IYOK...

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

Have seen a hint here and there of what direction you would like to see MSU go going forward. I think all of us would like to see a State of the State type post from you on what your thoughts are of the season so far, thoughts on the players, coaches, etc. and most importantly where you stand on what you'd like to see going forward after the season and then what you actually think may happen after the season.

I for one, and I think I can speak for many others, enjoy reading your posts and would like to get your thoughts on the topics I mentioned above.

thanks

[Commercecomet24]

I second that

[gtowndawg]

I third that

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I appreciate the love but there's others on the board with much more knowledge & info than me. Concerning the program I think we all see that this season has been a disaster. For all the woulda coulda shoulda 1 play away at some point you have to realize you are what your record say you are. Good teams find a way to win & bad teams find a way to lose. We see what side of the coin we are this year. Sometimes team pull out a close game & they go on a run because they found a pull out a tough game. Well this year this team went the other way. After the South Alabama gam every close game at the win we just can't find a way to make that play to get the W.

As far as players there are some guys that you can tell are playing better & some who haven't for whatever reason.

OFFENSE

I think we're seeing the rawness & lack of reps from Fitz. He shows flashes of being really good then he makes a bad read on the option or stares down a WR on a pass. I think Fitz will be solid but we're having to go through the growing pains. My hope is Tiano & Keytaon push him in the spring so we won't feel like he can coast going into next season.
The rest of this year I would love to see Aeris & Gibson as the primary backs. We have to see if they can carry the load next year. Simple as that. Kylin is more physically ready than any HS back we've signed. The key will be mentally.
We're set at Slot WR for the rest of this year & the foreseeable future with Dear & Mixon. What I do want to see from those 2 are more routes down the field. Esp Mixon he's tailor made for the option routes that we used to run with Bump & Tubby. At outside WR need to see what Jesse & Couch can do. Esp Couch I like what I've seen from him. Next year an outside rotation of Gray, Couch, Todd, & Stephen Guidry will be very solid IMO.
OL. What hasn't been said about the OL. No need to harp on it. They haven't been good. Something has to change & we all know what.

DEFENSE

There has been some bits & pieces of hope with the young guys. Simmons, Spencer, F. Adams, & Thomas all have flashed talent. The next step is becoming consistent playmakers. The talent is there just have to do it every down. Bringing in Pope & Autry next year along with Kobe coming off his RS. Again a lot of talent. A lot of guys with a lot of SEC offers. Time to show it.
LB a little good mostly bad. Richie just hasn't looked comfortable all year in the 3-4. Gray & Ward give you what they've got but are limited. Leo is our next stud LB. He will be even better next year. I'm excited to see Erroll Thompson next season. He looks like a 3-4 ILB & when he hits you you go down. We'll take a Juco MLB also I suspect for depth & just in case Erroll isn't ready for the f/t job. At the Star I know JT will be back but Willie Gay there's your playing time. It's waiting for you come get it. At the Viper I let Sweat & Gerri fly off the edge. It's time for Gerri to be the player we know he can be. I don't know what the issue is but he has to play like a star.
CB again not a lot to say. I think Durr has been solid. I think we have to keep Jamal there just to give a sense of home & comfort. Jamal is in position most of the time he just doesn't know what he's doing yet. A full spring & summer playing only CB I think he will be fine. Cam Dantzler will be in the rotation next year mark it down & may start. Remember I said this. I would also be putting the full court press on Keisean Nixon from Arizona Western I think he is that good.
Safeties unless Brandon Bryant play matches his physical tools we won't be as good as we can on defense. He has 1st rd talent but he has taken a huge step back so far this season. McLaurin has made some plays & missed some plays. Just has to keep getting reps. Smitherman has started getting some more playing time but too early to know what we have. Where he plays next year I think depend on how we close with the Juco Safeties & CB.

