Napier

[Joebob]

So it looks like Napier missed out on any chances for an upward move this year. I wonder what his wife and staff think right now? They might be patient for another year to see if something better opens up, but if it doesn?t there?s bound to be some grumbling. I know one thing, he better not forget to get his wife all the requisite Valentines and birthday cards this year. That could get ugly.

[Todd4State]

My wife would be pissed if I screwed up and cost myself at least 3 million dollars more annually. We were going to overpay him honestly. He should have jumped at it.

Not surprised that his DC Ron Roberts left him for Aranda at Baylor which has to rub salt in the wound.

[ShotgunDawg]

Already lost his DC to Baylor.

[Maroonthirteen]

To early to tell if he made a bad decision. Give it a year.

[mparkerfd20]

To early to tell if he made a bad decision. Give it a year.

There is no wait and see. He lost 3 million this year. He made a terrible decision even if he gets 5 next year.

[Leroy Jenkins]

To early to tell if he made a bad decision. Give it a year.

It's like hitting the lottery for 4 mil but throwing the ticket away in case you can get 5 mil next year.... I understand betting on yourself and thinking you can do better, but you have to balance that with knowing you only have so many years of earnings in life. I can see both points.

[Todd4State]

There is no wait and see. He lost 3 million this year. He made a terrible decision even if he gets 5 next year.

This is correct. And it's also very risky because the South Carolina job that he is rumored to want is one where they are likely to go after a retread like their last three hires. Assuming Muschamp doesn't turn it around Urban Meyer, Mark Richt, and while unlikely- Chris Peterson are all out there on the market. That's my guess at who their main candidates are going to be if they are looking for a coach again. And if Skip Holtz has another strong year at La Tech it wouldn't surprise me if they value him over Napier as well.

I believe ULL loses a lot after 2020 so next year may be Napier's last chance for a few years.

[Todd4State]

It's like hitting the lottery for 4 mil but throwing the ticket away in case you can get 5 mil next year....

Also correct and good analogy. He would have been better off taking our job for a year and then going somewhere else than staying. If he didn't find anything next year he still would have had our job paying him about 4 times what he's making at ULL.

Personally I'm glad it didn't work out though because it sounds like he was going to be Dan Mullen 2.0 every offseason with more commitment to the program at least.

[Spiderman]

So it looks like Napier missed out on any chances for an upward move this year. I wonder what his wife and staff think right now? They might be patient for another year to see if something better opens up, but if it doesn?t there?s bound to be some grumbling. I know one thing, he better not forget to get his wife all the requisite Valentines and birthday cards this year. That could get ugly.

He was never offered the job. State reached out to see if he was interested. For whatever reason he wasn't.

Do you actually think Cohen had him above Leach in who he wanted to hire? Hell no

[OLJWales]

So it looks like Napier missed out on any chances for an upward move this year. I wonder what his wife and staff think right now? They might be patient for another year to see if something better opens up, but if it doesn?t there?s bound to be some grumbling. I know one thing, he better not forget to get his wife all the requisite Valentines and birthday cards this year. That could get ugly.

No need to attack him, his wife, or his family. It's done.

[nashLA]

Get out of town with that restrained, measured response. What we need is to crucify Napier and set him on fire for not ending up as our coach, whether it was his choice or not.

[mparkerfd20]

Get out of town with that restrained, measured response. What we need is to crucify Napier and set him on fire for not ending up as our coach, whether it was his choice or not.

Agreed. He's an idiot.

[ScooterDog]

Do you suppose he is kicking rocks and pounding sand right now? I think he missed a good opportunity by not pursuing the State job. Oh well, his loss, our gain. I'm much more happier with Leach & Co. Aren't y'all?

[MetEdDawg]

I think the Leach hire is the template we should follow going forward. Find an older, more experienced coach that still has good life left but isn't a candidate to leave for a bigger job.

We are extremely lucky Mullen stayed as long as he did. And going forward, anyone we hire that is young and has that type of success will leave us. Period. There are tons of young coaches every year that are up for these types of jobs. They don't all get them and can't.

