Good Write Up On Mullen

[Spiderman]

and what we lost and I hope we have replaced.

I know a lot of y'all are hating Mullen, some even saying they are glad he is gone, but anyone that doesn't appreciate what he brought here and what he accomplished, is wrong.

Did it make me mad he left? Does it make me furious that he may have half assed the Egg Bowl this year?

Yes.

But he also gave me the best 9 years of State football of my life, or 99% of everybody's life.

Like Jackie, he will be remembered fondly here after a little time. In fact, remembered a LOT more fondly.

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/depth-look-dan-mullen-changed-mississippi-state-football-means-now-florida

[starkvegasdawg]

Who?

[I seen it dawg]

**** that guy

[Gutter Cobreh]

Like Jackie, he will be remembered fondly here after a little time. In fact, remembered a LOT more fondly.

Highly doubtful. He left the wrong way....most people don't forget things like that, regardless of the amount of accomplishments you may have had during your tenure.

He's also proven thus far (short sample timeline) that he doesn't really care how he is thought of here.

[DogsofAnarchy]

He will never be King Jackie!!

[CovertDawg]

He was 33-39 in the SEC. And if he had things going so fantastic, his last 3 years in the SEC he was 4-4, 3-5, 4-4.....so he kind of is who he was going to be. Now he coaches a school on the schedule next year and is someone we are recruiting against....so basically the enemy.

[Leroy Jenkins]

I challenge anyone to prove if the advances in MSU football were because of:

1. ESPN/SEC Network welfare money
2. Don Marlin
3. Dr Keenum

[Commercecomet24]

Jackie respects us, I don?t know that d** ever did. Jackie became one of us and d** could have but apparently never did. It?s truly sad because I supported d** from the get go. As for me being a fan and an adult I understand coaches gonna come and go but he pissed on his players and that I cannot forget. Also the poaching of our recruits, while part of the game, is classless. While I appreciate what d** did while he was here he burned bridges with how he left. Jackie was and always will be The Kang,

[Liverpooldawg]

I'm grateful to Dan for what he did here. He had us, and has us, in positions I never thought I would ever see us in. I hope he does well, except when he plays us. Some of y'all don't want to hear this, but we need him to do well. Think about it.

[Goldendawg]

He half-***ed the Egg Bowl 4 out of the last 6 years. I've lived through Davis, Tyler, Shira, Bellard, Rockey, Jackie, Coach "Doom", and Dan. Dan showed his true colors and they were never Maroon and White. It was always about him, cost us many games with his annual end of the year job search. I'll help fund a statue for Jackie, never Dan. Jackie got us to Atlanta to the SEC Championship game, Dan never make it, too many selfish distractions even in the #1 year. JMO. Hail State!

[klong-dog]

Muck Fullen

[klong-dog]

I'm grateful to Dan for what he did here. He had us, and has us, in positions I never thought I would ever see us in. I hope he does well, except when he plays us. Some of y'all don't want to hear this, but we need him to do well. Think about it.

What?? Why would it help us if he did well? I think it would benefit us more if he and SS failed. Would send the message that maybe we're not the stepping stone school, like most think.

[CadaverDawg]

We’ll never forget you, Don Merlin

[Todd4State]

Interesting that the players that they interviewed were from his first few years with us.

His legacy to me is that he had us winning against lower level teams consistently which I do think is very important for us. It's hard to earn respect by beating Alabama one week and then losing to La Tech the next.

He had some big wins- Florida and Georgia 2010 are both underrated IMO, LSU in 2014 and 2017, had some Egg Bowl wins that were fun- 2013 is legendary and when the country started to notice Dak, winning the Gator Bowl in 2010 was fun.

But the thing about Dan is he is cocky- not confiedent. He uses his cockiness to overcome his lack of self confidence. That's why he didn't win more big games with us at the root of it.

