The best trade Mullen has ever worked:

[Dawgology]

Grantham for Sirmon.

I know we have talked about this ad nauseum but just looked at Louisville's def. stats this year.

2016: MSU 108th Ranked Defense - Louisville 9th Ranked Defense

2017: MSU 9th Ranked Defense - Louisville 92nd ranked Defense


Unbelievable. Someone should lose their job at Louisville probably.

[lefty96]

Someone should lose their job at Louisville probably.

That seems to be happening there at a pretty quick clip. . .

[ShotgunDawg]

Grantham was a genius.

He saw a defense that was ranked in the 100s that has NFL players all over it.

[BB30]

It doesn't surprise me we were able to go get Grantham. It absolutely blows my mind Louisville hired Sirmon. I just do not understand how they thought that was a good idea?

[MetEdDawg]

Grantham was a genius.

He saw a defense that was ranked in the 100s that has NFL players all over it.

This is why last year was so dang frustrating. It's not like we didn't have talent. I mean we've probably got at least 5 NFL guys on defense. I think Simmons, Sweat, Lewis, Green, and McLaurin all are draftable guys. There may be more, but right now those are 5 guys that can go next level. They just needed the right coach and we found him.

[Liverpooldawg]

It’s nice to have a defense again. I agree with everybody else on Sirmon, WHAT was Louisville thinking?

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

It wasnt really a trade. We got Grantham first and Louisville just settled for Sirmon.

[ScoobaDawg]

It doesn't surprise me we were able to go get Grantham. It absolutely blows my mind Louisville hired Sirmon. I just do not understand how they thought that was a good idea?

Exactly... It's just unreal it happened how it did and the trade talk needs to stop. Sirmon was told hit the highway and he just happen to fall in the opposite place.

[Reason2succeed]

But they beat Florida State this week.*

[BeardoMSU]

This is why last year was so dang frustrating.

Yep. If we had just a semblance of a defense last year, we win 8 or 9 games, and the perception on us this year, and especially going into next year, is totally different.

[MetEdDawg]

Yep. If we had just a semblance of a defense last year, we win 8 or 9 games, and the perception on us this year, and especially going into next year, is totally different.

This. 5-7 regular seasons can't happen if you want to change the perception of your program. A program like Auburn can go through a 3-9 year because their perception has been established. Had we followed up 10-2 and 8-4 with another 8-4, things would be a lot different for us. I bet you we would be ranked right now.

For as good as Mullen has been (this is not a bash Mullen thread), 4 of his first 8 seasons we've only won 5 or 6 regular season games. So while we've changed the culture and a little of our perception from the Dak days, we've still got those 4 seasons to deal with in regards to our perception. So an 8 win season last year would have been huge for us altering the perception. Not that this year won't be good for us, but as far as perception, an 8-4 record this year will be looked at as an improvement over last year, not an extension of the previous 3 years because of the 5-7 regular season from last year.

This is why it's important for us to make good hires. Yes we want to elevate ourselves into the upper echelon, but good staff helps you not have those 5-7 years that prevent you from maintaining in that middle to upper tier. That ultimately helps you establish a different reputation and perception, which ultimately helps you be able to hire better and recruit better.

[Dawgology]

Exactly... It's just unreal it happened how it did and the trade talk needs to stop. Sirmon was told hit the highway and he just happen to fall in the opposite place.

It's just a saying. Everyone knows it wasn't a trade but even if it was...who cares? It's obvious we got the better end of the deal by 1000x's.

[Political Hack]

It doesn't surprise me we were able to go get Grantham. It absolutely blows my mind Louisville hired Sirmon. I just do not understand how they thought that was a good idea?

I wish I could've been a fly on the wall when he explained why his defense didn't perform at state.

"Mullen did it."

"Players couldn't grasp it."

"Too much of a talent gap."

I bet whoever got fed those lines is pretty upset right now.

[Dawg61]

It doesn't surprise me we were able to go get Grantham. It absolutely blows my mind Louisville hired Sirmon. I just do not understand how they thought that was a good idea?

Just shows how arrogant Petrino is. He'll fire Sirmon after this year. I also think it shows that nobody wants to coach under Petrino.

[Tbonewannabe]

This. 5-7 regular seasons can't happen if you want to change the perception of your program. A program like Auburn can go through a 3-9 year because their perception has been established. Had we followed up 10-2 and 8-4 with another 8-4, things would be a lot different for us. I bet you we would be ranked right now.

For as good as Mullen has been (this is not a bash Mullen thread), 4 of his first 8 seasons we've only won 5 or 6 regular season games. So while we've changed the culture and a little of our perception from the Dak days, we've still got those 4 seasons to deal with in regards to our perception. So an 8 win season last year would have been huge for us altering the perception. Not that this year won't be good for us, but as far as perception, an 8-4 record this year will be looked at as an improvement over last year, not an extension of the previous 3 years because of the 5-7 regular season from last year.

This is why it's important for us to make good hires. Yes we want to elevate ourselves into the upper echelon, but good staff helps you not have those 5-7 years that prevent you from maintaining in that middle to upper tier. That ultimately helps you establish a different reputation and perception, which ultimately helps you be able to hire better and recruit better.

Another thing that helps is having a good to great QB on the roster. Key is learning the ropes and getting some valuable snaps along with having Fitz for one more year. We are also now getting higher rated QBs which are showing up a lot more polished. As long as they are willing to learn and develop instead of transferring immediately, the future in Starkvegas is bright. Also these QBs are leading their recruiting classes and working on guys.