Todd4State
11-26-2017, 10:56 PM
First of all, I appreciate everything that Dan did for MSU. Probably the biggest thing he did is he consistently beat teams he should- which not even Jackie could say that to be honest- and I think he gave MSU a lot of confidence. And I think confidence is what MSU as a program needs more than anything right now to continue our trajectory. I'm not too upset at Dan because honestly, at the end of the day it's a job. He has to do what he thinks is the best thing for him and his family. But to also be honest IF for some reason he had asked me for my advice I would have told him not to take the Florida job simply because he has had known issues with two of the AD's. It would be like one of us taking a small raise to work for a supervisor that we know we have had some issues with in the past. So, I don't think it's a wise move for him. That doesn't mean I wish him well- it just means I think he made a mistake and will regret it in a few years. Florida fans are not going to put up with a lot of the things we were willing to forgive, overlook, and etc. but I'm sure he knows what he is getting into since he has coached there before. The only real problem I have if the rumor is true about Scott contacting Dan the night before the Egg Bowl. Could you not wait until Friday and the season is over? Dan should have also told whoever- Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, etc. that was trying to hire him that he wasn't talking until after the season was over. And the way Stricklin handles coaching searches he definitely could have waited until after he whiffed the first couple of times at least.
MSU fans by nature especially when it comes to football are always worried that something is going to be screwed up or not go our way. I understand that and why. But the past doesn't have any bearing on NOW. I trust Cohen and Keenum with this. I don't know how many University presidents have played football at the JUCO level or higher but Keenum has. We see what Cohen has done with the baseball hire which I had some questions about initially and to say the least Cann has far exceeded my expectations thus far. Heck, I like him better than Cohen as a coach and I liked Cohen a lot. We're the best SEC job available right now IMO.
Now, I liked Dan. I think he was the best coach we have had in my fan lifetime. But that said I think Dan leaving could end up being a tremendous blessing. First of all the thing I have read a lot that we "need the most is stability"- well, a coach looking for another job every year is pretty much the opposite of that. He was also not a very good recruiter. It was like one feaux paux after another every year. Why did we have no receivers this year? Signed one offensive lineman in a class last year? Hired a recruiting assistant a couple of years ago that automatically took us out of the running for one of the best players in Mississippi history. Somehow managed to lose a four star recruit in Starkville and West Point in the same year- that only happens if you are lazy to be honest. And we blame EMCC a lot for Rivers and Cole not being eligible but they probably would have had Dan not been so adamant about JUCO guys being here for the spring- often times to only go on and redshirt anyway- maybe they would have been eligible. So, with a potentially special 2019 class coming up that's what we're relying on to seal the deal on it?
Dan was very good with QB's. We'll miss that a lot. But we won't miss Holloway up the middle. Or the lame excuses for starting him that changed from week to week until he got hurt which coincidentally was also the week the A-Train became a football gym rat. The smurf WR corp. And while Hevesy was good this year- hell if I had one good year out of nine in my line of work I'm fired. Hopefully we'll hire someone that will play the best players now regardless of classification. I also won't miss the bend and break defense.
One thing that always stood out to me was also how Dan had a lack of top 25 wins. I think if I remember correctly he only had like one more top 25 win than Croom. So, he ended up with like only 2-3 more of those than Croom. That's about HALF as many as Jackie had so don't give me the poor ol Mississippi State can't win excuse. I think the reasons for the lack of wins go back to again- recruiting and personnel management. Why would that change in year 10? And when Dan did get close against Alabama this year he calls a QB draw on 3rd and 8. Gives Bama the ball back and there you have another last minute Alabama win. And a lot of times the past two years we've been blown out by top 25 teams on the road.
And on that note- Dan was pretty lacking in big games. TWICE in 2014 and 2015 he had a chance to take us to the Sugar Bowl and all he had to do was beat Ole Miss- and failed to do it. 2015 being the worst of the two which was Dak's last game and the team and Dan looked like they didn't give a shit. 2014 was pretty bad because of the 1A/1B crap though. I could include this year's Egg Bowl as also failing (probably) to make a NYD bowl but absolutely they get a pass because of the fact that Fitz got hurt.
