Here is exactly what is coming back for 2014

[The Croom Diaries]

2-deep plus the % of production returning from each statistical category on both sides of the ball.

http://maroonandwhitenation.com/2014/01/07/whats-coming-back-2014/

[Goat Holder]

"EVERYTHING RETURNS BUT HOPEFULLY NOT DAN MULLEN AS THEIR COACH."

What the f*ck is that about? Agenda much? Good article outside of that little blurb at the end.

[TheRef]

"EVERYTHING RETURNS BUT HOPEFULLY NOT DAN MULLEN AS THEIR COACH."

What the f*ck is that about? Agenda much? Good article outside of that little blurb at the end.

He's talking about Special Teams....ya know...the part that was completely dreadful that was Dan's responsibility.

[drummerdawg]

I've been hearing Jameon Lewis is debating if he should come back.
I think he will though.

[BrunswickDawg]

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/woolly-sheep-5478471.jpg

[MrKotter]

"EVERYTHING RETURNS BUT HOPEFULLY NOT DAN MULLEN AS THEIR COACH."


What the f*ck is that about? Agenda much? Good article outside of that little blurb at the end.

Did you happen to watch any of our games where we attempted a field goal?

[The Croom Diaries]

I've been hearing Jameon Lewis is debating if he should come back.
I think he will though.

Yes, I have heard that he does not want to come back (because he wants to be a pro), but it might not be in his best interest. Also McKinney could go pro (and he has a kid) but I expect him back.

[The Croom Diaries]

"EVERYTHING RETURNS BUT HOPEFULLY NOT DAN MULLEN AS THEIR COACH."

What the f*ck is that about? Agenda much? Good article outside of that little blurb at the end.

Well, yeah, I spent about 2 hours on that for $0 but it's not really all done out of the goodness of my own heart for the MSU fanbase - I do have opinions otherwise why would I operate a website as a hobby?

[Goat Holder]

He needs to recruit better kickers, not scrap the whole deal. Our ST issue was a personnel thing not a coaching thing. But sure that's also his responsibility.

I guess Saban should fire himself too.

[TheRef]

He needs to recruit better kickers, not scrap the whole deal. Our ST issue was a personnel thing not a coaching thing. But sure that's also his responsibility.

I guess Saban should fire himself too.

Does Saban run Special Teams?

[Goat Holder]

You put it out there, I commented. You don't have to explain why you did it. But be ready for criticism if people don't agree.

[Goat Holder]

It all falls under them. Coaches can't make the players play.

[The Croom Diaries]

He needs to recruit better kickers, not scrap the whole deal. Our ST issue was a personnel thing not a coaching thing. But sure that's also his responsibility.

I guess Saban should fire himself too.

He has a great kicker, just one with a mental block. As the coach, it's up to you to get him past that mental block. Devon Bell has the leg, plenty of it.

[cubswillwinitonedaydawg]

He has a great kicker, just one with a mental block. As the coach, it's up to you to get him past that mental block. Devon Bell has the leg, plenty of it.

Supposedly Logan Cooke is a stud, both punting and kicking. So maybe he can be Bell without the mental block. I hadn't seen or heard anywhere, but a Columbia native (where Cooke is from) said he was an All-American. If Bell can get over some of his issues and/or Cooke is as good as advertised, our kicking game should be much better.

[FreeBoosie]

Two questions. 1) What is the deadline to declare for the draft? Im just too lazy to look it up. and 2) Any idea what exactly Mckinney is waiting on? I assume hes talking with agents and scouts about his draft stock, but I would think a player of his caliber would have decided by now.

[Covercorner2]

I am worried about Preston Smith, too. He has a kid as well. Jameon Lewis, not so much.

[The Croom Diaries]

Two questions. 1) What is the deadline to declare for the draft? Im just too lazy to look it up. and 2) Any idea what exactly Mckinney is waiting on? I assume hes talking with agents and scouts about his draft stock, but I would think a player of his caliber would have decided by now.

Jan. 15. I assume he is waiting to hear back from the NFL Draft advisory board on what his stock is / has received the info and is mulling it over with family and coaches....but McKinney told reporters during Liberty Bowl week that he intended to come back in 2014, however, if he were to get say a 2nd round grade that would be tempting considering his family situation and he saw how much Darius Slay and Fletcher Cox improved their draft stock during the combine.