[Todd4State]

He half-***ed the Egg Bowl 4 out of the last 6 years. I've lived through Davis, Tyler, Shira, Bellard, Rockey, Jackie, Coach "Doom", and Dan. Dan showed his true colors and they were never Maroon and White. It was always about him, cost us many games with his annual end of the year job search. I'll help fund a statue for Jackie, never Dan. Jackie got us to Atlanta to the SEC Championship game, Dan never make it, too many selfish distractions even in the #1 year. JMO. Hail State!

I hope we're funding a statue for Joe Moorhead 10 years from now.

[ShotgunDawg]

I reiterate what most here have said about Don?s lack of loyalty but that was a good article.

In comparison to Don, my biggest concern about Moorhead is if he?s too laid back. Joe appears to be friendly, easy going, personable, etc, but I love my coaches to have that Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dabo, Fat Mullen, kind of type A fire and toughness.

Players emulate their coach. Maybe Moorhead does have that Type A in him that can build mental toughness, but it is my concern. We need that.

[NCDawg]

**** that guy

The guy who said he was here to win championships and play with "unbelievable" effort to get to Atlanta. He didn't succeed, said he was ready for a new challenge, and told Florida the same thing he told us.

[Spiderman]

For those that didn't or won't read it, the article is more about State's mindset and culture around football and, the school as a whole, being changed to what we have now.

Love him or hate him, Mullen at least showed every one of the powers that be at State, what real football was about, and the way to get that way.

Mullen isn't even quoted in it, so if you want to see the attitude and mindset of this place before Mullen,( that I railed against for years) and why that made us mediocre to horrible in football for so long, this should be read.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Hey Scott, when you talk to Mullen later today, tell him to stop going after our recruits and then we will be cool.

[shannondawg]

I am more pissed at Florida, They take our baseball coach, AD and Football coach. None of which I am upset at losing, but just the lack of respect they have shown us in doing so.

May they have the same success with the last two as they did the first one. (I learned that in charm school!)

[BrunswickDawg]

I'm grateful to Dan for what he did here. He had us, and has us, in positions I never thought I would ever see us in. I hope he does well, except when he plays us. Some of y'all don't want to hear this, but we need him to do well. Think about it.

Name 1 good thing that comes to us from Don winning at UF. All his winning at UF does is enhance HIS reputation, not ours. People aren't going to say "Wow, MSU was so smart that they gave Don his first HC gig". They are going to say "Doc McStuffins is an incredible coach who can take a stinker program like MSU and win, and also take a powerhouse that was treading water and rebuild it." No. I wan't Dick Move to go 8-4 (4-4) every year for 3 years while the CC boys yuk it up and have Grantham bail on him after next season after Dick throws him under the bus after a Moorhead led MSU torches them for 548 yards of offense.

[bulldawg28]

Mullen rejuvenated our football program and built on what Jackie did. There is no disputing that. I tell people that Mullen actually reminds me of Jackie Sherrill a lot.

[Doggie_Style]

and what we lost and I hope we have replaced.

I know a lot of y'all are hating Mullen, some even saying they are glad he is gone, but anyone that doesn't appreciate what he brought here and what he accomplished, is wrong.

Did it make me mad he left? Does it make me furious that he may have half assed the Egg Bowl this year?

Yes.

But he also gave me the best 9 years of State football of my life, or 99% of everybody's life.

Like Jackie, he will be remembered fondly here after a little time. In fact, remembered a LOT more fondly.

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/depth-look-dan-mullen-changed-mississippi-state-football-means-now-florida
Yea well the b**** is gone and she took the dog so I'm tired of talking about her cuz I got a new one now!

[thf24]

Name 1 good thing that comes to us from Don winning at UF. All his winning at UF does is enhance HIS reputation, not ours. People aren't going to say "Wow, MSU was so smart that they gave Don his first HC gig". They are going to say "Doc McStuffins is an incredible coach who can take a stinker program like MSU and win, and also take a powerhouse that was treading water and rebuild it."

Exactly. On the flip side, the worse he does at UF, the better it will make our program look. I'm not wishing it on him because I'm grateful for everything he did for us, but if he flops at UF, people will start realizing that just maybe we had more going for us over the past 9 years than just Dan Mullen.

