Mullen timeline and reasons for our rapid decline

[blacklistedbully]

I've been thinking a bit on this, and thought I'd just share a few disjointed, rambling thoughts I've got on this subject. Maybe later I'll give it its proper due and make a more thorough, reasoned post...but for now, I just wanted to get this off my chest.

I would absolutely love to believe Dan could turn things around. Not because I give much of a shit about Dan anymore, but because I love Mississippi State, and I ache for us to succeed. If I could believe in Dan again...I could have so much more hope, as we could capitalize on Dak's success in the NFL, and could move forward with a coach who has proven he can work magic with QB's.

I'm trying really hard to believe...but so far I just can't seem to quite pull it off. People say "Hope springs eternal", but I can't seem to muster much right now...and I think this is why:

We gave Dan nearly everything he wanted. He got his first HC opportunity here at an SEC program. He got facilities upgraded, he got a $4 million salary, he got fanbase buy-in, etc. He got everything he asked for and more...then tried to capitalize on 2014, not by using that success to build on and raise MSU to the next level, but rather attempt to cash-in-his-chips while he was ahead and parlay it into his own goal of getting a blue-blood HC gig.

When that didn't happen, we were left with a wasted opportunity...a program that took major steps back because our leader had checked out mentally, losing his edge. And when that happens it permeates through the entire team.

Then Dan, upon not getting that premier UGA/Miami gig, tried to strong-arm our admin into a bigger, better compensation package. But our admin could see what was going on...could see the signs of trouble on the horizon...could see he wasted 2014's success, could see his constant flirting with other schools, so we not only didn't give him a raise, but refused to even extend him. We instead told him he'd better get his shit together.

That pissed Dan off, and Dan was already only half-heartedly here, having figured he'd be gone to greener pastures. But this "pissed off Dan" didn't channel his anger to rejuvenate his coaching. Instead he pouted and blamed our admin (like he blames anyone but himself for losses) for not "getting it" and not proving how much we value him. He decided to mostly wallow in self-pity instead of accepting responsibility for his mistakes and making adjustments.

In 2015 he coasted with Dak as QB, probably thinking so highly of himself that he figured he'd continue to win enough this year, putting in a half-ass effort, to keep us happy while he collected his big paycheck. But then S Bama happened...the shorts...the loss followed by "the smile/smirk". That loss and the reaction to it shocked Mullen, and no doubt caused him to think he was not just screwing us, but his own opportunities going forward. It's one thing to lose to Top 10 teams, but another thing entirely to lose to a basement Sunbelt team.

I think the heat from that temporarily snapped Dan out of his funk and he actually tried like hell to coach that week, albeit it with a team already severely damaged by his antics the past few years, and we came out all business vs SCar. But that kind of passion is often manufactured and temporary...not sustainable for someone who has already moved on in his mind. That made it easy for Dan to go back to uninspired "cruise control" after the SCar win.

The LSU close loss gave him another excuse...but not a good one as we all now know it was Les Miles who kept that game close...not Dan Mullen.

Then came the relatively close win over UMass. The excuse then was, "but this Umass team gave UF hell for a half". Since then UMass has lost to Tulane and to Old Dominion (by 20 points). Our 12 point win now looks about as good as it should.

Then came the first decent team we played that wasn't horribly crippled by its coaching staff. 35-0 at half to an Auburn team that coasted the 2nd half making the game look closer than it was.

This is who we are now. And what we are now is a direct reflection of our coach - a program that through relentless effort, inspired coaching & a few incredibly talented athletes thrived and improved until we got distracted, lost focus, lost inspiration, lost leadership, started reaping what we (Dan) sowed and became a loser once again...just a little over 1 season removed from a temporary #1 ranking. Arrogance, complacency , a stubborn refusal to accept personal responsibility for failings so adjustments could be made have all played a part in our rapid downfall.

Rant over.

[Todd4State]

Great post.

But the thing that I would add and that is killing Dan has been his recruiting going all the way back to 2010. Which I don't really understand because even Croom started to "get it" at least somewhat at the end. Not saying Croom was a good recruiter but he was definitely better at it in 2008 than he was in 2004.

And it's beyond talent evaluation. It's roster management. Hancock's post about our small junior class and the fact that we are so far under the scholarship limit just two seasons after being number one is unreal. How does that even happen? And unfortunately the answer is laziness, arrogance, and incompetence.

Despite the fact that Dan doesn't want to be here with our given resources and the era of today's SEC there is no question that we should be at WORST a 6-6 team given the circumstances. I do believe it would have been more obvious had it not been for Dak- which shows just how special of a talent he was/is.

[msbulldog]

Great post Black.

[TrapGame]

Bravo. Excellent post.

[smootness]

This is who we are now. And what we are now is a direct reflection of our coach - a program that through relentless effort, inspired coaching & a few incredibly talented athletes thrived and improved until we got distracted, lost focus, lost inspiration, lost leadership, started reaping what we (Dan) sowed and became a loser once again...just a little over 1 season removed from a temporary #1 ranking. Arrogance, complacency , a stubborn refusal to accept personal responsibility for failings so adjustments could be made have all played a part in our rapid downfall.