[maroonmania]

He has a great kicker, just one with a mental block. As the coach, it's up to you to get him past that mental block. Devon Bell has the leg, plenty of it.

Well if I can drive a golf ball 300 yards but I can't keep it in the fairway am I a great golfer? Kind of the situation with Bell. Yes, he's got a strong leg but if he can't keep it between the goal posts he's not worth much as a FG kicker and is definitely not great. Now whether his accuracy issues are mental or mechanical I don't know.

[Coach34]

The govt provides a helluva lot of assistance to unemployed students with kids. It's not 1965 anymore. That excuse is a crock.

Players with kids need to do what is best for them longterm

[Coach34]

Well if I can drive a golf ball 300 yards but I can't keep it in the fairway am I a great golfer?

Tiger Woods is

[maroonmania]

Tiger Woods is

Well Tiger isn't constantly hitting his second shot from the rough. Bell lives in the rough.

[The Croom Diaries]

The govt provides a helluva lot of assistance to unemployed students with kids. It's not 1965 anymore. That excuse is a crock.

Players with kids need to do what is best for them longterm

The point is it could be a factor. If you know for a fact you are going to get drafted (because you got a 2nd or 3rd round grade) you would be more likely to go pro (and make $1 million next year) with a kid to support than without one. Even if you'll be just fine, the money is enticing...plus with the new rookie pay scale there isn't as much difference between the 1st and 2nd round any more with initial contracts so it's more incentive to leave school early if you are anywhere near that range.

[missouridawg]

He has a great kicker, just one with a mental block. As the coach, it's up to you to get him past that mental block. Devon Bell has the leg, plenty of it.


Aren't you a Braves fan?

Did Bobby Cox deserve to be fired because of Mark Wohlers? I mean, shit, it was just a mental block, right?

[The Croom Diaries]

Well if I can drive a golf ball 300 yards but I can't keep it in the fairway am I a great golfer? Kind of the situation with Bell. Yes, he's got a strong leg but if he can't keep it between the goal posts he's not worth much as a FG kicker and is definitely not great. Now whether his accuracy issues are mental or mechanical I don't know.

If you can drive a golf ball 300 yards but can't keep it straight then you have potential, and a good golf coach should be able to teach you how to hit the ball straight. You are bringing the talent, he is bringing the expertise to show you how to use it. Same concept here - Bell has the talent, and it's up to the ST coach to show him how to use it. Our special teams have more than just FG kicking as an issue, but as for this one issue, Mullen isn't getting it done as the coach. As a bonus reason to hire a ST coach, I think it would allow Mullen to spend more time on the offensive game-plan / play-calling and that would help out there as well....it's a two-fold benefit.

[The Croom Diaries]

Aren't you a Braves fan?

Did Bobby Cox deserve to be fired because of Mark Wohlers? I mean, shit, it was just a mental block, right?

Well Bobby Cox wasn't the pitching coach. I'm not suggesting firing Dan Mullen from being the head coach, just remove himself from the ST coach, put Sallach in an administrative role and hire a ST coach. Or even move Sallach to ST, whatever.

Mark Wohlers had a mental block but Leo Mazzone had quite a resume that supersedes any of the issues Wohlers had giving me proof that it was a Wohlers issue and not Mazzone. Mullen has not proven he is a good special teams coach - it has been mediocre since he's been here. What's more, Wohlers was once a very good closer for several years and even got a save to close out the 1995 World Series - Bell has pretty much sucked since he arrived on campus.

[FISHDAWG]

Bell has pretty much sucked since he arrived on campus.[/QUOTE]

^^^ wrong - he had a pretty good freshman yr

CAREER: One of the most prolific freshman kickers in Bulldog history ? Set three individual season records while tying one postseason record ? Appeared in all 13 games in his true freshman season ? Hit 14-of-21 field goals, 43-of-44 PATs and averaged 60.3 yards on 64 kickoffs, with 13 touchbacks as as highly-touted freshman from Vicksburg, Miss. ? Finished regular season seventh in the FBS in scoring among true freshmen.

[bulldogsmsu]

He's talking about Special Teams....ya know...the part that was completely dreadful that was Dan's responsibility.