[Liverpooldawg]

What?? Why would it help us if he did well? I think it would benefit us more if he and SS failed. Would send the message that maybe we're not the stepping stone school, like most think.
Think about it, we have?nt had a coach that left here and did well since the early 1950s. Mullen is the first one that left without getting pushed in over 60 years. It?s one of the main reasons we have historically had trouble hiring decent coaches. It took hiring one with some heavy NCAA baggage to start to break the cycle. If we have an ex coach out there doing well somewhere else then that helps change that perception, and it IS the perception, that MSU is a coaching graveyard. It will mean we will have a better applicant pool when you make the NEXT hire. I hope Moorhead stays a long time, but even if he does there will always be a next hire. Coaches that coach for a long time at one school are very rare, even more so now. Mullen exceeded the average tenure.

[TrapGame]

Name 1 good thing that comes to us from Don winning at UF. All his winning at UF does is enhance HIS reputation, not ours. People aren't going to say "Wow, MSU was so smart that they gave Don his first HC gig". They are going to say "Doc McStuffins is an incredible coach who can take a stinker program like MSU and win, and also take a powerhouse that was treading water and rebuild it." No. I wan't Dick Move to go 8-4 (4-4) every year for 3 years while the CC boys yuk it up and have Grantham bail on him after next season after Dick throws him under the bus after a Moorhead led MSU torches them for 548 yards of offense.

https://media.giphy.com/media/y0ljcPCxtJQVq/giphy.gif

I hope Don Merlin is a total failure at Flur-a-da.

[Tbonewannabe]

Name 1 good thing that comes to us from Don winning at UF. All his winning at UF does is enhance HIS reputation, not ours. People aren't going to say "Wow, MSU was so smart that they gave Don his first HC gig". They are going to say "Doc McStuffins is an incredible coach who can take a stinker program like MSU and win, and also take a powerhouse that was treading water and rebuild it." No. I wan't Dick Move to go 8-4 (4-4) every year for 3 years while the CC boys yuk it up and have Grantham bail on him after next season after Dick throws him under the bus after a Moorhead led MSU torches them for 548 yards of offense.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to BrunswickDawg again.

Instead of kneeling I hope we go for 2 more yards to make it an even 550.

[State82]

Jackie has always been one of us. Not so much for Lateral Move. Jackie has always been my favorite. Also, I despise UF (and every other SEC team for that matter) and hope they never come out on the winning side of any competition in which they participate.

[Gutter Cobreh]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to BrunswickDawg again.

Instead of kneeling I hope we go for 2 more yards to make it an even 550.

To add: when Coach Moorhead is walking off the field I want to hear him tell the sideline reporter "That's what it looks like when everyone from the coaches to the players gives relentless effort"

Won't happen, but it would be glorious!!!

[Liverpooldawg]

For those that didn't or won't read it, the article is more about State's mindset and culture around football and, the school as a whole, being changed to what we have now.

Love him or hate him, Mullen at least showed every one of the powers that be at State, what real football was about, and the way to get that way.

Mullen isn't even quoted in it, so if you want to see the attitude and mindset of this place before Mullen,( that I railed against for years) and why that made us mediocre to horrible in football for so long, this should be read.

This. The man totally changed the mind set, more so than JWS ever did.

[Liverpooldawg]

Name 1 good thing that comes to us from Don winning at UF. All his winning at UF does is enhance HIS reputation, not ours. People aren't going to say "Wow, MSU was so smart that they gave Don his first HC gig". They are going to say "Doc McStuffins is an incredible coach who can take a stinker program like MSU and win, and also take a powerhouse that was treading water and rebuild it." No. I wan't Dick Move to go 8-4 (4-4) every year for 3 years while the CC boys yuk it up and have Grantham bail on him after next season after Dick throws him under the bus after a Moorhead led MSU torches them for 548 yards of offense.

