This will make a few heads explode ..........

[Todd4State]

I recognize what Dan has done here but I also don't think he is above reproach either. The fact that he had to make some changes in the offseason to get his bonus speaks to that. I criticize only because I want Dan- and therefore MSU- to be the best that they can be.

It's sort of like when Ron Polk was our coach. He did a good job but he also did some things they held us back. I had people on then Sixpack telling me I didn't know what I was talking about and etc. but we hired Cohen who rebuilt the program and took us further than Polk did- and now has handed the program off to an even better head coach.

Anyway my point is it doesn't have to be extreme anti or extreme pro Dan. And if he makes changes and he has at times I praise him for doing so.

[Political Hack]

Yes....and why would per capita matter? Regardless of the reason, MS does not produce a ton of top college football talent. This makes it difficult to build a championship-level team largely on the backs of MS talent. Why would a per capita figure matter?

If Rhode Island were phenomenal at producing football talent per capita, it still would make it incredibly tough for a Rhode Island school to compete nationally...because it has a very small population, thus few top football players.

State pride.

Showing Ms coaches are doing just as good of a job as coaches in other states.

Illustrating that we have to go out of state recruiting some to have sustained success.

Comparing geographical dispersion of talent concentrations to help establish a recruiting budget.

I'm sure I could think of more, but that's a few reasons why it matters.

[Todd4State]

Who was writing those articles???

Sports Illustrated wrote one in the 75th year of the SEC special edition issue putting Croom up there with Bear Bryant, Steve Spurrier and I can't remember who else as one of the greatest coaches of all time. And ESPN has done special shows about Croom among other things.

And I'm fine with that because even though he wasn't a great coach that's good publicity for MSU.

[smootness]

State pride.

Showing Ms coaches are doing just as good of a job as coaches in other states.

Illustrating that we have to go out of state recruiting some to have sustained success.

Comparing geographical dispersion of talent concentrations to help establish a recruiting budget.

I'm sure I could think of more, but that's a few reasons why it matters.

I meant in relation to the discussion.

Of course it's great that the state produces so much talent in relation to population. My point is, how does that make it easier to build a team out of that talent? The argument in the article is that because MS doesn't produce a ton of top college football talent, it is a more difficult task to build a winner at State. And he is correct in that. The population within the state, and the effects on the sheer number of talented football players, is a hindrance.

[Johnson85]

I remember when they wrote these articles about what a good job Croom was doing

We went 5-7 in the regular season last year. Lost to South Alabama and BYU. We won our bowl game by 1 point over a 6-6 nobody out of the MAC

No doubt last season was a shit show. How many coaches can you find in the power 5 conferences that have made it 9 years without a shitshow season after getting the program turned around?

Which SEC coach other than Saban do you predict is going to make it 9 years without a shit show season?

[Tbonewannabe]

And our defense was absolute diarrhea. If Manny had stayed we would have beaten BYU, and USA.

And that would have gotten us to 7-5 regular season, 8-5 with a bowl game in a rebuilding year. Mullen is doing a great job for being above board. I am sure if he was willing to go the Beaver route we could be a 10 win school on the regular but also staring down the barrel of the NCAA. Mullen is laying a good foundation. We now have regular bowl games which we didn't before he got here and an occasional 9-10 win season. The next step is to make the 9-10 win season more the norm. UNM buying players out from under us set the progress back a little but hopefully the hammer dropping will push us further ahead.

[Maroons]

So MS lacks upper tier high school coaching?

Absolutely yes. In general, the high school coaching in MS is light years behind some of the surrounding states.

[TrapGame]

And that would have gotten us to 7-5 regular season, 8-5 with a bowl game in a rebuilding year. Mullen is doing a great job for being above board. I am sure if he was willing to go the Beaver route we could be a 10 win school on the regular but also staring down the barrel of the NCAA. Mullen is laying a good foundation. We now have regular bowl games which we didn't before he got here and an occasional 9-10 win season. The next step is to make the 9-10 win season more the norm. UNM buying players out from under us set the progress back a little but hopefully the hammer dropping will push us further ahead.

Precisely. UM's hatred of Mullen just cost them the state and any football relevance for a decade.

[Bothrops]

I hate this quote " He?s accomplished all of that while recruiting in a state that doesn?t produce a ton of top college football talent." Its not like we're the Dakota's for crying out loud.