I saw that as well and had to read it twice to catch the point about special teams. haha. Of course everyone knows this, but special teams is SO important. It is the difference in the national championship in case you didn't watch last nights game. That game was completely won & lost by special teams.

1. Auburn missed 33 yard field goal in the 2nd that would have been the game tieing field goal and would have sent the game to OT.
2. Of course the FSU returned kickoff for the TD.
3. Fake punt to pick up the 1st down in the first half to give the noles their only TD of the half.
4. Auburn running into (roughing) kicker which kept FSU drive alive.

I mean that was the difference in the game no question. I hope we can improve on special teams as I am most concerned about this area. We need have to be able to make field goals to win the the SEC. To many close games.

[Dawg61]

Good gawd our defense is SICK!! Major kudos to Dan and the staff to putting that defense together. Jameon Lewis couldn't pick a worse year to think he'd get drafted as a junior. The draft is LOADED with WR and early eligible WR. He'd probably go undrafted. JAMEON DON'T DO IT MAN. McKinney isn't getting drafted in the first round either. Quit this dumb shit already.

[The Croom Diaries]

^^^ wrong - he had a pretty good freshman yr

CAREER: One of the most prolific freshman kickers in Bulldog history ? Set three individual season records while tying one postseason record ? Appeared in all 13 games in his true freshman season ? Hit 14-of-21 field goals, 43-of-44 PATs and averaged 60.3 yards on 64 kickoffs, with 13 touchbacks as as highly-touted freshman from Vicksburg, Miss. ? Finished regular season seventh in the FBS in scoring among true freshmen.

Thanks for quoting Kyle Niblett's sunshine pumping. Bell set records for most PATs made and most PATs attempted. Big whoop. He only did that because the team scored more touchdowns than they ever have and he was the main kicker. His other record was most points scored by a kicker. That one has some merit because he made the 14 FG but he was also the full-time kicker for one of the most prolific offenses in MSU history. Scott Westerfield holds the record with 18 FG in 1999 but doesn't have the record because his team didn't score many touchdowns - on one of the greatest MSU teams of all time. Bell kicked a ton of PATs and then got a bunch of FG opportunities because we were in scoring position due to the offense...not him.

But to your point - he was better his freshman year and why I said, "pretty much sucked". But the fact that he was just mediocre and not all out sucky his freshman year proves that he has the potential if it can be harnessed.....a.k.a. a coach's job.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Jameon would be wise to come back to school- the WR class next year will be much lighter than this years.

[missouridawg]

Well Bobby Cox wasn't the pitching coach. I'm not suggesting firing Dan Mullen from being the head coach, just remove himself from the ST coach, put Sallach in an administrative role and hire a ST coach. Or even move Sallach to ST, whatever.

Mark Wohlers had a mental block but Leo Mazzone had quite a resume that supersedes any of the issues Wohlers had giving me proof that it was a Wohlers issue and not Mazzone. Mullen has not proven he is a good special teams coach - it has been mediocre since he's been here. What's more, Wohlers was once a very good closer for several years and even got a save to close out the 1995 World Series - Bell has pretty much sucked since he arrived on campus.

Go check our punt coverage yardage and get back to me on the "Mullen has not proven he is a good special teams coach" shit. We led the nation in it last year, I believe.

If Bell makes the FGs this year, no one is complaining about special teams. We have a kicker problem that Mullen needs to address, but this talk of Mullen not being competent enough to run STs is ludacris.

[FISHDAWG]

doesn't matter what offense or what year .... fact of the matter is he did it ...... so he had more attempts than Westerfield. kicking percentage is all you can use to compare the two .... Westerfields best year he was 75% on those 18 goals ... Bell was 66% ..... not arguing that Westerfield wasn't the better kicker - he was clutch and probably the best we have ever had ... just pointing out that Bell did have one good year ... however Westerfield didn't fall off the next year like Bell did

[Bo Darville]

The govt provides a helluva lot of assistance to unemployed students with kids. It's not 1965 anymore. That excuse is a crock.

Players with kids need to do what is best for them longterm

I agree with coach. McKinney could be drafted very high, so he must consider it. I don't see Jameon anywhere in the top 5 rounds, maybe not drafted at all. He is smaller than Bumphis and I don't think his 40-time is going to be stellar. Not sure on Preston's draftability, but I definitely think he could improve it with another year.

