Looking back at ED this time two years ago

[Matt3467]

Gotta say I'm very surprised. I know they say hind-sight is 20/20 but good grief at the people that supported the notion of us hiring Chad Morris! You know who you are. I won't call out any specific names other than one that surprised me that was among the few actually against hiring Morris and that was 007 (ironic right).

There were really big posters on this board calling Morris a home run hire! "Morris/grantham > Mullen/grantham," was actually a real quote from one of the posters. There were others saying Jeremy Pruitt would be an exciting hire since he had "southern charm" and "could recruit" unlike Moorhead that had all the energy of a "Jeb Bush" lol.

Now what shocks me is that Chad Morris hadn't really accomplished anything besides have one winning year at SMU yet many wanted him. "He was head recruiter of Deshaun Watson," so what? We've learned the hard way that just because you brought in talent and coached it at past stops really means nothing when it comes to head coaching a team in the SEC.

How come Whittingham wasn't pushed more by the bigger posters in this board? Yea I saw his name thrown around some by others but overall he seemed an afterthought to the likes of Morris, Pruitt, Grantham, Moorhead. If he really wanted the job then what gives? Now he was a proven commodity and his overall body of work at Utah speaks for itself.

Napier is being thrown around now and it reminds me a lot of two years ago granted Napier does make more sense than Morris and Pruitt at this time. ULL isn't a stranger to success. Yes the few years prior to Napier they weren't very good but they had a 4 year span this decade where they won 36 games. We can do better. I think we should beg Whittingham to consider us once more. If he says no then move on but I refuse to think we can't do better than Napier.

[dawgday166]

I think it's somewhat of a crap shoot myself. The right "fit" for MSU doesn't have a broad bandwidth.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Gotta say I'm very surprised. I know they say hind-sight is 20/20 but good grief at the people that supported the notion of us hiring Chad Morris! You know who you are. I won't call out any specific names other than one that surprised me that was among the few actually against hiring Morris and that was 007 (ironic right).

There were really big posters on this board calling Morris a home run hire! "Morris/grantham > Mullen/grantham," was actually a real quote from one of the posters. There were others saying Jeremy Pruitt would be an exciting hire since he had "southern charm" and "could recruit" unlike Moorhead that had all the energy of a "Jeb Bush" lol.

Now what shocks me is that Chad Morris hadn't really accomplished anything besides have one winning year at SMU yet many wanted him. "He was head recruiter of Deshaun Watson," so what? We've learned the hard way that just because you brought in talent and coached it at past stops really means nothing when it comes to head coaching a team in the SEC.

How come Whittingham wasn't pushed more by the bigger posters in this board? Yea I saw his name thrown around some by others but overall he seemed an afterthought to the likes of Morris, Pruitt, Grantham, Moorhead. If he really wanted the job then what gives? Now he was a proven commodity and his overall body of work at Utah speaks for itself.

Napier is being thrown around now and it reminds me a lot of two years ago granted Napier does make more sense than Morris and Pruitt at this time. ULL isn't a stranger to success. Yes the few years prior to Napier they weren't very good but they had a 4 year span this decade where they won 36 games. We can do better. I think we should beg Whittingham to consider us once more. If he says no then move on but I refuse to think we can't do better than Napier.


We can beg Whittingham all we want, but he isn't coming. That ship has sailed. We had our opportunity and we blew it to hire an OC. Now on to Napier, I really think Napier would be a great hire. He's built back up ULL, I know they were good early in the decade, but they had pretty much plateau'd and start to decline in the midst of all the David Saunders stuff. Not only that, but he's been around and coached under two of the best coaches this century in Nick Saban and Dabo. You can swing for the fences all you want with Whittingham, Harsin, Malzahn, etc. but you aren't getting them. Just don't wait too long and let someone else get Napier or you'll really be in some trouble.

[Cooterpoot]

Both Morris and Napier worked under Graham and Dabo by the way. Just another tidbit.