It's only because MS has about 3 million people. That's about half the population of Metro Atlanta, Houston and DFW, for the entire state. The problem is, when people read that stuff they don't know any better than to think it's a Mississippi problem because of the "everything in MS sucks" stigma. They need to clarify the population shortfall in MS, if they're going to make statements like that.

[Tbonewannabe]

Precisely. UM's hatred of Mullen just cost them the state and any football relevance for a decade.

In the end it might benefit us with UNM getting hammered back into the stone ages. We will be THE Mississippi State University and they can be university of mississippi. Can we start spelling out Mississippi and dotting the I since we are going to mimic the state domination like Ohio State?

[Tbonewannabe]

It's only because MS has about 3 million people. That's about half the population of Metro Atlanta, Houston and DFW, for the entire state. The problem is, when people read that stuff they don't know any better than to think it's a Mississippi problem because of the "everything in MS sucks" stigma. They need to clarify the population shortfall in MS, if they're going to make statements like that.

Also Alabama has roughly double the population of MS so we need to be the 1st choice in MS, 2nd choice in Louisiana and Tennessee, and 3rd choice in Alabama. There are some really good players that are ending up other places.

[TrapGame]

In the end it might benefit us with UNM getting hammered back into the stone ages. We will be THE Mississippi State University and they can be university of mississippi. Can we start spelling out Mississippi and dotting the I since we are going to mimic the state domination like Ohio State?

The LSU of Mississippi. I know some scoff at that but it really is a possibility once om is castrated by the NCAA.

[Dawg61]

I remember when they wrote these articles about what a good job Croom was doing

Can't count Croom

[Dawg61]

Sports Illustrated wrote one in the 75th year of the SEC special edition issue putting Croom up there with Bear Bryant, Steve Spurrier and I can't remember who else as one of the greatest coaches of all time.

Yea calling bullshit on this. They might have called Croom one of the most "influential" coaches for the SEC All-Time cause he was the first AA hired as head coach in the SEC but no ****ing way did they call him one of the greatest coaches of all time. Hahahaha

[Mimi's Babies]

The LSU of Mississippi. I know some scoff at that but it really is a possibility once om is castrated by the NCAA.

Coming soon to a TOWN nearest to you..... (78 miles to the North and West)

[tcdog70]

arguably, the best ever

QB--Brett Favre-A Manning-Air McNair-
WR-Jerry Rice-Bambi-Lance Alworth
RB-Sweetness Payton
ol--Jackie Slater-Gene Hickerson
dbs-Lem Barney-Jimmy patton-Billy Stacy

not much talent from the SIP--right***

[thf24]

The LSU of Mississippi. I know some scoff at that but it really is a possibility once om is castrated by the NCAA.

Like I've said before, it's not going to happen. We'll probably get two or three players a year while they're down that they would have gotten otherwise (which can and will make a difference, don't get me wrong), but it's not going to be an LSU-type situation where we get 90% or more of the in-state players we want year in and year out. Many of the players they would have gotten will just go to out of state programs with a culture similar to OM's instead of coming to us.

[blacklistedbully]

I don't think anyone argues he's done a bad job. In a big picture sense, most everyone thinks he's done a pretty great job. But there's also a few glaring faults that seem to hold him back from being an even better coach and getting even better results. Tightening up in big games (outside a 3 game run in 2014) is a problem. Not being able to recognize hevesy's shortcomings is a problem. The playcalling and player usage is sometimes a problem (how can other RBs come in and learn a system and be productive RBs in their freshman season, but it takes 2+ seasons for our talented RBs to learn the system or how to pass block while we run a 160 lb between the tackles over and over) (he relied way too much on the QB dive on every 3rd and 5 or less in 2014-2015).

Overall great job, but there's some relatively minor adjustments many think he could make and be that much better.

EXACTLY!!! Anybody else getting annoyed with these stupid threads where somebody comes on with another, "I'm a better fan than you, and this article or stat proves it" BS, and proceeds to argue the same moronic straw-man argument of, "you guys think Mullen is terrible/sucks/is a bad coach, etc"? Particularly when all we're really saying is he's done an overall great job, but appears to have glaring weaknesses that keep us from taking the next step up, and we're frustrated with his apparent stubbornness in that he makes the same mistakes year-after-year unless the problem resolves itself by a player graduating or getting injured. We also have criticized his handling of the rumors (true or not) of him flirting with other schools, and the impact it's probably had on recruiting.