COACHING

It's no surprise I want Mullen back. I think he's the guy for the job agree or disagree that's fine. I don't see anyone else out there available that can do better than Mullen. Yes he needs to come out after the season & say this season was unacceptable & won't be tolerated. He needs to say he's 100% committed to MSU & is planning on being here for another 10yrs. After he makes that statement he needs to announce that he is letting Hev & Sallach go. Thank them for all they've done but it's time to move in another direction. If he decides to let Knox go too I can understand. As far as who would get 1st calls if it would me I'd go

TE Coach - Brad Peterson. I think Brad is a very good coach but I also think he would do a good job on the recruiting trail. He's also very smart, intense, & gets the most out of his guys. He's also not a guy who would just agree with Mullen just to agree.
OL Coach - Will Friend. Currently the OC/OL Coach at Colorado St. Will is a MS guy but he's coached in the SEC (UGA). He has experience coaching in the south but also experience helping put together an offensive game plan & he's a pretty darn good OL Coach.
RB Coach - Robert Gillespie. Currently the RB Coach at Tennessee. Again another MS guy who's coached at big time programs. Before he was at TN he coached at West Virginia, Oklahoma St, & South Carolina. He also played ball at Florida. He's a very very good recruiter & also a good RB coach.

These are just who my 1st calls would go to but I'm sure there are a lot of other talented coaches out there. Sorry for the length but I got to rambling.

[BrunswickDawg]

From Dan's mouth** to Dan's ear. Let's hope Dan listens to Dan.

[Commercecomet24]

You can keep rambling, love hearing your thoughts and analysis. Thank you for you info, appreciate it!

[Coursesuper]

Will' dad is also back in vegas now. That's a great call on him.

[Lloyd Christmas]

It's no surprise I want Mullen back. I think he's the guy for the job agree or disagree that's fine.

Just playing devil's advocate: Would you still feel this way if we lost to Samford this weekend?

[AROB44]

Do you think a change needs to be made in the strength and conditioning position?

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Just playing devil's advocate: Would you still feel this way if we lost to Samford this weekend?

It would give me pause but yes as long as he done all those things as soon as the year was over.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Do you think a change needs to be made in the strength and conditioning position?

I can't speak on the S&C Coach but the guys don't look out of shape or their physiques any less they're just playing worse.

[basedog]

I appreciate the love but there's others on the board with much more knowledge & info than me. Concerning the program I think we all see that this season has been a disaster. For all the woulda coulda shoulda 1 play away at some point you have to realize you are what your record say you are. Good teams find a way to win & bad teams find a way to lose. We see what side of the coin we are this year. Sometimes team pull out a close game & they go on a run because they found a pull out a tough game. Well this year this team went the other way. After the South Alabama gam every close game at the win we just can't find a way to make that play to get the W.

As far as players there are some guys that you can tell are playing better & some who haven't for whatever reason.

OFFENSE

I think we're seeing the rawness & lack of reps from Fitz. He shows flashes of being really good then he makes a bad read on the option or stares down a WR on a pass. I think Fitz will be solid but we're having to go through the growing pains. My hope is Tiano & Keytaon push him in the spring so we won't feel like he can coast going into next season.
The rest of this year I would love to see Aeris & Gibson as the primary backs. We have to see if they can carry the load next year. Simple as that. Kylin is more physically ready than any HS back we've signed. The key will be mentally.
We're set at Slot WR for the rest of this year & the foreseeable future with Dear & Mixon. What I do want to see from those 2 are more routes down the field. Esp Mixon he's tailor made for the option routes that we used to run with Bump & Tubby. At outside WR need to see what Jesse & Couch can do. Esp Couch I like what I've seen from him. Next year an outside rotation of Gray, Couch, Todd, & Stephen Guidry will be very solid IMO.
OL. What hasn't been said about the OL. No need to harp on it. They haven't been good. Something has to change & we all know what.

DEFENSE

There has been some bits & pieces of hope with the young guys. Simmons, Spencer, F. Adams, & Thomas all have flashed talent. The next step is becoming consistent playmakers. The talent is there just have to do it every down. Bringing in Pope & Autry next year along with Kobe coming off his RS. Again a lot of talent. A lot of guys with a lot of SEC offers. Time to show it.
LB a little good mostly bad. Richie just hasn't looked comfortable all year in the 3-4. Gray & Ward give you what they've got but are limited. Leo is our next stud LB. He will be even better next year. I'm excited to see Erroll Thompson next season. He looks like a 3-4 ILB & when he hits you you go down. We'll take a Juco MLB also I suspect for depth & just in case Erroll isn't ready for the f/t job. At the Star I know JT will be back but Willie Gay there's your playing time. It's waiting for you come get it. At the Viper I let Sweat & Gerri fly off the edge. It's time for Gerri to be the player we know he can be. I don't know what the issue is but he has to play like a star.
CB again not a lot to say. I think Durr has been solid. I think we have to keep Jamal there just to give a sense of home & comfort. Jamal is in position most of the time he just doesn't know what he's doing yet. A full spring & summer playing only CB I think he will be fine. Cam Dantzler will be in the rotation next year mark it down & may start. Remember I said this. I would also be putting the full court press on Keisean Nixon from Arizona Western I think he is that good.
Safeties unless Brandon Bryant play matches his physical tools we won't be as good as we can on defense. He has 1st rd talent but he has taken a huge step back so far this season. McLaurin has made some plays & missed some plays. Just has to keep getting reps. Smitherman has started getting some more playing time but too early to know what we have. Where he plays next year I think depend on how we close with the Juco Safeties & CB.