[preachermatt83]

Thanks Croom for the write up. you did a great job on it with a lot of hard work getting numbers together. Pay no attention to Goat Holder. He misread it thinking you were saying that dan mullen shouldn't come back at all rather than what you really meant which was basically he should hire a st coach. The problem is Goat's pride will not let him admit that he misunderstood and posted his thoughts based on that misunderstanding. Again, good Job Croom!

[The Croom Diaries]

Go check our punt coverage yardage and get back to me on the "Mullen has not proven he is a good special teams coach" shit. We led the nation in it last year, I believe.

If Bell makes the FGs this year, no one is complaining about special teams. We have a kicker problem that Mullen needs to address, but this talk of Mullen not being competent enough to run STs is ludacris.

I'm not really sure why it's such a big deal that I want Mullen to hire a special teams coach. He hasn't been absolutely horrendous, but there is A LOT of room for improvement...and it was a major weak spot this year....

Punt returns.....116th (3.63 Yards per return)

Kickoff returns....60th (21.68 YPR)

Punting.....78th (40.25 YPP)

FG kicking.....122nd (50%)

PATs..........93rd (95.2%)

Punt return coverage.......38th (6 YPR)

Kickoff return coverage.....46th (20.43)

I think if he had an assistant coach with those type of craptastic statistics that assistant coach would be fired.

[codeDawg]

I'm not really sure why it's such a big deal that I want Mullen to hire a special teams coach. He hasn't been absolutely horrendous, but there is A LOT of room for improvement...and it was a major weak spot this year....

What current coach do you get rid of and what do you do with those duties? Sallach is the the only one I that is expendable from a duties perspective.

[Goat Holder]

I'm not really sure why it's such a big deal that I want Mullen to hire a special teams coach.

Because it's unnecessary and an unneeded expense. We need to get better kicking the ball through the uprights. That's it. It's not scheme or anything else. It's PLAYERS. I'm guessing all that goes away next season. Many kickers start out badly en route to very good college careers. And those numbers you posted? The only real way to make them go up is to get better athletes.


He hasn't been absolutely horrendous, but there is A LOT of room for improvement...and it was a major weak spot this year....

That's your problem, all you can see is last year. His ST have actually been pretty damn good since we hired him.

[missouridawg]

I'm not really sure why it's such a big deal that I want Mullen to hire a special teams coach. He hasn't been absolutely horrendous, but there is A LOT of room for improvement...and it was a major weak spot this year....

Punt returns.....116th (3.63 Yards per return)

Kickoff returns....60th (21.68 YPR)

Punting.....78th (40.25 YPP)

FG kicking.....122nd (50%)

PATs..........93rd (95.2%)

Punt return coverage.......38th (6 YPR)

Kickoff return coverage.....46th (20.43)

I think if he had an assistant coach with those type of craptastic statistics that assistant coach would be fired.

Thanks for sharing these stats. I would honestly love to see where the rest of the SEC ranks in comparison to this. There's a chance these numbers could be skewed due to the elite athletes that play in the SEC, but that's just speculation on my part.

While these numbers aren't eye-catchingly good, they're not horrendous either (other than the FGs made). I would think the punt return yardage probably had a ton of teams within a few yards of each other, but again, just speculation on my part.

Also - I would be all for hiring a special teams coach to re-allocate our coaching staff's time. I agree that freeing up Mullen to focus on the offense would be good. But I think people are jumping the gun on the "Mullen is too incompetent to coach special teams". That's just not the case.

Personally, I would love to see an ace recruiter brought on staff to run special teams. Let Gonzales do TEs and WRs. Let Mullen handle the offense with Koenning.

[starkvegasdawg]

Well Tiger isn't constantly hitting his second shot from the rough. Bell lives in the rough.

Depends on your defintion of rough. He was hitting a lot of shots that were out of bounds. Caused him to lose the right to play on the fairway he had.

[The Croom Diaries]

What current coach do you get rid of and what do you do with those duties? Sallach is the the only one I that is expendable from a duties perspective.

I'd put Sallach in an administrative role and hire a ST coach. There are guys out there with experience coaching special teams that could do an adequate job, and Mullen could focus more on the offense.