Or, you know, the natural ups and downs of college football, made more extreme due to our limited resources and brand.

[blacklistedbully]

Or, you know, the natural ups and downs of college football, made more extreme due to our limited resources and brand.

This would sound more plausible to me if we'd followed 2014 with solid recruiting. Yes, UNM cheated like hell, likely costing us a couple of key recruits...but our recruiting woes went way beyond that. Smoot, what you're talking about is W/L. I'm talking about what I think are the reasons behind our poor play this year, and the direction our program is heading. And that looks like something beyond "natural ups and downs" to me.

Relentless effort on our behalf by Dan may not have improved our record this year more than 1 or 2 games...but it would have made a difference in our "cupboard" and the way this team plays...even in losses. It would have made a difference in what many of us feel is the direction our program is heading, and its possibilities going forward under Mullen.

[Political Hack]

If he turned it around and showed some fire, emotion, and give a damn he'd win back 99% of the fan base.

[blacklistedbully]

If he turned it around and showed some fire, emotion, and give a damn he'd win back 99% of the fan base.

I'm not sure he'd get that much back, Hack. Even if that happened, at this point I think a large percentage of us would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's really hard for a lot of people to renew trust once trust has been broken. With the way Mullen and his agent "whored himself out" and allowed it to negatively affect our recruiting at perhaps the one time in our history we could have used it to springboard into a real, permanent step up, I don't see how he could ever get that much of the fanbase back.

2014 was our shot. Just how likely is it we will ever get that opportunity again? I blame Dan, even though UNM cheating contributed. Dan should have been able to overcome that cheating if he'd shown some loyalty, or at least the kind of dedication and work ethic his compensation warranted.

We would have built a statue for that guy, maybe rename the field in his honor on his retirement had he made himself, "one of us". Some day you'd have driven to the stadium on "Mullen Way", but he sure seems to have pissed that away.

Now he doesn't have a blue-blood HC gig...he's hemorrhaging support here, and he's tarnishing his reputation as a coach with every passing game.

[coastdoglover]

When assistant coaches see how he rants on the defensive coaches and then lets Hevesey and Sallach remain, it doesn't build much chemistry. Numerous sources are saying our defensive coaches are all looking around to get out. I think this all falls on Mullen and yet I, like others would love to see him make some moves and turn this around. I can't see it, and apathy has set in with many fans. The cost tot he University is going to be major because expensive tickets won't be renewed and major donors feel like we are very weak at the top. A win at BYU would help but I will be totally shocked if that happens. Kentucky is average at best and if we lose three in a row, the cards have been played. Dan may get another year but if he remains so arrogant he does nothing, then it is pretty clear he wants out and he has 8 million reasons to hope he is fired. Sad state of affairs for all of us fans.

[Maroonthirteen]

What were Keenum's (or whomever) reasons for not negotiating with Mullen last year? What exactly were these signs on the horizon?

I am really just asking and would like to know. I am not siding with anyone or advocating one way or another. But fact is, Mullen is the most winning coach of all time.

There was no way for Keenum to know we would lose to USA and the results of the other games this season.

[Cooterpoot]

The problem isn't Dan tried to get out. He knew the classes from 2012/13 didn't materialize and this year was coming. We have no seniors and only a couple quality upperclassmen. He didn't try to get more money out of us this time. That's bull. You can't blame a coach for seeing the writing on the wall and wanting out. The problem is how he went about it. His agent screwed him and now he's got a new one. Had he left after 2014, we might be a little better than we are, or we might not be. We don't have the players. He knew it and we all know it.

[mparkerfd20]

If he turned it around and showed some fire, emotion, and give a damn he'd win back 99% of the fan base.

No not 99% I can assure you. I'd say there isn't a way for him to win back at least 25% of the fan base.

[Gutter Cobreh]

The problem isn't Dan tried to get out. He new the classes from 2012/13 didn't materialize and this year was coming. We have no seniors and only a couple quality upperclassmen. He didn't try to get more money out of us this time. That's bull. You can't blame a couch for seeing the writing on the wall and wanting out. The problem is how he went about it. His agent screwed him and now he's got a new one. Had he left after 2014, we might be a little better than we are, or we might not be. We don't have the players. He knew it and we all know it.

Who has the responsibility to ensure we have the players? Who has the responsibility to ensure with recruiting you have options A-D, so that you don't leave the cupboard bare?

If you had an exit plan, would you recruit to set the next coach up with a roster to succeed?

He is caught in the situation he may have foreseen, but wasn't able to escape. I would rather see him mired in this situation than someone else and our fans putting Mullen on a pedestal and wishing he wouldn't have left.

[MadDawg]

If he turned it around and showed some fire, emotion, and give a damn he'd win back 99% of the fan base.