They also won’t be saying look at Dan Mullen. We tried to warn him but he went anyway. Look at him now, a position coach at Thrasher Jr High. Look at the applicant pool we were talking to this time, it’s the best one we have ever had. What was evidently our final two were looked upon as the two hottest names among top assistants in the country. The one we DIDN’T go with just got hired by Tennessee. Come on guys. I know it sucks to loose a coach but the way we lost him is THE way you want to lose one if you lose him. For the first time since Royal and Warmuth we didn’t fire him and the program is in the best shape it’s been in since the 1940s.

[Churchill]

I reiterate what most here have said about Don?s lack of loyalty but that was a good article.

In comparison to Don, my biggest concern about Moorhead is if he?s too laid back. Joe appears to be friendly, easy going, personable, etc, but I love my coaches to have that Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dabo, Fat Mullen, kind of type A fire and toughness.

Players emulate their coach. Maybe Moorhead does have that Type A in him that can build mental toughness, but it is my concern. We need that.

You have put your finger on something I'm concerned about also.

[TrapGame]

I reiterate what most here have said about Don?s lack of loyalty but that was a good article.

In comparison to Don, my biggest concern about Moorhead is if he?s too laid back. Joe appears to be friendly, easy going, personable, etc, but I love my coaches to have that Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dabo, Fat Mullen, kind of type A fire and toughness.

Players emulate their coach. Maybe Moorhead does have that Type A in him that can build mental toughness, but it is my concern. We need that.

Fordham called and they said 17 you.

[BrunswickDawg]

Think about it, we have?nt had a coach that left here and did well since the early 1950s. Mullen is the first one that left without getting pushed in over 60 years. It?s one of the main reasons we have historically had trouble hiring decent coaches. It took hiring one with some heavy NCAA baggage to start to break the cycle. If we have an ex coach out there doing well somewhere else then that helps change that perception, and it IS the perception, that MSU is a coaching graveyard. It will mean we will have a better applicant pool when you make the NEXT hire. I hope Moorhead stays a long time, but even if he does there will always be a next hire. Coaches that coach for a long time at one school are very rare, even more so now. Mullen exceeded the average tenure.

No. No. No.

The problem was not that we were a coaching graveyard. We have had terrible leadership in the ADs office who constantly made decisions based on a lack of funds and an aversion to risk. Murray Warmath and Darryl Royal saw that quickly and bolted. Wade Walker was a bad coach who moved from HC to AD, then became a very successful AD at Oklahoma. Paul Davis was hired with almost no experience, bombed, and went on to a lengthy 24 year career as an assistant - primarily at Auburn. Charlie Shira was a lazy hire (coach who had worked here under Royal) who we could pay for double duty as AD, and sell all of our home games to other schools. He bombed, and then stayed on as AD. Bob Tyler was a very good hire and coach who got destroyed by the NCAA. Emory Bellard was an excellent hire and coach, who probably could have gone on to coach other places - but would have had to overhaul his whole approach to offense (by '85 the wishbone was almost dead) at age 58. Rockey Felker was a good assistant coach - but a lazy hire as a HC. After his tenure here, he still had a successful career as an OC (Tulsa, Arkansas) and then came back home. Jackie knew it was probably his last job, or next to last job when he was hired here. Croom was Croom, but is still coaching.

So - in summary - we had 2 coaches who left and went on to HOF careers (Warmath & Royal), 2 who became our AD one of whom went on to a major power, 1 tanked by the NCAA, 2 who ended their careers here probably due to age and the game having passed them by (Bellard & Jackie), and 3 who continued on as assistant coaches for long careers (Davis, Felker, Croom).

Where is this coaching graveyard you speak of?? Almost all of our coaches continued in successful careers after they left MSU. The problem always was - until Don - the lack of funding and resources to compete and a lack leadership and real support from the university to make sure we had the facilities to compete.

[sleepy dawg]

When Jackie left we were in good enough shape to go out and get ourselves Sylvester Croom. When Dan left we were in good enough shape to go out and get us a Moorhead. Dan elevated the program. Jackie left it arguably worse than he found it. When you talk about "how he left", that's how I see it. Jackie didn't leave us in a good way. Jackie left us in hell.