[defiantdog]

I?m not sold that Morris is a bad coach. Arkansas lacks talent. They have an NFL TE but no one to get him the ball. Yes, they have a good freshmen qb, but he may be limited in play calling. Chavis is done as a coordinator and did nothing to help Arkansas. Also, there isn?t much talent in the Arkansas high school system and A&M controls eastern Texas in recruiting now.

[Johnson85]

Gotta say I'm very surprised. I know they say hind-sight is 20/20 but good grief at the people that supported the notion of us hiring Chad Morris! You know who you are. I won't call out any specific names other than one that surprised me that was among the few actually against hiring Morris and that was 007 (ironic right).

There were really big posters on this board calling Morris a home run hire! "Morris/grantham > Mullen/grantham," was actually a real quote from one of the posters. There were others saying Jeremy Pruitt would be an exciting hire since he had "southern charm" and "could recruit" unlike Moorhead that had all the energy of a "Jeb Bush" lol.

Now what shocks me is that Chad Morris hadn't really accomplished anything besides have one winning year at SMU yet many wanted him. "He was head recruiter of Deshaun Watson," so what? We've learned the hard way that just because you brought in talent and coached it at past stops really means nothing when it comes to head coaching a team in the SEC.

How come Whittingham wasn't pushed more by the bigger posters in this board? Yea I saw his name thrown around some by others but overall he seemed an afterthought to the likes of Morris, Pruitt, Grantham, Moorhead. If he really wanted the job then what gives? Now he was a proven commodity and his overall body of work at Utah speaks for itself.

Napier is being thrown around now and it reminds me a lot of two years ago granted Napier does make more sense than Morris and Pruitt at this time. ULL isn't a stranger to success. Yes the few years prior to Napier they weren't very good but they had a 4 year span this decade where they won 36 games. We can do better. I think we should beg Whittingham to consider us once more. If he says no then move on but I refuse to think we can't do better than Napier.

It's because the market has changed to where G5 coaches often get snatched up after one good year if it is the culmination of a turnaround job. Look at McElwain at Florida. He went 4-8, 8-4, and 10-2 at Colorado St. That's great there, but you still don't know whether he caught lightning in a bottle or can maintain it over the long run. Willie Taggert went 2-10, 7-5, and 7-5 at UK, 2-10, 4-8, 8-5, and 10-2 at USF, and then 7-5 at Oregon before getting the FSU job. Again, pretty good record but that's two G-5 coaches that got snatched up at premier programs before they had really proven they could maintain a program past one recruiting cycle.

Geoff Collins went 7-6 and 8-4 at Temple before getting hired at Georgia Tech.

As noted, Chad MOrris went 2-10, 5-7, and 7-5 before getting hired by Arkansas.



Scott Satterfield did have a good track record before getting hired, going 4-8, 7-5, 11-2, 10-3, 9-4, and 10-2 before getting hired at Louisville. That's a big head scratcher. He excelled as he moved to a tougher conference and had 4 winning seasons in a row, going 7-5, 11-2, 10-3, and 9-4 when we hired Moorhead and he didn't even get a sniff at our job? Weird.

Matt Wells had a long track record before getting hired by Texas Tech, going 9-5, 10-4, 6-7, 3-9, 6-7, and 10-2 at Utah State. When we hired Moorhead, I doubt people would have been ok with a coach that went from 9-5, 10-4 to 6-7, 3-9, and 6-7 though. Not sure if they'd be excited about him even after getting back to 10-2.

Neal Brown also had a decent track record, going 4-8, 10-3, 11-2, and 10-3 at Troy before getting picked up by West Virginia.

[Tbonewannabe]

I?m not sold that Morris is a bad coach. Arkansas lacks talent. They have an NFL TE but no one to get him the ball. Yes, they have a good freshmen qb, but he may be limited in play calling. Chavis is done as a coordinator and did nothing to help Arkansas. Also, there isn?t much talent in the Arkansas high school system and A&M controls eastern Texas in recruiting now.

There is also rumors that Morris has 17ed up the locker room which led to the TE getting kicked off or quitting the team. I think Morris screwed up the Ark locker room worse than Moorhead screwed up ours.

[DeviousDawg]

Both Morris and Napier worked under Graham and Dabo by the way. Just another tidbit.