All of that shitting on Dan is not sour grapes- it's to say that while he was good, we can do better. And the reason why this could be a blessing is because if we find a good X and O's coach that can recruit well- we could take a major step forward. And I get asked what my expectations for MSU football are from time to time- and it's simply to win the games that we're supposed to win and being competitive in games against top 25 teams. If we keep the top 25 games close, we'll some of those every now and then. That's all I'm asking. So, Cohen get it done and Hail State!
MSU fans by nature especially when it comes to football are always worried that something is going to be screwed up or not go our way. I understand that and why. But the past doesn't have any bearing on NOW. I trust Cohen and Keenum with this. I don't know how many University presidents have played football at the JUCO level or higher but Keenum has. We see what Cohen has done with the baseball hire which I had some questions about initially and to say the least Cann has far exceeded my expectations thus far. Heck, I like him better than Cohen as a coach and I liked Cohen a lot. We're the best SEC job available right now IMO.
Now, I liked Dan. I think he was the best coach we have had in my fan lifetime. But that said I think Dan leaving could end up being a tremendous blessing. First of all the thing I have read a lot that we "need the most is stability"- well, a coach looking for another job every year is pretty much the opposite of that. He was also not a very good recruiter. It was like one feaux paux after another every year. Why did we have no receivers this year? Signed one offensive lineman in a class last year? Hired a recruiting assistant a couple of years ago that automatically took us out of the running for one of the best players in Mississippi history. Somehow managed to lose a four star recruit in Starkville and West Point in the same year- that only happens if you are lazy to be honest. And we blame EMCC a lot for Rivers and Cole not being eligible but they probably would have had Dan not been so adamant about JUCO guys being here for the spring- often times to only go on and redshirt anyway- maybe they would have been eligible. So, with a potentially special 2019 class coming up that's what we're relying on to seal the deal on it?
Dan was very good with QB's. We'll miss that a lot. But we won't miss Holloway up the middle. Or the lame excuses for starting him that changed from week to week until he got hurt which coincidentally was also the week the A-Train became a football gym rat. The smurf WR corp. And while Hevesy was good this year- hell if I had one good year out of nine in my line of work I'm fired. Hopefully we'll hire someone that will play the best players now regardless of classification. I also won't miss the bend and break defense.
One thing that always stood out to me was also how Dan had a lack of top 25 wins. I think if I remember correctly he only had like one more top 25 win than Croom. So, he ended up with like only 2-3 more of those than Croom. That's about HALF as many as Jackie had so don't give me the poor ol Mississippi State can't win excuse. I think the reasons for the lack of wins go back to again- recruiting and personnel management. Why would that change in year 10? And when Dan did get close against Alabama this year he calls a QB draw on 3rd and 8. Gives Bama the ball back and there you have another last minute Alabama win. And a lot of times the past two years we've been blown out by top 25 teams on the road.
And on that note- Dan was pretty lacking in big games. TWICE in 2014 and 2015 he had a chance to take us to the Sugar Bowl and all he had to do was beat Ole Miss- and failed to do it. 2015 being the worst of the two which was Dak's last game and the team and Dan looked like they didn't give a shit. 2014 was pretty bad because of the 1A/1B crap though. I could include this year's Egg Bowl as also failing (probably) to make a NYD bowl but absolutely they get a pass because of the fact that Fitz got hurt.
All of that shitting on Dan is not sour grapes- it's to say that while he was good, we can do better. And the reason why this could be a blessing is because if we find a good X and O's coach that can recruit well- we could take a major step forward. And I get asked what my expectations for MSU football are from time to time- and it's simply to win the games that we're supposed to win and being competitive in games against top 25 teams. If we keep the top 25 games close, we'll some of those every now and then. That's all I'm asking. So, Cohen get it done and Hail State!