Perception of the program post hiring

[MetEdDawg]

First of all I think we have to start off by saying that Cohen did exceedingly well this go around. We kicked the tires on OC's, DC's, G5 HC's, and P5 HC's. We looked at every offensive philosophy from triple option to air raid. We interviewed some names. We interviewed some unknowns. I thought did a phenomenal job.

Now the question is what have we done? And how are we now perceived? From what I've seen nationally, the perception has been overwhelmingly positive. We pulled a sitting P5 HC with a winning percentage above 60%. We pulled a true offensive genius that has a wealth of experience all over the country. And we pulled someone whose personality and character makes him and our university more in the spotlight.

I have to think we could be on the verge of a massive perception change. If he can get it right here and sustain it, it could really be big time. This hire scares the shit out of me. But it should. If we are going to compete we can't do what everyone else does. We have to be different. We have to push the envelope in different ways. And Cohen decided we needed to do that.

I think we took a big step this week. I think we showed we are committed to trying to make ourselves a name to be reckoned with. A school that should be feared. I think Cohen put it all out there and made a big time commitment to what we will do going forward. And I think our AD clearly showed he could learn from what he did in the past and make a decisive and quick decision that can put the university on a different level.

Good job to everyone involved. We are throwing our nuts on the line as a university. Taking a massive risk. But it's what's necessary for us to have a shot. We are taking our shot and I think Cohen and company did a solid job this go around.

[dawgday166]

I like it too. Think Cohen did alright this go round.

[Coursesuper]

We have made a great hire by our standard to the rest of the country, that's all that has happened. The perception will change with win and loses more over with consistent winning.

[Todd4State]

He definitely learned to not listen to Scott Stricklin which is definitely a positive.

It really reminds me of when we picked up Jackie. The difference is the football culture is completely different now. I criticize Jackie for losing to people like La Tech and Tulane however with the current culture as it is I have a feeling Jackie wouldn't lose to them if we kidnapped him in 1992 and put him in a time machine to 2020.

We are going to be talked about and if we do well it's going to become a national story all year long. Hopefully our guys pick things up quickly so we can have a great year.

[Westdawg]

If we look at Cohen's two hires in football these past few years, all of us need to admit that he did something that no one here or anywhere else thought was possible. By all accounts from everyone - online boards, fans, alums, students AND local, regional and national sports pundits - Moorhead was a great hire - on paper. But the unknown was what bit us in a bad way. No one could have seen that happen.
And Cohen doesn't let Moorhead continue to Bro g the program down. He lets him go, and follows that up with a really solid hire with a guy that has won everywhere he's been as a HC. Two different P5 schools that were the butt ends of their respective conferences and made them LEGIT winners and contenders.
From what I can tell, it seems that Leach didn't come here to make a paycheck to close out his career. He wanted a chance to play against the very best in the very best conference.
He wants to go out on top and prove how good he is.

I'm all in.

[ShotgunDawg]

MSU will always have a perception problem due to our neighborhood.

We are judged not for what we really are but for how we compare to our neighbors.

We are in the bottom to middle tier of our Harvard Law class & thus are treated as such even when we'd likely be the valedictorian of Princeton Law school, Notre Dame Law, or Michigan Law.

The average college football fan considers the Washington State job & MSU job lateral, but for people that really follow the sport, there is a Grand Canyon size gap between those jobs.

[maroonmania]

Leach is a great coach, no doubt about that. The only reservation about it at all is that this is the most non-MSU traditional coach that we could have hired. I just hope it can still work anyway, and I think it will but I've never seen MSU have success slinging the ball all over the field. You mention Sherrill, but Jackie was a typical MSU type coach, even Mullen was a typical MSU type coach. Leach is not so I'm holding my breath a little. Only times I remember us being a wide open passing game historically were with Tommy Pharr and with Tony Shell, and we were terrible overall both of those times because we had no defense. The only reason I ever had reservations on Leach from first hearing his name is that this is a true culture clash of styles with Leach's Air Raid and MSU's historical style of play which is strictly run-based. To be honest, at first blush, Leach would have fit much more at Ole Miss than us just based on style of play. With that said, I'm still eagerly looking forward to see how it all plays out.

[Lord McBuckethead]

I disagree. Leach is MSU. His entire atmosphere he builds is MSU. He is hard nosed. Rough around the edges. He is brilliant and eccentric. I believe he is much more MSU guy than UM guy. He isn't flashy, but 1st and foremost works for actual results.

If we can pair him with a big time defensive coordinator that is a closer on the recruiting trail, we will solidify our position in this conference for possibly a decade.

[War Machine Dawg]

He definitely learned to not listen to Scott Stricklin which is definitely a positive.

It really reminds me of when we picked up Jackie. The difference is the football culture is completely different now. I criticize Jackie for losing to people like La Tech and Tulane however with the current culture as it is I have a feeling Jackie wouldn't lose to them if we kidnapped him in 1992 and put him in a time machine to 2020.

We are going to be talked about and if we do well it's going to become a national story all year long. Hopefully our guys pick things up quickly so we can have a great year.

The SEC and MSU are completely different animals from when The Kang was our HC. In terms of resources and talent, we were not very far ahead of programs like LA Tech in the 90s. It's only been in the last 10ish years with ESPN/SECN money and Adidas money that we've created a significant resource gap between us and Sun Belt teams. What The Kang did in that run from '98-00 was damn near miraculous, especially since he had to deal with LT as his boss. He'd murder those teams with the resources we have today, assuming he could trust an OC to run a more open offense.

[coachnorm]

When you discuss perceptions, understand perceptions are diverse. The media has perceptions also the fan base does also. The local high school coaches have perceptions also. The perceptions that count are the future prospects thru the recruiting process. The high prospects that are being courted are tuned into social media more than the average college football fan realizes. With Leach, Kiffin's social media advantage has been neutralized and that is great for MSU. A recruit from Miami, Dallas, or Los Angeles has virtually no knowledge of the difference between Oxford or Starkville, but a recruit knows who Mike Leach is? Understand that Clemson's and Alabama's top recruit came from Los Angeles and maybe we might be in that game because of the Leach hire? FYI, Kiffin was laughed out of Los Angeles and could not drive the USC machine regardless of the sanctions.