COACHING

It's no surprise I want Mullen back. I think he's the guy for the job agree or disagree that's fine. I don't see anyone else out there available that can do better than Mullen. Yes he needs to come out after the season & say this season was unacceptable & won't be tolerated. He needs to say he's 100% committed to MSU & is planning on being here for another 10yrs. After he makes that statement he needs to announce that he is letting Hev & Sallach go. Thank them for all they've done but it's time to move in another direction. If he decides to let Knox go too I can understand. As far as who would get 1st calls if it would me I'd go

TE Coach - Brad Peterson. I think Brad is a very good coach but I also think he would do a good job on the recruiting trail. He's also very smart, intense, & gets the most out of his guys. He's also not a guy who would just agree with Mullen just to agree.
OL Coach - Will Friend. Currently the OC/OL Coach at Colorado St. Will is a MS guy but he's coached in the SEC (UGA). He has experience coaching in the south but also experience helping put together an offensive game plan & he's a pretty darn good OL Coach.
RB Coach - Robert Gillespie. Currently the RB Coach at Tennessee. Again another MS guy who's coached at big time programs. Before he was at TN he coached at West Virginia, Oklahoma St, & South Carolina. He also played ball at Florida. He's a very very good recruiter & also a good RB coach.

These are just who my 1st calls would go to but I'm sure there are a lot of other talented coaches out there. Sorry for the length but I got to rambling.

Thank you IYOK, you said it better than anyone could. I total agree in what you are saying.

[Lloyd Christmas]

It would give me pause but yes as long as he done all those things as soon as the year was over.

I'm currently in the "Mullen deserves to be fired, but we just can't do it this year" camp. However, if he loses to Samford he has to be canned. An SEC coach cannot be allowed to lose to South Alabama and Samford at home and keep his job. I'm sorry, he just can't.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I'm currently in the "Mullen deserves to be fired, but we just can't do it this year" camp. However, if he loses to Samford he has to be canned. An SEC coach cannot be allowed to lose to South Alabama and Samford at home and keep his job. I'm sorry, he just can't.

When you say it like that well.......

[Commercecomet24]

We beat Samford and find a way to wi. 2 of the last 4( including the egg), finishes with a good class and Mullen makes those necessary changes we would have some renewed interest and momentum headed into next year. Lot of ifs I know but not impossible.

[msstate7]

We beat Samford and find a way to wi. 2 of the last 4( including the egg), finishes with a good class and Mullen makes those necessary changes we would have some renewed interest and momentum headed into next year. Lot of ifs I know but not impossible.

Let's say somehow we do finish 5-7, would you feel much better headed into next season? I certainly would

[civildawg]

Let's say somehow we do finish 5-7, would you feel much better headed into next season? I certainly would

Everyone would. We can all handle a 5-7 season. A 3-9 or 2-10 season is dang near unforgivable when you play 3-4cupcakes and Kentucky though.

[Thick]

If we finish 5-7, it would be tremendous....BUT then comes the how in the hell did you lose to USA and U.K.?

[msstate7]

If we finish 5-7, it would be tremendous....BUT then comes the how in the hell did you lose to USA and U.K.?

Byu also... 5-7 would be great, but we'd all be saying should've been 8-4 haha

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

I appreciate the love but there's others on the board with much more knowledge & info than me.

Damn Dan! We've been trying to tell you that all year!

We do appreciate the info though. Pretty much nailed it. Before Auburn I was in the camp we need to keep him, after Auburn, I was he needs to go. After BYU I flipped back due to the effort I saw us play with. Kentucky was hard to watch, but it's just who we are right now. I did however, numerous times during the Ky game, catch myself saying after a play....he's a freshman, he's a soph. When someone posted the 10 plays broken down and dissected in an earlier post I counted how many fresh. and soph. were involved. Out of the 16 players singled out, 13 were either fresh. or soph. making those mistakes.