[The Croom Diaries]

Thanks for sharing these stats. I would honestly love to see where the rest of the SEC ranks in comparison to this. There's a chance these numbers could be skewed due to the elite athletes that play in the SEC, but that's just speculation on my part.

While these numbers aren't eye-catchingly good, they're not horrendous either (other than the FGs made). I would think the punt return yardage probably had a ton of teams within a few yards of each other, but again, just speculation on my part.

Also - I would be all for hiring a special teams coach to re-allocate our coaching staff's time. I agree that freeing up Mullen to focus on the offense would be good. But I think people are jumping the gun on the "Mullen is too incompetent to coach special teams". That's just not the case.

Personally, I would love to see an ace recruiter brought on staff to run special teams. Let Gonzales do TEs and WRs. Let Mullen handle the offense with Koenning.

SEC Rankings to the right

Punt returns.....116th (3.63 Yards per return) - 14th

Kickoff returns....60th (21.68 YPR) - 7th

Punting.....78th (40.25 YPP) - 10th

FG kicking.....122nd (50%) - 14th

PATs..........93rd (95.2%) - 8th

Punt return coverage.......38th (6 YPR) - not listed

Kickoff return coverage.....46th (20.43) - 12th

[Todd4State]

Like I said yesterday- the issue is we give the job of ST coach to a grad assistant. And that probably explains in part why we have a lot of inconsistent play on ST. Dan proclaims himself as the ST coach to take the heat off of the grad assistant with the press. That to me is almost as bad as a grad assistant being the OC, DC or o-line coach.

What needs to happen is Sallach or someone that's a full time coach needs to coach ST and then we need the grad assistant to coach TE's. It's common sense.

And I don't understand these "our only problem is kicking field goals" comments- we had way too many punts blocked or dropped this year. The punt return issues have been touched on already. In the past years, we've had issues covering kickoffs- like the LSU game where Tyson Lee didn't pitch it, Tennessee last year, Auburn last year. We've had issues with getting kickoffs into the end zone.

A team like MSU can NOT afford to be below average in special teams. We can not afford to give up points and yards like that- and as I've said before, I think special teams inconsistentcy is a big reason why Dan doesn't have a signature win yet. We can't spot LSU 7 points and then allow them to control field position all game and expect to beat them.

[Todd4State]

SEC Rankings to the right

Punt returns.....116th (3.63 Yards per return) - 14th

Kickoff returns....60th (21.68 YPR) - 7th

Punting.....78th (40.25 YPP) - 10th

FG kicking.....122nd (50%) - 14th

PATs..........93rd (95.2%) - 8th

Punt return coverage.......38th (6 YPR) - not listed

Kickoff return coverage.....46th (20.43) - 12th

BARF.

[Barking 13]

I'd put Sallach in an administrative role and hire a ST coach. There are guys out there with experience coaching special teams that could do an adequate job, and Mullen could focus more on the offense.


TCD, can you name a few so we can get some ideas? Beamer is the only one I can come up with, and wasn't he previously on staff?

[Todd4State]

TCD, can you name a few so we can get some ideas? Beamer is the only one I can come up with, and wasn't he previously on staff?

He was on Croom's staff.

[codeDawg]

I vote we 86 Sallach and hire one a TE/ST combo, emphasis on ST. That, or we make it part of Koenning's duties since he apparently doesn't call plays anymore.

Special teams coaches in the SEC:

Alabama
Bobby Williams
Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator


Auburn
Scott Fountain
Special Teams / Tight Ends Coach


LSU
Thomas McGaughey
Special Teams Coordinator


Texas A&M
Jeff Banks
Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends


Arkansas
Not listed


Mississippi
Tom Allen
Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers


Mizzou
Not listed


Georgia
None


Florida
Coleman Hutzler
Special Teams Coordinator


Vandy
Charles Bankins
Special Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends Coach


Tennessee
Eddie Gran
Asst. Coach / Running Backs / Special Teams


South Carolina
Joe Robinson
Special Teams Coordinator


Kentucky
Steve Ortmayer
Asst. Head Coach/Special Teams & Tight Ends Coach

[The Croom Diaries]

Because it's unnecessary and an unneeded expense. We need to get better kicking the ball through the uprights. That's it. It's not scheme or anything else. It's PLAYERS. I'm guessing all that goes away next season. Many kickers start out badly en route to very good college careers. And those numbers you posted? The only real way to make them go up is to get better athletes.



