretty unlikely that he gets poached from within conference.

 

[jacksonreb]

well there is a statement i can agree with 100%. thank goodness.

Maybe it would be a good idea if you didn't get your fan base confused with ours...they're a lot different.

 

[jacksonreb]

i agree they all have to work hard. the fla example points to my other comment about fan expectations, but respectfully if you think winning at msu and ole miss do not require significantly more effort, creativity and smarts then you're just not paying attention. i'm not saying at all that it can't be done but its simply harder.

 

[engie]

People always talking about Mullen leaving for "more attractive destinations" really do not understand Mullen or what makes him "tick" at all. They are just thinking about "what would I do?" Mullen is cocky. He thinks he can be a better coach than everyone else. You can never "prove" that at places like Florida and Texas. You are just the "new guy doing the same job as the old guy" even in winning titles. To some extent, it seems that that idea disgusts him. He does not want to be the next. He wants to be the first. As long as he feels like he can eventually get that done at Mississippi State, he will stay at Mississippi State.

Mullen has been on top of the mountain as an OC. He made every step with Meyer from Notre Dame, to Bowling Green, to Utah, to Florida. He also saw Florida cannibalize Meyer for one bad season(in which he still won 8 games). His wife saw.him getting cussed and booed for the OM loss in the Swamp, when his appendix had ruptured 3 days earlier, and he checked himself out of the hospital against doctor's orders in order to coach that game. Zero appreciation in those places. His wife(vocally) treasures the appreciation that he gets in Starkville, even after heartbreaking losses..

 

[ckDOG]

I'm not as worried about money as I am other things...

He's paid well, has full support of AD, getting facilities upgrades, can win 7 games a year and keep his job, etc. There are plenty of things that should keep him happy in Starkville and make us comfortable that he's staying.

However, the guy is a fierce competitor and if he thinks he has an easier road recruiting and path to championships, I could easily see him jumping ship to [insert traditional power here]. That's not to say I don't think he can do it here, but if he's ever frustrated by the talent pipeline, I could see him bolting.

Does that happen this year when a lot of great programs are going to be searching and Mullen is likely finishing up his best season at MSU? I don't know, but with that combo, he's probably going to have a lot to think about when the season is wrapped up. The good news is that it has to be much tougher for him to leave knowing the projects he helped start (practice facilities, stadium expansion) aren't finished yet. He hasn't gotten close to hitting a ceiling yet at MSU, so that may keep him around if some great programs try to lure him away this year. It's a risk/reward scenario at that point. Building things into a success are more satisfying to leaders than taking over something that's been proven to work. The risk is that you can tarnish your name if you fail in the process. We shall see...

Other important questions I've never seen answered: Does his contract have a big buyout? Are there clauses that prevent him from leaving to certain schools?

 

[engie]

i agree they all have to work hard. the fla example points to my other comment about fan expectations, but respectfully if you think winning at msu and ole miss do not require significantly more effort, creativity and smarts then you're just not paying attention. i'm not saying at all that it can't be done but its simply harder.

And that EXACTLY why Mullen will stay in Starkville until he becomes positive that he actually CAN'T get to the top of the mountain at MSU. How long will that take? Certainly, if you believe in recruiting rankings, then the current MSU team is not even close to "topped out" talent wise... It's just the beginning.

Fact is, Mullen is one win away from being in the national title conversation in November. One win. May be a huge win as a bigtime underdog on the road when the whole country thinks it is impossible, but still just 60 minutes away.

 

[FISHDAWG]

Engie ... you have a unique way of putting things in perspective

 

[patdog]

The fact is, there have never been many times where a school has hired a coach away from another school in the conference's history. It's happened a few times. Tubberville, Dinardo, maybe Doug Dickey (I think he coached at both Tenn & Fla, but I don't know if there was a gap between the 2 or not). That's mostly due to professional courtesy, not because of any decree from the commissioner. Slive didn't have a problem at all with us hiring Kentucky's baseball coach away from them.

 

[was21]

well there is a statement i can agree with 100%. thank goodness.

touche'

 

[Jughead48]

This is the official party line only in the Bear fantasy world

in which you reside. Sure, we have our minority of morons who refuse to admit the obvious - that Mullen is a very good coach and was a great hire. But if that's our party line, then y'all's official party line is that Freeze was a hilariously bad hire and that he is nothing more than a girls' basketball coach who can't possibly turn around our dumpster fire of a program from its inevitable descent into Bolivia.

 

[coach66]

Good stuff Engie, I am growing tired of hearing about all these better places to

coach. Exactly what makes them better? The quality of life and people at MSU and
Starkville is pretty damn good in my opinion. Honestly, is Tuscaloosa that much more attractive? No, and as Engie
pointed out, you stumble slightly there and your *** is in more misery than you could ever imagine. A smart man understands that having the freedom he wants to run the program the way he sees fit and knowing he has the full
support of the university and fan base in good times and bad are things that are not easy to duplicate. Consider all that and the fact that you can win at MSU then it is a pretty attractive job to any sensible person.

Hell, Mullen is making unreal money and has zero cost of living with all his perks. How many 17ing yachts do you need to ski behind?

 

[engie]

The fact is, there have never been many times where a school has hired a coach away from another school in the conference's history. It's happened a few times. Tubberville, Dinardo, maybe Doug Dickey (I think he coached at both Tenn & Fla, but I don't know if there was a gap between the 2 or not). That's mostly due to professional courtesy, not because of any decree from the commissioner. Slive didn't have a problem at all with us hiring Kentucky's baseball coach away from them.