I, for one, think those 13 players will be making most of those plays next season. And I hope Mullen is the one coming out of the tunnel with them.

[Commercecomet24]

Let's say somehow we do finish 5-7, would you feel much better headed into next season? I certainly would

Heck at this point 4-8 and win the egg, right staff changes good recruiting class I'll be happy.

[shoeless joe]

It would give me pause but yes as long as he done all those things as soon as the year was over.


What's the chance he actually does one of those things? Much less all?

Fire an offensive coach, publicly commit to state, change in any way whatsoever?

[Ifyouonlyknew]

What's the chance he actually does one of those things? Much less all?

Fire an offensive coach, publicly commit to state, change in any way whatsoever?

I think pretty good. If he fires an offensive coach isn't that change?

[shoeless joe]

I think pretty good. If he fires an offensive coach isn't that change?

I agree that if he does those things and this class stays together I could get behind the argument of giving him another year.

Based on his history, the best predictor of the future, I have a hard time believing those things will happen.

[preachermatt83]

I appreciate the love but there's others on the board with much more knowledge & info than me. Concerning the program I think we all see that this season has been a disaster. For all the woulda coulda shoulda 1 play away at some point you have to realize you are what your record say you are. Good teams find a way to win & bad teams find a way to lose. We see what side of the coin we are this year. Sometimes team pull out a close game & they go on a run because they found a pull out a tough game. Well this year this team went the other way. After the South Alabama gam every close game at the win we just can't find a way to make that play to get the W.

As far as players there are some guys that you can tell are playing better & some who haven't for whatever reason.

OFFENSE

I think we're seeing the rawness & lack of reps from Fitz. He shows flashes of being really good then he makes a bad read on the option or stares down a WR on a pass. I think Fitz will be solid but we're having to go through the growing pains. My hope is Tiano & Keytaon push him in the spring so we won't feel like he can coast going into next season.
The rest of this year I would love to see Aeris & Gibson as the primary backs. We have to see if they can carry the load next year. Simple as that. Kylin is more physically ready than any HS back we've signed. The key will be mentally.
We're set at Slot WR for the rest of this year & the foreseeable future with Dear & Mixon. What I do want to see from those 2 are more routes down the field. Esp Mixon he's tailor made for the option routes that we used to run with Bump & Tubby. At outside WR need to see what Jesse & Couch can do. Esp Couch I like what I've seen from him. Next year an outside rotation of Gray, Couch, Todd, & Stephen Guidry will be very solid IMO.
OL. What hasn't been said about the OL. No need to harp on it. They haven't been good. Something has to change & we all know what.

DEFENSE

There has been some bits & pieces of hope with the young guys. Simmons, Spencer, F. Adams, & Thomas all have flashed talent. The next step is becoming consistent playmakers. The talent is there just have to do it every down. Bringing in Pope & Autry next year along with Kobe coming off his RS. Again a lot of talent. A lot of guys with a lot of SEC offers. Time to show it.
LB a little good mostly bad. Richie just hasn't looked comfortable all year in the 3-4. Gray & Ward give you what they've got but are limited. Leo is our next stud LB. He will be even better next year. I'm excited to see Erroll Thompson next season. He looks like a 3-4 ILB & when he hits you you go down. We'll take a Juco MLB also I suspect for depth & just in case Erroll isn't ready for the f/t job. At the Star I know JT will be back but Willie Gay there's your playing time. It's waiting for you come get it. At the Viper I let Sweat & Gerri fly off the edge. It's time for Gerri to be the player we know he can be. I don't know what the issue is but he has to play like a star.
CB again not a lot to say. I think Durr has been solid. I think we have to keep Jamal there just to give a sense of home & comfort. Jamal is in position most of the time he just doesn't know what he's doing yet. A full spring & summer playing only CB I think he will be fine. Cam Dantzler will be in the rotation next year mark it down & may start. Remember I said this. I would also be putting the full court press on Keisean Nixon from Arizona Western I think he is that good.
Safeties unless Brandon Bryant play matches his physical tools we won't be as good as we can on defense. He has 1st rd talent but he has taken a huge step back so far this season. McLaurin has made some plays & missed some plays. Just has to keep getting reps. Smitherman has started getting some more playing time but too early to know what we have. Where he plays next year I think depend on how we close with the Juco Safeties & CB.