Is this supposed to be a negative association? Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you trying to subtly suggest that Napier would fail as MSU's head coach because someone he worked beside for a couple of years failed at Arkansas as a head coach? If so, that may be one of the biggest reaches I have ever seen on this board.

Idk what Napier did to you, but it must have been personal, because you clearly are 100% against the idea of having him as our next HC, and you may be in army of one there. If you are expecting better than Napier, you are setting yourself up for one hell of a letdown.

[Johnson85]

Is this supposed to be a negative association? Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you trying to subtly suggest that Napier would fail as MSU's head coach because someone he worked beside for a couple of years failed at Arkansas as a head coach? If so, that may be one of the biggest reaches I have ever seen on this board.

Idk what Napier did to you, but it must have been personal, because you clearly are 100% against the idea of having him as our next HC, and you may be in army of one there. If you are expecting better than Napier, you are setting yourself up for one hell of a letdown.

Cooterpoot is definitely setting himself up for major disappointment. There is nobody realistic that he would be happy with. That said, it's a fair point for all the people that put a lot of stock in him coaching for Dabo. I don't think it's that great of an indicator. Lots of Saban's coaches have flamed out. I assume you're still better off hiring somebody that has coached for successful coaches, but there is also the risk that being surrounded by good coaches and the talent they bring in hid some weaknesses (cough, Moorhead, cough), so it's not some magic trick or even strong indicator of finding a successful coach.

[DeviousDawg]

Cooterpoot is definitely setting himself up for major disappointment. There is nobody realistic that he would be happy with. That said, it's a fair point for all the people that put a lot of stock in him coaching for Dabo. I don't think it's that great of an indicator. Lots of Saban's coaches have flamed out. I assume you're still better off hiring somebody that has coached for successful coaches, but there is also the risk that being surrounded by good coaches and the talent they bring in hid some weaknesses (cough, Moorhead, cough), so it's not some magic trick or even strong indicator of finding a successful coach.

Sure, I see your point, but just look at what Napier did at Arizona State. the head coach was fired but he did so good as OC that the new HC wanted to keep him on. That had nothing to do with talent or the HC. Then just look at what he has done at ULL in less than 2 years, on the field, and on the recruiting trail. Learning under the 2 best college head coaches alive is never a bad thing, no matter how you try to spin it.

[msstate7]

Cooterpoot is definitely setting himself up for major disappointment. There is nobody realistic that he would be happy with. That said, it's a fair point for all the people that put a lot of stock in him coaching for Dabo. I don't think it's that great of an indicator. Lots of Saban's coaches have flamed out. I assume you're still better off hiring somebody that has coached for successful coaches, but there is also the risk that being surrounded by good coaches and the talent they bring in hid some weaknesses (cough, Moorhead, cough), so it's not some magic trick or even strong indicator of finding a successful coach.

I like it when someone doesn't just go with the whole board's opinion; but in this case, I think cooter is wanting to keep Moorhead without coming out saying he wants to keep joe. I base this on him shooting down everyone mentioned, but never offering a name himself

[Homedawg]

I think it's somewhat of a crap shoot myself. The right "fit" for MSU doesn't have a broad bandwidth.

Agree!

[dawgday166]

I like it when someone doesn't just go with the whole board's opinion; but in this case, I think cooter is wanting to keep Moorhead without coming out saying he wants to keep joe. I base this on him shooting down everyone mentioned, but never offering a name himself

Throw that gauntlet ... d o w n.

[Dawgtini]

There is also rumors that Morris has 17ed up the locker room which led to the TE getting kicked off or quitting the team. I think Morris screwed up the Ark locker room worse than Moorhead screwed up ours.
Not that I wanted Morris - seems too goofy - but had he come here he might have turned out much better than the train wreck that Arkansas was/is.

[DeviousDawg]

I like it when someone doesn't just go with the whole board's opinion; but in this case, I think cooter is wanting to keep Moorhead without coming out saying he wants to keep joe. I base this on him shooting down everyone mentioned, but never offering a name himself

He wants that guy who has a top 20 rushing AND passing attack, while also recruiting at an elite level for a P5 school. Not to mention, this guy is also a great fit at MSU, and is willing to take the job at whatever price we offer. Lastly, this guy has never been in the same state as Dabo Swinney, and obviously never coached with him.