But it doesn't matter how much we try to clarify our position and point out the not-so-subtle nuances...some people are just incapable of grasping them.

I'm sure i'll be branded a "Mullen-hater" by some on here just for the above comments. But here's the truth...same as it's always been:

Mullen has done wonderful, record-setting things at Mississippi State. He has elevated our football program to a degree we haven't seen since McKeen. But he DOES have flaws, as do most coaches...even Saban. I am in the group that believes Mullen's flaws have placed an artificial ceiling on what he can accomplish here. It is frustrating because these are not flaws that should be hard to correct. He just needs to be more open to learning from his mistakes.

All this said, were he to leave, we'd probably have a tough time finding a replacement who could do as well as he has overall. While he is here, I suspect we'll continue to be a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, that every-so-often gives the big-boys a run-for-their-money, and rarely comes out as the bottom-feeder, something we have plenty of in our football history.

But Dan's success here, combined with the "what-ifs" we have had concerning his aforementioned flaws have made many of us hungry for more, and believing we can actually achieve even more of it if he stops occasionally stepping on his own dick.

[Gutter Cobreh]

No doubt last season was a shit show. How many coaches can you find in the power 5 conferences that have made it 9 years without a shitshow season after getting the program turned around?

Which SEC coach other than Saban do you predict is going to make it 9 years without a shit show season?

Consecutive bowl streaks:

Florida State (35)
Virginia Tech (24)
Georgia (20)
Oklahoma (18)
LSU (17)
Boise State(15)
Wisconsin (15)
Alabama (13)
Brigham Young (12)
Clemson (12)
Oklahoma State (11)
Nebraska (9)
Pittsburgh (9)
Stanford (8)
Texas A&M (8)
Baylor (7)
Kansas State (7)
Louisville (7)
Mississippi State (7)
San Diego State (7)
Washington (7)

Pre-Mullen - our longest stretch of bowl games was 3 years. I realize bowl games have expanded, but we went to 1 bowl game (Liberty) in the 9 years prior.

I'd say he has established a new norm for our program. Can he take us to another level than the one he's established is still up for debate, but there are other programs that have had longer success than we have (with 4 of those being SEC schools).

[Tbonewannabe]

EXACTLY!!! Anybody else getting annoyed with these stupid threads where somebody comes on with another, "I'm a better fan than you, and this article or stat proves it" BS, and proceeds to argue the same moronic straw-man argument of, "you guys think Mullen is terrible/sucks/is a bad coach, etc"? Particularly when all we're really saying is he's done an overall great job, but appears to have glaring weaknesses that keep us from taking the next step up, and we're frustrated with his apparent stubbornness in that he makes the same mistakes year-after-year unless the problem resolves itself by a player graduating or getting injured. We also have criticized his handling of the rumors (true or not) of him flirting with other schools, and the impact it's probably had on recruiting.

But it doesn't matter how much we try to clarify our position and point out the not-so-subtle nuances...some people are just incapable of grasping them.

I'm sure i'll be branded a "Mullen-hater" by some on here just for the above comments. But here's the truth...same as it's always been:

Mullen has done wonderful, record-setting things at Mississippi State. He has elevated our football program to a degree we haven't seen since McKeen. But he DOES have flaws, as do most coaches...even Saban. I am in the group that believes Mullen's flaws have placed an artificial ceiling on what he can accomplish here. It is frustrating because these are not flaws that should be hard to correct. He just needs to be more open to learning from his mistakes.

All this said, were he to leave, we'd probably have a tough time finding a replacement who could do as well as he has overall. While he is here, I suspect we'll continue to be a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, that every-so-often gives the big-boys a run-for-their-money, and rarely comes out as the bottom-feeder, something we have plenty of in our football history.

But Dan's success here, combined with the "what-ifs" we have had concerning his aforementioned flaws have made many of us hungry for more, and believing we can actually achieve even more it if he stops occasionally stepping on his own dick.

Hopefully hiring Grantham at least gets the heal off his dick, maybe just the toes. He did make several positive changes this year so hopefully letting Grantham do his thing allows him to concentrate on improving other aspects of the program like special teams.