COACHING

It's no surprise I want Mullen back. I think he's the guy for the job agree or disagree that's fine. I don't see anyone else out there available that can do better than Mullen. Yes he needs to come out after the season & say this season was unacceptable & won't be tolerated. He needs to say he's 100% committed to MSU & is planning on being here for another 10yrs. After he makes that statement he needs to announce that he is letting Hev & Sallach go. Thank them for all they've done but it's time to move in another direction. If he decides to let Knox go too I can understand. As far as who would get 1st calls if it would me I'd go

TE Coach - Brad Peterson. I think Brad is a very good coach but I also think he would do a good job on the recruiting trail. He's also very smart, intense, & gets the most out of his guys. He's also not a guy who would just agree with Mullen just to agree.
OL Coach - Will Friend. Currently the OC/OL Coach at Colorado St. Will is a MS guy but he's coached in the SEC (UGA). He has experience coaching in the south but also experience helping put together an offensive game plan & he's a pretty darn good OL Coach.
RB Coach - Robert Gillespie. Currently the RB Coach at Tennessee. Again another MS guy who's coached at big time programs. Before he was at TN he coached at West Virginia, Oklahoma St, & South Carolina. He also played ball at Florida. He's a very very good recruiter & also a good RB coach.

These are just who my 1st calls would go to but I'm sure there are a lot of other talented coaches out there. Sorry for the length but I got to rambling.

Outstanding!!!

[Dallas_Dawg]

Will Friend, haven't heard that name in a long time. He played OG at Bama i believe. That would be a great hire, hopefully he can croot.
I'd like to read RP's rebuttal

[mparkerfd20]

Dan is incapable of doing even 1 of those things much less all of them.

[lamont]

Will Friend, haven't heard that name in a long time. He played OG at Bama i believe. That would be a great hire, hopefully he can croot.
I'd like to read RP's rebuttal

IYOK made a really good post. He's a really knowledgeable poster and very valuable to our board.

QB- obviously we need Tiano and Thompson pushing Fitz

RB- totally agree we need to roll with Williams, Lee, and the R-Fr we played last Sat

WR- this position is a problem. Not alot of quality talent here. I like the Slot position- but next year the outside WR's will be average at best. Not very optimistic here

OL- will be freaking awful

DL- will have some talent here-they have to make it happen. Hopefully we pull the jucos to help add talent here. Kentucky lined up and whipped our ass last Saturday- will we improve enough in 2017 to not only handle Kentucky-but LSU, UPig, Auburn, Bama, Georgia, etc? Likely not

LB- Leo can play. Green has to find a home. I still think his best position is 4-3 DE. Lots of questions as to will we be better here

CB- We get Cleveland back hopefully and some guys that got experience this year. We wont be as bad next year- but in no way will we be good at CB

Safety- Bryant and McLaurin have to be the guys to make plays

Mullen? I personally think he is trying to move on. If he doesnt- it means he couldnt get hired at somewhere decent. If he ends up staying- He should work his ass off to pull this class in, remove Hevesy and Sallach, and get some new blood on offense. Will he? Past history says no

In 2017- we will still be deficient at WR, OL, and CB- with questions to be answered at LB and DL. Our schedule will be brutal- so there is no reason to believe we will be improved much record-wise, if at all. And thats a problem.

[Todd4State]

I agree with almost all of IYOK’s post except for two points. One is Donald Gray at outside WR. We see this year my concern with his size and some of the problems it causes as far as getting him the ball. He’s averaging only three receptions a game for a 13.0 average with only one TD which I believe was off of a trick play. He has a hard time blocking on the outside and his size makes it hard for the QB to see him downfield when he is matched up on a corner that is bigger and just as fast as him.

The other is keeping Dan. I don’t see him turning it around. And the reason is because of his attitude and the team’s attitude on and off the field which stems from the head coach. We’re encouraged because we have some talent. But the thing that concerns me is when I see the team on the field not hustling and then calling fans out on twitter. That’s more concerning to me than anything.

So, for me for Dan to stay he needs to finish up at 4-8 with a win over Samford and Ole Miss. And I think we all agree that Hevesy should leave and that staff changed should be made. But what I also want to know in addition to that is if he stays what is he going to do to develop leaders on the field amongst the players? What is he going to do to insure that relentless effort returns to MSU? How is he going to make a statement to the MSU family to prove that he wants to be here?