The guy's name escapes me at the moment, I always have trouble remembering small details from my dreams. If his name comes back to me overnight, ill be sure to pass it along.

[timotheus]

devious dawg gettin strong reppin now......

[Johnson85]

Sure, I see your point, but just look at what Napier did at Arizona State. the head coach was fired but he did so good as OC that the new HC wanted to keep him on. That had nothing to do with talent or the HC. Then just look at what he has done at ULL in less than 2 years, on the field, and on the recruiting trail. Learning under the 2 best college head coaches alive is never a bad thing, no matter how you try to spin it.

AGreed. I would be ok with Napier. But I am also one of the ones that would be ok with Hud, and provided the NCAA doesn't have a problem with Hud, they seem more or less interchangeable to me. Napier doesn't have the blemish on the resume that Hud does, but he also hasn't had as much time to get it and while Napier took over a ULL program that was struggling, Hud took over a ULL program that was desolate. I think a lot of these coaches that come out strong out of the gate at G5 schools would have some reversion to the mean if they weren't snatched up before they have the chance.

[Tbonewannabe]

AGreed. I would be ok with Napier. But I am also one of the ones that would be ok with Hud, and provided the NCAA doesn't have a problem with Hud, they seem more or less interchangeable to me. Napier doesn't have the blemish on the resume that Hud does, but he also hasn't had as much time to get it and while Napier took over a ULL program that was struggling, Hud took over a ULL program that was desolate. I think a lot of these coaches that come out strong out of the gate at G5 schools would have some reversion to the mean if they weren't snatched up before they have the chance.

I am honestly ok with a lot of coaches including Hud over what we have now with Moorhead. I think Moorhead is doing more damage to our culture and the foundation of our program than he actually is on the field if rumors are to be believed. It sounds like his program is a lot like Jackie's last years when the inmates ran the asylum. Hopefully the next coach doesn't have to come in and do anything drastic like Croom had to do.

[TrapGame]

I am honestly ok with a lot of coaches including Hud over what we have now with Moorhead. I think Moorhead is doing more damage to our culture and the foundation of our program than he actually is on the field if rumors are to be believed. It sounds like his program is a lot like Jackie's last years when the inmates ran the asylum. Hopefully the next coach doesn't have to come in and do anything drastic like Croom had to do.

That's why David Murray kept using "this is more than just wins and loses" with Jake Wim the other afternoon. We have a huge problem in our football program and it's not just Moorhead's lack of offense. It's way deeper. Joe Moorhead is done. He coaches his last game at MSU on Thanksgiving night.

[Tbonewannabe]

That's why David Murray kept using "this is more than just wins and loses" with Jake Wim the other afternoon. We have a huge problem in our football program and it's not just Moorhead's lack of offense. It's way deeper. Joe Moorhead is done. He coaches his last game at MSU on Thanksgiving night.

Not sure what kind of Championship his standard is but is sure isn't a SEC one.

[WPS]

I?m not sold that Morris is a bad coach. Arkansas lacks talent. They have an NFL TE but no one to get him the ball. Yes, they have a good freshmen qb, but he may be limited in play calling. Chavis is done as a coordinator and did nothing to help Arkansas. Also, there isn?t much talent in the Arkansas high school system and A&M controls eastern Texas in recruiting now.

Talent bad enough to get blown out by Western Kentucky 45-19? Talent worse than San Jose State? We don't have Alabama talent but on paper we have the 26th "most talented" roster in college football based on stars. No reason to be this bad.

The guy had more different starting QBs than wins. And the QB that he ran off came back on a C-USA team and blew him out.

[Matt3467]

Talent bad enough to get blown out by Western Kentucky 45-19? Talent worse than San Jose State? We don't have Alabama talent but on paper we have the 26th "most talented" roster in college football based on stars. No reason to be this bad.

The guy had more different starting QBs than wins. And the QB that he ran off came back on a C-USA team and blew him out.

This