Some of them will have to stay and coach at a middle tier P5 program where the cyclical nature of their program makes them go up and down. We will do the same thing, but we will pay a hell of a lot more to do it. If Leach can give us 7 or so years of solid performance and retires (he would be 65), why not try a similar approach if he's successful and retires?

[Liverpooldawg]

Why go after the guy? There is no need for that at all.

[chef dixon]

I always find it funny how people think they know what's in the best interest of someone they don't even know. With that said, kick rocks Billy boy!

[dawgday166]

I always find it funny how people think they know what's in the best interest of someone they don't even know. With that said, kick rocks Billy boy!

What are you talking about bruh? IT IS ALWAYS in someone's best interest to come to MSU ... regardless of wives, kids, location, etc. ***** I mean we pay millions of dollars and money is everything ****

[was21]

By all accounts, his wife really does love Lafayette and Starkvegas still has no Target

[Todd4State]

I think the Leach hire is the template we should follow going forward. Find an older, more experienced coach that still has good life left but isn't a candidate to leave for a bigger job.

We are extremely lucky Mullen stayed as long as he did. And going forward, anyone we hire that is young and has that type of success will leave us. Period. There are tons of young coaches every year that are up for these types of jobs. They don't all get them and can't.

Some of them will have to stay and coach at a middle tier P5 program where the cyclical nature of their program makes them go up and down. We will do the same thing, but we will pay a hell of a lot more to do it. If Leach can give us 7 or so years of solid performance and retires (he would be 65), why not try a similar approach if he's successful and retires?

Our most successful coach in modern history- Jackie Sherrill came from the template you are talking about too. It will be interesting to see how Joe Judge works out in New York. He may end up being like Herm Edwards in 10 years or so.

[MaroonFlounder]

I think his ole ms alum of an agent screwed him.

[Dawgology]

I think his ole ms alum of an agent screwed him.

Remember all the smoke about him firing his agent but then he didn't and it wasn't true? There was smoke for a reason I believe. I hear the folks saying "not even an ole miss fan would throw away that payday to try to screw their rival school". And yet it seems like every other week we are saying "I can't believe those dumbasses did (fill in blank) at ole miss". Go figure.

[maroonmania]

Remember all the smoke about him firing his agent but then he didn't and it wasn't true? There was smoke for a reason I believe. I hear the folks saying "not even an ole miss fan would throw away that payday to try to screw their rival school". And yet it seems like every other week we are saying "I can't believe those dumbasses did (fill in blank) at ole miss". Go figure.

I believe there are lots of diehard Rebsharks out there who would GLADLY give up a big payday to screw MSU over with a football coach. I'm convinced there are OM boosters that would give up their first born for the OM football program to be head and shoulders above MSU. That's why you have episodes with private investigators hired by OM to follow our coaches and players around in the 90s plus an OM booster sleeping with an NCAA investigator when Jackie was our coach. And then you have the OM network going off the rails cheating their asses off under Freeze while Mullen was our coach. Its a cultish mentality with that school so I have no problem thinking a dyed in the wool OM fan agent would sacrifice a pay day if he thought it would help keep down our football program. I kind of doubt the OM agent is hard up for money whether Napier gets an SEC job or not anyway.

[Todd4State]

I believe there are lots of diehard Rebsharks out there who would GLADLY give up a big payday to screw MSU over with a football coach. I'm convinced there are OM boosters that would give up their first born for the OM football program to be head and shoulders above MSU. That's why you have episodes with private investigators hired by OM to follow our coaches and players around in the 90s plus an OM booster sleeping with an NCAA investigator when Jackie was our coach. And then you have the OM network going off the rails cheating their asses off under Freeze while Mullen was our coach. Its a cultish mentality with that school so I have no problem thinking a dyed in the wool OM fan agent would sacrifice a pay day if he thought it would help keep down our football program. I kind of doubt the OM agent is hard up for money whether Napier gets an SEC job or not anyway.

If that did happen (I don't believe it did FWIW) he actually burned Ole Miss because we ended up with a bigger splash hire than Napier.

[deadheaddawg]

Isn't he still his agent?