And I know my opinion on this isn’t popular. Most people think that we should keep Dan to make sure that the media is satisfied so that they won’t say anything bad about us- even though I’m sure they will still pick us last anyway- and to make sure we keep our recruiting class intact. I think we should go ahead and make a change to insure that we take full advantage of Ole Miss’s misfortune and save us two seasons of rebuilding so that we can hopefully get back to where we were a year or two ago. There are always going to be big coaching vacancies every year in college football and there are always going to be big time recruits that we will be concerned about losing with a coaching change every year. That shouldn’t paralyze us from doing what is best for our football program.

It’s OK if y’all have a difference opinion than mine- but just remember who one of the ones was that told everyone that keeping Dan would only lead to decline. And here we are staring at 3-9 and hoping for 4-8. And 3-9 would be worse than Croom’s last season record wise. I’m hopeful that Jimmy Sexton will fix this for us so that we can get a new head coach and not have to fire Dan so that everyone is happy.

[Commercecomet24]

There's one thing for sure that Hevesy has done here that no other MSU football coach that I can remember has done. Completely unite the fanbase(in wanting his dismissal that is) lol!

[HoopsDawg]

IYOK made a really good post. He's a really knowledgeable poster and very valuable to our board.

QB- obviously we need Tiano and Thompson pushing Fitz

RB- totally agree we need to roll with Williams, Lee, and the R-Fr we played last Sat

WR- this position is a problem. Not alot of quality talent here. I like the Slot position- but next year the outside WR's will be average at best. Not very optimistic here

OL- will be freaking awful

DL- will have some talent here-they have to make it happen. Hopefully we pull the jucos to help add talent here. Kentucky lined up and whipped our ass last Saturday- will we improve enough in 2017 to not only handle Kentucky-but LSU, UPig, Auburn, Bama, Georgia, etc? Likely not

LB- Leo can play. Green has to find a home. I still think his best position is 4-3 DE. Lots of questions as to will we be better here

CB- We get Cleveland back hopefully and some guys that got experience this year. We wont be as bad next year- but in no way will we be good at CB

Safety- Bryant and McLaurin have to be the guys to make plays

Mullen? I personally think he is trying to move on. If he doesnt- it means he couldnt get hired at somewhere decent. If he ends up staying- He should work his ass off to pull this class in, remove Hevesy and Sallach, and get some new blood on offense. Will he? Past history says no

In 2017- we will still be deficient at WR, OL, and CB- with questions to be answered at LB and DL. Our schedule will be brutal- so there is no reason to believe we will be improved much record-wise, if at all. And thats a problem.

Bad O-line+no speed at receiver+weak corners= another long season.

[Apoplectic]

I agree that if he does those things and this class stays together I could get behind the argument of giving him another year.

Based on his history, the best predictor of the future, I have a hard time believing those things will happen.

Agree. Nothing in his past tells me he is capable of this. Since we're dealing in fantasy can I add that he should give PT to the best players? Stop using PT as a punishment tool and man up as a strong locker room leader.

[Todd4State]

There's one thing for sure that Hevesy has done here that no other MSU football coach that I can remember has done. Completely unite the fanbase(in wanting his dismissal that is) lol!

I think most would be fine with him if he could coach or recruit. But then he is rude to everyone to top it off. I'm pretty shocked that he was brought back for this season. Or at least reassigned.

[bulldawg28]

It's amazing how certain posters derail everything.

[msbulldog]

Good post IYOK. I agree with you on Coach and the info on possible asst. coaches was enlightening.

[WSOPdawg]

Agree. Nothing in his past tells me he is capable of this. Since we're dealing in fantasy can I add that he should give PT to the best players? Stop using PT as a punishment tool and man up as a strong locker room leader.

THIS!!!! The only way to make your team better is to increase your talent level. For recruits to see that newcomers can hit the field at the expense of experienced upper classmen will only strengthen our talent pool. Absolutely no way should Williams and Lee have been deprived of PT for their first 2-1/2 years given what we know about the talent of our starting RBs.

IMO each spring should have open positions (i.e., no starters) with competition encouraged for ALL. Let the cream rise to the top and watch our talent base grow significantly.

[Commercecomet24]

I think most would be fine with him if he could coach or recruit. But then he is rude to everyone to top it off. I'm pretty shocked that he was brought back for this season. Or at least reassigned.

Yep! Maybe he can take the unm hc job after freeze is relieved of his duties.

[Bully13]

I'd like to know who the posters are that IFYOUONLYKNEW thinks are more knowledgeable than himself.