So you are saying we have a bunch of emotional girls as fans?

[NCDawg]

It's possible Boston College may be in the market for a new coach after this year. I think Mullen would be the ideal choice for that job. He and Hevesy need to get back to their Yankee roots.

[smootness]

This would sound more plausible to me if we'd followed 2014 with solid recruiting. Yes, UNM cheated like hell, likely costing us a couple of key recruits...but our recruiting woes went way beyond that. Smoot, what you're talking about is W/L. I'm talking about what I think are the reasons behind our poor play this year, and the direction our program is heading. And that looks like something beyond "natural ups and downs" to me.

Relentless effort on our behalf by Dan may not have improved our record this year more than 1 or 2 games...but it would have made a difference in our "cupboard" and the way this team plays...even in losses. It would have made a difference in what many of us feel is the direction our program is heading, and its possibilities going forward under Mullen.

Natural ups and downs never feel like natural ups and downs when you're in the middle of them. You can always point to underlying reasons you are where you are, but over time those tend to swing back the other way at some point.

When we were sky high and #1 in the country, it felt like we had turned a new corner as a program and weren't ever going back. Now it feels like we've allowed complacency to set in and are back to where we've been and won't ever climb out. It's certainly possible Mullen's tenure is now essentially over and that we truly are on a downward slide, but I'm not ready to say that yet. The hope is that with a good coach and enough support, your highs become higher and your lows not as low.

But it takes a truly elite, generational coach to take over a program like this, lead it straight upward without any backward momentum along the way and turn it into a power that doesn't ever have off years. Good luck finding that guy and getting them to stay.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

If he turned it around and showed some fire, emotion, and give a damn he'd win back 99% of the fan base.

He doesn't have a monumental task ahead of him. Beat BYU, Samford, Kentucky and Arkansas and you go bowling. I don't think he will do it, but it's not like it's crazy.

[smootness]

He doesn't have a monumental task ahead of him. Beat BYU, Samford, Kentucky and Arkansas and you go bowling. I don't think he will do it, but it's not like it's crazy.

Winning all 4 of those would be kind of crazy with this team.

[Cooterpoot]

Who has the responsibility to ensure we have the players? Who has the responsibility to ensure with recruiting you have options A-D, so that you don't leave the cupboard bare?

If you had an exit plan, would you recruit to set the next coach up with a roster to succeed?

He is caught in the situation he may have foreseen, but wasn't able to escape. I would rather see him mired in this situation than someone else and our fans putting Mullen on a pedestal and wishing he wouldn't have left.

Nobody is saying he isn't responsible for the talent level. But he recruited kids that aren't here anymore and like I said, he was never known as a good recruiter. It's fine to be upset that our talent level is down. But people act like coaches don't look for better jobs. Especially when they know lean times are coming. It's common in coaching. He just screwed the pooch with how he handled it and the bad luck of Richt getting fired. Had he gotten out, we'd be on our Rick Ray coach right now and we'd be looking to upgrade in all likelihood. Who knows, maybe we have someone that gets us to 6 wins. But everyone is still going to be pissed when UM skull drags us, and they would regardless of the coach this year. This thing is going to play out this year and we'll end up with some mediocre coach from a small school who we fire in 3 years is my guess. Same cycle as usual.
So if we're going to lose, I'd just assume Mullen go down with ship.

[blacklistedbully]

Natural ups and downs never feel like natural ups and downs when you're in the middle of them. You can always point to underlying reasons you are where you are, but over time those tend to swing back the other way at some point.

When we were sky high and #1 in the country, it felt like we had turned a new corner as a program and weren't ever going back. Now it feels like we've allowed complacency to set in and are back to where we've been and won't ever climb out. It's certainly possible Mullen's tenure is now essentially over and that we truly are on a downward slide, but I'm not ready to say that yet. The hope is that with a good coach and enough support, your highs become higher and your lows not as low.

But it takes a truly elite, generational coach to take over a program like this, lead it straight upward without any backward momentum along the way and turn it into a power that doesn't ever have off years. Good luck finding that guy and getting them to stay.

I would agree with you were it not for aforementioned observations and signs..not the least of which include Dan's obvious over-the-top stubborn streak (How many times are we gonna run our scatbacks up the gut? How many times are we gonna run Prescott up the middle on a Bama D front 7 that stuffs it every time? How many times are we gonna run a headcase kicker out there for game-deciding kicks when he makes less than 50% of his kicks? How many times are we gonna put a young playmaker in for a play...watch him make a big play...then ride the bench the rest of the game while our little guy gets blown on and falls down? How many times are we gonna run off a DC before we figure out the common denominator? How many times are we gonna have to hear Dan's name brought up for other coaching jobs without him making strong statements he's staying (yes, he did that once, but not nearly enough)? How many years are we gonna watch Hevesy's lines look like shit, yet know he's not going anywhere as long as Mullen is in charge?).