[Commercecomet24]

I reiterate what most here have said about Don?s lack of loyalty but that was a good article.

In comparison to Don, my biggest concern about Moorhead is if he?s too laid back. Joe appears to be friendly, easy going, personable, etc, but I love my coaches to have that Saban, Meyer, Harbaugh, Dabo, Fat Mullen, kind of type A fire and toughness.

Players emulate their coach. Maybe Moorhead does have that Type A in him that can build mental toughness, but it is my concern. We need that.

You don?t win and accomplish what Joe has without being a type A or driver. Just look at the way he talks about how he was raised and where he came from. This mans driven to succeed.

[was21]

and a lot more fondly than Sherrill...shouldn't even be close. Sherrill had a few good teams but Mullen transformed the program

[TrapGame]

and a lot more fondly than Sherrill...shouldn't even be close. Sherrill had a few good teams but Mullen transformed the program

I'm gonna put on my let's be honest hat again.

Jackie was not an innovator or a man with a vision. Mullen demanded certain things of a program and tried to reach a certain level. However, Mullen was unable to self search and realize he was still holding the program back by his own ego.

[TimberBeast]

When Jackie left we were in good enough shape to go out and get ourselves Sylvester Croom. When Dan left we were in good enough shape to go out and get us a Moorhead. Dan elevated the program. Jackie left it arguably worse than he found it. When you talk about "how he left", that's how I see it. Jackie didn't leave us in a good way. Jackie left us in hell.

So dumb it's amazing. Croom was Templeton's fault not Jackie's.

[sandwolf]

You don?t win and accomplish what Joe has without being a type A or driver. Just look at the way he talks about how he was raised and where he came from. This mans driven to succeed.

Agreed. Also, the guy that hired him is nicknamed the Intense Bastard, so I don't think that I would worry about him being too laid back.

[TrapGame]

Agreed. Also, the guy that hired him is nicknamed the Intense Bastard, so I don't think that I would worry about him being too laid back.

And where's Merlin right now? At Flur-a-da with Loafers. A guy he pushed around for years until Keenum said enough. Merlin couldn't push The IB around like a Jackson Prep cheerleader.

[Liverpooldawg]

No. No. No.

The problem was not that we were a coaching graveyard. We have had terrible leadership in the ADs office who constantly made decisions based on a lack of funds and an aversion to risk. Murray Warmath and Darryl Royal saw that quickly and bolted. Wade Walker was a bad coach who moved from HC to AD, then became a very successful AD at Oklahoma. Paul Davis was hired with almost no experience, bombed, and went on to a lengthy 24 year career as an assistant - primarily at Auburn. Charlie Shira was a lazy hire (coach who had worked here under Royal) who we could pay for double duty as AD, and sell all of our home games to other schools. He bombed, and then stayed on as AD. Bob Tyler was a very good hire and coach who got destroyed by the NCAA. Emory Bellard was an excellent hire and coach, who probably could have gone on to coach other places - but would have had to overhaul his whole approach to offense (by '85 the wishbone was almost dead) at age 58. Rockey Felker was a good assistant coach - but a lazy hire as a HC. After his tenure here, he still had a successful career as an OC (Tulsa, Arkansas) and then came back home. Jackie knew it was probably his last job, or next to last job when he was hired here. Croom was Croom, but is still coaching.

So - in summary - we had 2 coaches who left and went on to HOF careers (Warmath & Royal), 2 who became our AD one of whom went on to a major power, 1 tanked by the NCAA, 2 who ended their careers here probably due to age and the game having passed them by (Bellard & Jackie), and 3 who continued on as assistant coaches for long careers (Davis, Felker, Croom).

Where is this coaching graveyard you speak of?? Almost all of our coaches continued in successful careers after they left MSU. The problem always was - until Don - the lack of funding and resources to compete and a lack leadership and real support from the university to make sure we had the facilities to compete.