Practice should be a place where the starters have to prove their worth and show the underclassmen have not earned a starting position. Underclassmen should have the right to show they've earned that right. Dan appears to be failing in that area. Nothing beats fair and honest competition.

Dan needs to prove he wants to be here and have MSU'S best interests at the forefront. He's lacking in that area at this point. That starts with putting your employer above your buddies.

[Bully13]

I'd like to know who the posters are that IFYOUONLYKNEW thinks are more knowledgeable than himself.

Practice should be a place where the starters have to prove their worth and show the underclassmen have not earned a starting position. Underclassmen should have the right to show they've earned that right. Dan appears to be failing in that area. Nothing beats fair and honest competition.

Dan needs to prove he wants to be here and have MSU'S best interests at the forefront. He's lacking in that area at this point. That starts with putting your employer above your buddies.

[Thick]

Dan's not going to be here after the EB.

[BossDawg]

Dan's not going to be here after the EB.

Is that your guess or something you're hearing?

[BossDawg]

I'm all for giving Dan one more year, PROVIDED HE WANTS TO BE HERE. As much as he's done for the program, he's entitled to a down year. However, my biggest concern is if he has his head in the game - meaning, in the best interest of State. Like I've said before, whether he's simply burned out at State, or whether he's bummed about the season, to me it appears as if he has "better things to do". Again, I want to know he wants to be here for one, and I also want to see him get rid of Hevesy and step up recruiting, too. Finally, I wouldn't complain if he quit meddling so much with the defense and also got a legit OC so he can focus on actual head coaching activities.

If he does any of that, I won't be so critical of this year. If he does all of it, I'll certainly have a much better attitude about the future. I think this year was doomed to be a "down" year anyway, but I also think this team has(d) the capability of at least making a crappy bowl. IMO, the team simply dismissed the South Alabama team, got punched in the mouth and the rest of the season has been spiraling out of control. Part of that lack of preparation added to my worry that Dan just doesn't have the fire he once had. His desire to coach AT STATE is critical.

[Thick]

What I'm hearing, and I cautiously say that it will be his decision.

[GTHOM]

I'm currently in the "Mullen deserves to be fired, but we just can't do it this year" camp. However, if he loses to Samford he has to be canned. An SEC coach cannot be allowed to lose to South Alabama and Samford at home and keep his job. I'm sorry, he just can't.

An SEC coach in his 8th year that has tried to leave and that being a big reason we are in the spot we're in added on to it. I dont think an SEC coach should be allowed to lose to South Alabama, BYU, and Kentucky in the same year. Thats just my opinion

[Cooterpoot]

Some of you act like we're AL and can't have down years. Michigan St. is dealing with it. Oregon is dealing with it. We're in the damn SEC West. We aren't going to be successful every season. If Dan stinks it up like this year, again next year, then I'm good with him being shown the door. Losing to the teams we lost to this year is one thing, doing again next year is unacceptable. But, Dan is leaving anyway. He's going to have several job offers, regardless of how our season ends up.

[West Houston Dog]

after reviewing the entire situation USA game to date=

I would give Dan next year IF we upgrade to a new OL coach
+ promote our recruiting asst(Peterson?) to TE coach.
Dont mind keeping Knox as he can recruit some. Of Course keep the wr coach.

I would also insist on a new DC cause what i have seen so far this year hasnt been good.
+ possibly a new DL coach because I see our DL just push around too much. Auburn was brutual to watch.

But I could be wrong.....

[Tbonewannabe]

after reviewing the entire situation USA game to date=

I would give Dan next year IF we upgrade to a new OL coach
+ promote our recruiting asst(Peterson?) to TE coach.
Dont mind keeping Knox as he can recruit some. Of Course keep the wr coach.

I would also insist on a new DC cause what i have seen so far this year hasnt been good.
+ possibly a new DL coach because I see our DL just push around too much. Auburn was brutual to watch.

But I could be wrong.....

I think Sirmon has been good and bad which you may expect with a 1st time Defensive Coordinator. He is also known as a good recruiter. Also a lot of our problems have looked like effort and tackling more than play calling.

[JohnnyQuid]

I appreciate the love but there's others on the board with much more knowledge & info than me. Concerning the program I think we all see that this season has been a disaster. For all the woulda coulda shoulda 1 play away at some point you have to realize you are what your record say you are. Good teams find a way to win & bad teams find a way to lose. We see what side of the coin we are this year. Sometimes team pull out a close game & they go on a run because they found a pull out a tough game. Well this year this team went the other way. After the South Alabama gam every close game at the win we just can't find a way to make that play to get the W.