That's your problem, all you can see is last year. His ST have actually been pretty damn good since we hired him.

Scheme? Special teams scheme? How about just discipline, technique and fundamentals.

Let's see....

We were 94th in FG in 2012, 90th in 2011, 78th in 2010 - the only good year was 37th in 2009.

Punt returns: 2012 - 81st, 2011- 24th, 2010 - 51st, 2009 - 47th; I guess you could say that's mediocre

Kickoff returns: 2012 - 46th, 2011 - 116th, 2010 - 73th, 2009 - 12th; only really good year was '09

Punting: 2012 - 59th, 2011 - 37th, 2010 - 52nd, 2009 - 84th; meh

Punt return coverage - 2012 - 1st (winner), 2011- 21st, 2010 - 22nd, 2009 - 115th; well Mullen has improved here for sure

Kickoff coverage - 2012- 35th, 2011- 26th, 2010- 90th, 2009- 68th

I'm not really sure why trading Sallach's $144K salary for a $150K-200K ST coach is such a big expense, but if you say so. I wouldn't call any of these numbers "pretty damn good". Really I'd just call them very mediocre. For a program like MSU, playing fundamentally sound is one of the biggest ways you can help yourself to win ball games. Special teams is the epitome of that. Blocked punts, missed FG, blunders, lack of return yardage (I can live with that one though) - those are just areas that kill you. Play solid special teams and you can make up for some of the gap between the talent levels on offense and defense.

[The Croom Diaries]

Like I said yesterday- the issue is we give the job of ST coach to a grad assistant. And that probably explains in part why we have a lot of inconsistent play on ST. Dan proclaims himself as the ST coach to take the heat off of the grad assistant with the press. That to me is almost as bad as a grad assistant being the OC, DC or o-line coach.

What needs to happen is Sallach or someone that's a full time coach needs to coach ST and then we need the grad assistant to coach TE's. It's common sense.

And I don't understand these "our only problem is kicking field goals" comments- we had way too many punts blocked or dropped this year. The punt return issues have been touched on already. In the past years, we've had issues covering kickoffs- like the LSU game where Tyson Lee didn't pitch it, Tennessee last year, Auburn last year. We've had issues with getting kickoffs into the end zone.

A team like MSU can NOT afford to be below average in special teams. We can not afford to give up points and yards like that- and as I've said before, I think special teams inconsistentcy is a big reason why Dan doesn't have a signature win yet. We can't spot LSU 7 points and then allow them to control field position all game and expect to beat them.

100% agree. We need to hire someone who can have us eliminating all our mistakes. We don't have to set the woods on fire, just quit screwing up.

[Barking 13]

I agree.. There were several times earlier in the season that I thought our entire team looked unprepared, undisciplined, not just special teams....

[The Croom Diaries]

TCD, can you name a few so we can get some ideas? Beamer is the only one I can come up with, and wasn't he previously on staff?

No, I cannot. But there are 65 non-BCS FBS teams and a piss load of FCS teams and I'm sure somebody has good special teams. And I'm sure the coach of their special teams wouldn't mind making $200K a year.

[TexasDawg]

Like I said yesterday- the issue is we give the job of ST coach to a grad assistant. And that probably explains in part why we have a lot of inconsistent play on ST. Dan proclaims himself as the ST coach to take the heat off of the grad assistant with the press. That to me is almost as bad as a grad assistant being the OC, DC or o-line coach.

What needs to happen is Sallach or someone that's a full time coach needs to coach ST and then we need the grad assistant to coach TE's. It's common sense.

And I don't understand these "our only problem is kicking field goals" comments- we had way too many punts blocked or dropped this year. The punt return issues have been touched on already. In the past years, we've had issues covering kickoffs- like the LSU game where Tyson Lee didn't pitch it, Tennessee last year, Auburn last year. We've had issues with getting kickoffs into the end zone.

A team like MSU can NOT afford to be below average in special teams. We can not afford to give up points and yards like that- and as I've said before, I think special teams inconsistentcy is a big reason why Dan doesn't have a signature win yet. We can't spot LSU 7 points and then allow them to control field position all game and expect to beat them.