We haven?t had a coach leave here and have a successful head coaching career since the 50s Brunswick. That is FACT. The perception of MSU has been since the 50s that you can?t win at MSU and you will never even be able to go higher from there. JWS changed that a little bit. Mullen blew it up, for now. If he continues he to win then it is blown up. You will never get a coach that we will want to stay a long time if he won?t come to begin with. We all love MSU and none of us would want to leave here ever if we were a winning coach, but that?s not the case with most non-alumni coaches. Heck it might not be WITH an alumni, as loafers proved. I wanted Mullen to stay, but if you can?t see how him leaving in his own for what is perceived nationally as a much better job helps us in future coaching searches then you are just blinded by hate. Heck the evidence was there to see on the search to replace Mullen.

[Percho]

They also won?t be saying look at Dan Mullen. We tried to warn him but he went anyway. Look at him now, a position coach at Thrasher Jr High. Look at the applicant pool we were talking to this time, it?s the best one we have ever had. What was evidently our final two were looked upon as the two hottest names among top assistants in the country. The one we DIDN?T go with just got hired by Tennessee. Come on guys. I know it sucks to loose a coach but the way we lost him is THE way you want to lose one if you lose him. For the first time since Royal and Warmuth we didn?t fire him and the program is in the best shape it?s been in since the 1940s.

That's the whole point Liver. I would say basically we all wanted to keep him. Wanted him to be one of us. He's the one shopping himself around every year. Personally I got tired of it and cared not weather he stayed or went and told my son so, going home from the egg bowl. I question if his heart was ever at MSU.

One thing he will never know is, was he a good enough coach to win a championship at Mississippi State University. And that is the reason I hope Joe does so.

[BrunswickDawg]

We haven?t had a coach leave here and have a successful head coaching career since the 50s Brunswick. That is FACT. The perception of MSU has been since the 50s that you can?t win at MSU and you will never even be able to go higher from there. JWS changed that a little bit. Mullen blew it up, for now. If he continues he to win then it is blown up. You will never get a coach that we will want to stay a long time if he won?t come to begin with. We all love MSU and none of us would want to leave here ever if we were a winning coach, but that?s not the case with most non-alumni coaches. Heck it might not be WITH an alumni, as loafers proved. I wanted Mullen to stay, but if you can?t see how him leaving in his own for what is perceived nationally as a much better job helps us in future coaching searches then you are just blinded by hate. Heck the evidence was there to see on the search to replace Mullen.

When you make statements like ?coaching graveyard?, you imply that we took Head Coaches, ruined their careers, and you never heard from them again. The fact is that we hired a number of unqualified coaches on the cheap and gave them no money to build a program with and crappy facilities. They were doomed from the start. And - like Mullen - they almost all moved on and continued their careers.

The difference that everyone will recognize is that Mullen - a good coach and a great hire - was given resources and support no one else has had at this school. Bob Tyler, Emory Bellard, and Jackie all showed you can win here. But, they all showed without the resources it was not sustainable. Mullen just reinforces that. You can win here with a committed admin and Top 30 budget.

[Maroonthirteen]

So dumb it's amazing. Croom was Templeton's fault not Jackie's.

Yeah, some things have been forgotten or overlooked in this thread.

What I heard,
Jimbo Fischer wanted the State job after Jackie. LT turned down Jimbo for Croom. Hiring Croom was to lessen the NCAA penalties.

Jackie interviewed for a few NFL HC jobs in 92 and after 94. He didn?t get either job obviously. There was a lot of smoke around Jackie to Bama after the 2000 season. My Bama friends say he interviewed but didn?t get it. Regardless of how the Bama job got filled, I always thought Jackie lost his drive when he didn?t get that job. Also Peggy got sick I believe.

So I don?t hold a grudge against Don for looking for jobs. 9 years is about all you will get out of a coach now a days anyway because of the pressure from fans placed on administrators.

I imagine if CJM keeps us going as Don did, we will Look back in 5 years and appreciate Don more.

[Commercecomet24]

Agreed. Also, the guy that hired him is nicknamed the Intense Bastard, so I don't think that I would worry about him being too laid back.

Right on.