As far as players there are some guys that you can tell are playing better & some who haven't for whatever reason.

OFFENSE

I think we're seeing the rawness & lack of reps from Fitz. He shows flashes of being really good then he makes a bad read on the option or stares down a WR on a pass. I think Fitz will be solid but we're having to go through the growing pains. My hope is Tiano & Keytaon push him in the spring so we won't feel like he can coast going into next season.
The rest of this year I would love to see Aeris & Gibson as the primary backs. We have to see if they can carry the load next year. Simple as that. Kylin is more physically ready than any HS back we've signed. The key will be mentally.
We're set at Slot WR for the rest of this year & the foreseeable future with Dear & Mixon. What I do want to see from those 2 are more routes down the field. Esp Mixon he's tailor made for the option routes that we used to run with Bump & Tubby. At outside WR need to see what Jesse & Couch can do. Esp Couch I like what I've seen from him. Next year an outside rotation of Gray, Couch, Todd, & Stephen Guidry will be very solid IMO.
OL. What hasn't been said about the OL. No need to harp on it. They haven't been good. Something has to change & we all know what.

DEFENSE

There has been some bits & pieces of hope with the young guys. Simmons, Spencer, F. Adams, & Thomas all have flashed talent. The next step is becoming consistent playmakers. The talent is there just have to do it every down. Bringing in Pope & Autry next year along with Kobe coming off his RS. Again a lot of talent. A lot of guys with a lot of SEC offers. Time to show it.
LB a little good mostly bad. Richie just hasn't looked comfortable all year in the 3-4. Gray & Ward give you what they've got but are limited. Leo is our next stud LB. He will be even better next year. I'm excited to see Erroll Thompson next season. He looks like a 3-4 ILB & when he hits you you go down. We'll take a Juco MLB also I suspect for depth & just in case Erroll isn't ready for the f/t job. At the Star I know JT will be back but Willie Gay there's your playing time. It's waiting for you come get it. At the Viper I let Sweat & Gerri fly off the edge. It's time for Gerri to be the player we know he can be. I don't know what the issue is but he has to play like a star.
CB again not a lot to say. I think Durr has been solid. I think we have to keep Jamal there just to give a sense of home & comfort. Jamal is in position most of the time he just doesn't know what he's doing yet. A full spring & summer playing only CB I think he will be fine. Cam Dantzler will be in the rotation next year mark it down & may start. Remember I said this. I would also be putting the full court press on Keisean Nixon from Arizona Western I think he is that good.
Safeties unless Brandon Bryant play matches his physical tools we won't be as good as we can on defense. He has 1st rd talent but he has taken a huge step back so far this season. McLaurin has made some plays & missed some plays. Just has to keep getting reps. Smitherman has started getting some more playing time but too early to know what we have. Where he plays next year I think depend on how we close with the Juco Safeties & CB.

COACHING

It's no surprise I want Mullen back. I think he's the guy for the job agree or disagree that's fine. I don't see anyone else out there available that can do better than Mullen. Yes he needs to come out after the season & say this season was unacceptable & won't be tolerated. He needs to say he's 100% committed to MSU & is planning on being here for another 10yrs. After he makes that statement he needs to announce that he is letting Hev & Sallach go. Thank them for all they've done but it's time to move in another direction. If he decides to let Knox go too I can understand. As far as who would get 1st calls if it would me I'd go

TE Coach - Brad Peterson. I think Brad is a very good coach but I also think he would do a good job on the recruiting trail. He's also very smart, intense, & gets the most out of his guys. He's also not a guy who would just agree with Mullen just to agree.
OL Coach - Will Friend. Currently the OC/OL Coach at Colorado St. Will is a MS guy but he's coached in the SEC (UGA). He has experience coaching in the south but also experience helping put together an offensive game plan & he's a pretty darn good OL Coach.
RB Coach - Robert Gillespie. Currently the RB Coach at Tennessee. Again another MS guy who's coached at big time programs. Before he was at TN he coached at West Virginia, Oklahoma St, & South Carolina. He also played ball at Florida. He's a very very good recruiter & also a good RB coach.

These are just who my 1st calls would go to but I'm sure there are a lot of other talented coaches out there. Sorry for the length but I got to rambling.

I always appreciate the insight you bring to this board and value your opinion on things - it helps I usually agree with them. this is just more of what I've come to expect - great read.