Baseball /=/ football. Also a big difference between a coach going back to his first love alma mater with his/his wife's family still living nearby(at least in relation to UK). Cohen left behind what would have been the biggest contract in college baseball at the time, as well as a $30mil stadium renovation that was written into the same contract @ UK. Barnhart threw everything he had at trying to keep him. Instead, Cohen took(what would have been) a pay cut to come back to a destroyed, decaying MSU program. If Dan and Megan Mullen were Tennessee alums, I might be worried...

Slive does, for an absolute fact, discourage poaching of head football coaches from within the conference. This is well-known, whether you believe it or not...

 

[DawgNsuds]

Oh I'm paying attention

.

i agree they all have to work hard. the fla example points to my other comment about fan expectations, but respectfully if you think winning at msu and ole miss do not require significantly more effort, creativity and smarts then you're just not paying attention. i'm not saying at all that it can't be done but its simply harder.

So you're saying that Dooley's job is easier than Mullen's? After factoring expectations?

 

[jacksonreb]

just to be clear. i'm not arguing that mullen will or won't leave. he's proven that msu is no coaching graveyard and you can win there. i'm just saying there is more to it than just whether he thinks he can win it all at msu. but hey i'm not dissing msu or mullen or trying to pick a fight with any of you guys. just making an observation about what i see as a challenge we both face in the sec.

And that EXACTLY why Mullen will stay in Starkville until he becomes positive that he actually CAN'T get to the top of the mountain at MSU. How long will that take? Certainly, if you believe in recruiting rankings, then the current MSU team is not even close to "topped out" talent wise... It's just the beginning.

Fact is, Mullen is one win away from being in the national title conversation in November. One win. May be a huge win as a bigtime underdog on the road when the whole country thinks it is impossible, but still just 60 minutes away.

 

[TulsaLawDawg]

I actually think Dan could win a title here, but you are right... Alabama has to have a down year. But, just see how much change 1-2 years makes (e.g., Auburn and Arkansas).

 

[00Dawg]

Expecting ire after a couple of years is a real stretch for the State fanbase. Yes, we have some yahoos who beat the "demand excellence" drum to death, but we have more that usually keep a good head on their shoulders. As badly as we botched the post-Stansbury hiring, we did give him 14 years, and the last few were filled with what most programs would deem minor successes (whether they were for us we'll find out going forward).
The comparisons are a little off, but if Mullen manages to win an SEC title in his 6th year, I'm guessing our fan base would also give him 7 or 8 years of lower and mid-tier bowl games afterwards before he was really under pressure.

 

[jacksonreb]

true. prior to saban, lsu had about 12 down yrs and post gene what's his name bama was not invincible. outside pertrino ark isn't all that nor is auburn, etc. when saban quits it will be real interesting to see if the next guy can keep it up. no fun folllowing the legends. but i'm convinced with the right guy you can win almost anywhere. mullen may be your guy. anywhere in the sec is a tough road.

I actually think Dan could win a title here, but you are right... Alabama has to have a down year. But, just see how much change 1-2 years makes (e.g., Auburn and Arkansas).

 

[patdog]

Where did I ever say baseball = football? Slive can discourage it all day long, and I'm sure he does. But it has always been discouraged in the SEC. But I can tell you for a fact that if Alabama were to decide they want to hire Vanderbilt's coach, there's nothing Slive or anyone else can do about it. They are going to hire him. It's that simple. Just like LSU hired Vandy's coach when they wanted him and Auburn hired Mississippi's coach when they wanted him. If you're claiming that Slive has some kind of special power to stop it, then you're just wrong.

 

[johnson86-1]

It doesn't require more work, it requires more creativity, smarts, and luck.

i agree they all have to work hard. the fla example points to my other comment about fan expectations, but respectfully if you think winning at msu and ole miss do not require significantly more effort, creativity and smarts then you're just not paying attention. i'm not saying at all that it can't be done but its simply harder.

You're pretty much going to work to physical exhaustion anywhere in the SEC if you want to compete for the national championship. LSU is probably the one school where with the built-in advantages it has, along with hiring a good staff, the head coach might could coast a little and still compete for a national championship. Everywhere else, even when you have a place with the advantages of UF, other state schools as well as the competition in the SEC pretty much requires all-out effort. To the extent they could coast and eventually get lucky, they wouldn't have the job security to go through several years of being good but not great to wait for the right combination of luck on the recruiting trail, schedule, and injury situation. Point being, I'm not sure outworking anybody is part of the equation for competing for an SEC Championship (and therefore a national championship). It might be part of the equiation for staying above the UK, UM's, Vandy's, and upper tier programs that are slouching.

But your overall point is valid. If you just care about winning a championship, then you try to get to a UF, LSU, UGA as quickly as possible. But if you want to coach for a long time, know you will have a legacy at your school, not be kicked to the curb because of two down years, etc., MSU offers a lot the other schools can't. MSU actually fits in a decent little niche although I'm not sure how many coaches that are driven enough to be good in the SEC would care about it. We have the resources to win big, even though we traditionally haven't (which I think puts us above Vandy and UK). And we have a fan base that's relatively realistic about expectations (which is something I don't think Arkansas, Auburn, or UM can offer).

 

[sickasadawg]

Yeah, it's tougher to win here than being at Alabama or LSU, but no tougher than South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, or Tennessee. Lately, it seems as if the press is getting upset with the fact Mullen is staying here.