Actually the issue is that the grad assistant who was supposed to be the ST coach left in July, leaving Mullen 100% in charge. It was a shame too because the young man that was going to do it had a lot of SEC playing experience.

[Todd4State]

Kent Riddle would be my number one pick. He can coach TE's and ST. They were in the top half of the Sun Belt. He just joined Bryan Harsain in Boise though.

http://www.astateredwolves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=35786&SPID=2798&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=7200&ATCLID=205906780&Q_SEASON=2013

[Barking 13]

No, I cannot. But there are 65 non-BCS FBS teams and a piss load of FCS teams and I'm sure somebody has good special teams. And I'm sure the coach of their special teams wouldn't mind making $200K a year.

Maybe like an up-and-coming OC or DC? That would like to "learn" from the staff we have now?

[Todd4State]

Actually the issue is that the grad assistant who was supposed to be the ST coach left in July, leaving Mullen 100% in charge. It was a shame too because the young man that was going to do it had a lot of SEC playing experience.

That does explain a lot. And I don't know how it all went down, but there is definitely a guy on the sideline that coaches our ST that Dan chews out every time something gets screwed up and it's the same guy every single time. This same grad assistant was in the LS face after his high snap causing us to miss the extra point in the Liberty Bowl. And after we had the punt blocked in the Egg Bowl, Dan chewed this same grad assistant out. Same thing against Texas A&M. It was on TV.

[Barking 13]

That does explain a lot. And I don't know how it all went down, but there is definitely a guy on the sideline that coaches our ST that Dan chews out every time something gets screwed up and it's the same guy every single time. This same grad assistant was in the LS face after his high snap causing us to miss the extra point in the Liberty Bowl. And after we had the punt blocked in the Egg Bowl, Dan chewed this same grad assistant out. Same thing against Texas A&M. It was on TV.

Yeah I wondered about "that guy" but didn't really want to say anything, because maybe it was one of you guys...**** ;)

[MetEdDawg]

Have to feel like we are in good position when we only lose 3 rushing touchdowns and one of those was by the RT

[MabenMaroon]

TCD, can you name a few so we can get some ideas? Beamer is the only one I can come up with, and wasn't he previously on staff? John Baxter ... USC ( Cali ) ... very good ST's coach and is currently un-employed ....

[Dawg61]

We don't have to 86 Sallach just reassign him to one of the 20+ positions we currently don't have that Auburn and Bama do have. They have surrounded the football program with football coaches that don't get counted as on the field assistants.

[maroonmania]

Scheme? Special teams scheme? How about just discipline, technique and fundamentals.

Let's see....

We were 94th in FG in 2012, 90th in 2011, 78th in 2010 - the only good year was 37th in 2009.

Punt returns: 2012 - 81st, 2011- 24th, 2010 - 51st, 2009 - 47th; I guess you could say that's mediocre

Kickoff returns: 2012 - 46th, 2011 - 116th, 2010 - 73th, 2009 - 12th; only really good year was '09

Punting: 2012 - 59th, 2011 - 37th, 2010 - 52nd, 2009 - 84th; meh

Punt return coverage - 2012 - 1st (winner), 2011- 21st, 2010 - 22nd, 2009 - 115th; well Mullen has improved here for sure

Kickoff coverage - 2012- 35th, 2011- 26th, 2010- 90th, 2009- 68th

I'm not really sure why trading Sallach's $144K salary for a $150K-200K ST coach is such a big expense, but if you say so. I wouldn't call any of these numbers "pretty damn good". Really I'd just call them very mediocre. For a program like MSU, playing fundamentally sound is one of the biggest ways you can help yourself to win ball games. Special teams is the epitome of that. Blocked punts, missed FG, blunders, lack of return yardage (I can live with that one though) - those are just areas that kill you. Play solid special teams and you can make up for some of the gap between the talent levels on offense and defense.

Well I will say that special teams play has a LOT more impact on the outcome of a game than how your TE plays. Having THREE coaches for the OL, TE and WRs is just overkill in my book. The TE should be grouped either with the OL coach or WR coach or coached some by both but a coach solely allocated to the TE is a waste. Special Teams play is WAY more important to have a designated coach for.