[Tbonewannabe]

When you make statements like ?coaching graveyard?, you imply that we took Head Coaches, ruined their careers, and you never heard from them again. The fact is that we hired a number of unqualified coaches on the cheap and gave them no money to build a program with and crappy facilities. They were doomed from the start. And - like Mullen - they almost all moved on and continued their careers.

The difference that everyone will recognize is that Mullen - a good coach and a great hire - was given resources and support no one else has had at this school. Bob Tyler, Emory Bellard, and Jackie all showed you can win here. But, they all showed without the resources it was not sustainable. Mullen just reinforces that. You can win here with a committed admin and Top 30 budget.

This more than anything is why our history wasn't great prior to Jackie. The only reason we were able to get Jackie was the Southwest cloud hanging over him. We hired Croom on the basis of 1) he interviewed at Bama even though it was just a cursory interview that would have never resulted in getting the job and 2) he was the first African American Head Coach in the SEC so the NCAA supposedly gave us a lighter sentence. We now know the NCAA hit us almost as hard as UM with their Network, prostitutes, burner phones, giving out red backpacks full of cash, moving families to Oxford with non existent jobs, and everything else they were doing. There was also a lot more qualified black coaches we could have hired but Templeton was lazy.

Mullen was a top 15 paid coach in the country and we now have facilities on par with any top 25 team. There are a few upgrades we can make, mainly finishing bowling in the stadium and upgrading the locker room but most of the facilities for the football team are pretty damn good. This isn't the same university and program that had to hire Jackie Sherrill or Croom. You can look at the past but concentrate on the present and future.

[Tbonewannabe]

Yeah, some things have been forgotten or overlooked in this thread.

What I heard,
Jimbo Fischer wanted the State job after Jackie. LT turned down Jimbo for Croom. Hiring Croom was to lessen the NCAA penalties.

Jackie interviewed for a few NFL HC jobs in 92 and after 94. He didn?t get either job obviously. There was a lot of smoke around Jackie to Bama after the 2000 season. My Bama friends say he interviewed but didn?t get it. Regardless of how the Bama job got filled, I always thought Jackie lost his drive when he didn?t get that job. Also Peggy got sick I believe.

So I don?t hold a grudge against Don for looking for jobs. 9 years is about all you will get out of a coach now a days anyway because of the pressure from fans placed on administrators.

I imagine if CJM keeps us going as Don did, we will Look back in 5 years and appreciate Don more.

This is very true. If Coach JoeMo keeps us winning an average of 8 games or even wins 10 or more then Lateral gets appreciated more than he is now. I actually think that CJM might be a better fit for us long term because Don didn't have what it takes to win games that he was outmatched in players. He wasn't a risk taker in big games and that caused us to not win many games if we were at least equal in talent. CJM has proven when he was at Fordham that he can pull the upset so he might can use the great foundation left by Mullen and build something bigger.

[TrapGame]

Yeah, some things have been forgotten or overlooked in this thread.

What I heard,
Jimbo Fischer wanted the State job after Jackie. LT turned down Jimbo for Croom. Hiring Croom was to lessen the NCAA penalties.

Jackie interviewed for a few NFL HC jobs in 92 and after 94. He didn?t get either job obviously. There was a lot of smoke around Jackie to Bama after the 2000 season. My Bama friends say he interviewed but didn?t get it. Regardless of how the Bama job got filled, I always thought Jackie lost his drive when he didn?t get that job. Also Peggy got sick I believe.

So I don?t hold a grudge against Don for looking for jobs. 9 years is about all you will get out of a coach now a days anyway because of the pressure from fans placed on administrators.

I imagine if CJM keeps us going as Don did, we will Look back in 5 years and appreciate Don more.

If we keep JM for five years we'll be doing good. I think this cat will have us in the top 10 and with in spitting distance of Atlanta for a couple of years.

[sleepy dawg]

Yeah, some things have been forgotten or overlooked in this thread.

What I heard,
Jimbo Fischer wanted the State job after Jackie. LT turned down Jimbo for Croom. Hiring Croom was to lessen the NCAA penalties.

Jackie interviewed for a few NFL HC jobs in 92 and after 94. He didn?t get either job obviously. There was a lot of smoke around Jackie to Bama after the 2000 season. My Bama friends say he interviewed but didn?t get it. Regardless of how the Bama job got filled, I always thought Jackie lost his drive when he didn?t get that job. Also Peggy got sick I believe.

So I don?t hold a grudge against Don for looking for jobs. 9 years is about all you will get out of a coach now a days anyway because of the pressure from fans placed on administrators.

I imagine if CJM keeps us going as Don did, we will Look back in 5 years and appreciate Don more.

The those penalties... Whose fault were those? LTs? Dans? Freezes?

[Liverpooldawg]

When you make statements like ?coaching graveyard?, you imply that we took Head Coaches, ruined their careers, and you never heard from them again. The fact is that we hired a number of unqualified coaches on the cheap and gave them no money to build a program with and crappy facilities. They were doomed from the start. And - like Mullen - they almost all moved on and continued their careers.

The difference that everyone will recognize is that Mullen - a good coach and a great hire - was given resources and support no one else has had at this school. Bob Tyler, Emory Bellard, and Jackie all showed you can win here. But, they all showed without the resources it was not sustainable. Mullen just reinforces that. You can win here with a committed admin and Top 30 budget.

You still haven't figured out that I'm talking about national perception. Like or not, that was the perception.

[BrunswickDawg]

You still haven't figured out that I'm talking about national perception. Like or not, that was the perception.
I know exactly what you are talking about, and you are wrong. Most people?s frame of reference is about 25 years. The majority of the country knows MSU as a team that won under Jackie, had down years under Croom, and won under Mullen. They aren?t living with old fart MSU stereotypes in their heads like you have. Maybe because I wasn?t raised an MSU fan and become one in 1990 when I got a letter in the mail asking me to apply I have a different perception then you do.

[Liverpooldawg]

I know exactly what you are talking about, and you are wrong. Most people?s frame of reference is about 25 years. The majority of the country knows MSU as a team that won under Jackie, had down years under Croom, and won under Mullen. They aren?t living with old fart MSU stereotypes in their heads like you have. Maybe because I wasn?t raised an MSU fan and become one in 1990 when I got a letter in the mail asking me to apply I have a different perception then you do.

I'm talking about national perception in the media and the coaching community. Jackie was viewed as an anomaly.......till Mullen. Jackie was also perceived as cheating his butt off. Take the maroon glasses off.

[HA1LSTATE]

17 MERLINS WITH NO END!!!
You come home to divorce papers signed on the table...wife gone to live with her exboyfriend that she used to badmouth...then sends for all the furniture to be sent to her...then calls your kids to convince them to come live with her...you don't thank her for the 9 years you were together...you fight to keep what you can, rebuild your life, and never forget the bull$hit way she ended it...I dont really care that Merlins left, just the way he chose to handle himself on the way out is my point...

[Lance Harbor]

Get to 569 yards and then kneel it for his 69 wins...and just a good ole 69 joke.


You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to BrunswickDawg again.

Instead of kneeling I hope we go for 2 more yards to make it an even 550.

[maroonmania]

I know exactly what you are talking about, and you are wrong. Most people?s frame of reference is about 25 years. The majority of the country knows MSU as a team that won under Jackie, had down years under Croom, and won under Mullen. They aren?t living with old fart MSU stereotypes in their heads like you have. Maybe because I wasn?t raised an MSU fan and become one in 1990 when I got a letter in the mail asking me to apply I have a different perception then you do.

That's probably the frame of reference you should have. Pre-Jackie and Post-Jackie for MSU is as important as talking about pre- and post-integration. I know national perception is what it is but in reality to compare anything football related pre-Jackie to what is going on now is irrelevant. About as irrelevant as OM talking now about what they accomplished under Vaught. And given I went to MSU in the early to mid-Eighties I think I have a decent perspective in the evolution of MSU football.