Seems EXTREMELY unlikely than a potential power five type coach would let his agent sabotage a deal because of a rivalry and keep him.

Not everyone has an unhealthy obsession with their rivalry. Most normal people treat the opposing fans and their own personal job just like they would any other.

I grew up in a more room ole Miss dominant area of Mississippi. I have more bear close friends than state close friend.

Could it be possible that the agent sabotaged this? Yes it's possible. Is it likely? No.

[Dawgface]

If he did sabotaged the deal we need to send him a thank you note.

[MedDawg]

I believe there are lots of diehard Rebsharks out there who would GLADLY give up a big payday to screw MSU over with a football coach. I'm convinced there are OM boosters that would give up their first born for the OM football program to be head and shoulders above MSU. That's why you have episodes with private investigators hired by OM to follow our coaches and players around in the 90s plus an OM booster sleeping with an NCAA investigator when Jackie was our coach. And then you have the OM network going off the rails cheating their asses off under Freeze while Mullen was our coach. Its a cultish mentality with that school so I have no problem thinking a dyed in the wool OM fan agent would sacrifice a pay day if he thought it would help keep down our football program. I kind of doubt the OM agent is hard up for money whether Napier gets an SEC job or not anyway.

Thanks, Ole Miss!

3150

[maroonmania]

If that did happen (I don't believe it did FWIW) he actually burned Ole Miss because we ended up with a bigger splash hire than Napier.

I have no clue if it happened either. My point was I have NO problem believing it could have happened. But either way it certainly worked out well for us.

[Joebob]

By all accounts, his wife really does love Lafayette and Starkvegas still has no Target

For her sake I absolutely hope she does.

I wonder what it takes to get a Target in Starkville? I could use one myself on my trips there.

[RocketDawg]

For her sake I absolutely hope she does.

I wonder what it takes to get a Target in Starkville? I could use one myself on my trips there.

I read an article not long ago that Target was planning to build smaller stores in certain markets, like urban areas and college towns. The article was over 3 years old, so maybe they never actually built them, at least not in Starkville. Ordinarily, Target only goes to larger cities (used to be >100,000 I think).

[maroonmania]

I read an article not long ago that Target was planning to build smaller stores in certain markets, like urban areas and college towns. The article was over 3 years old, so maybe they never actually built them, at least not in Starkville. Ordinarily, Target only goes to larger cities (used to be >100,000 I think).

I think there are only like 3 or 4 Targets in the entire state of Mississippi. Meridian doesn't even have one.

[Bothrops]

Tuscaloosa has one. That's probably about the smallest market that you'll see one. 100k or so.

[RocketDawg]

Tuscaloosa has one. That's probably about the smallest market that you'll see one. 100k or so.

Isn't there one in Tupelo? And Hattiesburg?

[maroonmania]

Isn't there one in Tupelo? And Hattiesburg?

Baed on Googling, looks like there are 2 in the Jackson area, 1 in Hattiesburg and 1 on the Gulf Coast. The only other 2 are barely in the North part of MS and are essentially in the Memphis suburbs (Olive Branch and Horn Lake). No Target in Tupelo.

[MaroonBelle]

If they put a Target out on 82 between Columbus and Stark they would easily have 100,000 in population for the Golden Triangle when figuring in MSU students too. 15 min drive from any either or from West Point. That is no farther than you would have to drive in a city of that size to reach one.

[Joebob]

If they put a Target out on 82 between Columbus and Stark they would easily have 100,000 in population for the Golden Triangle when figuring in MSU students too. 15 min drive from any either or from West Point. That is no farther than you would have to drive in a city of that size to reach one.

Then the Napier’s would be pissed if they did that :)

[Maroonthirteen]

Baed on Googling, looks like there are 2 in the Jackson area, 1 in Hattiesburg and 1 on the Gulf Coast. The only other 2 are barely in the North part of MS and are essentially in the Memphis suburbs (Olive Branch and Horn Lake). No Target in Tupelo.

While I agree Desoto county is a Memphis suburb. I still count those targets as MS. Because just about everyone in Desoto county is a life long Mississippian.

Hell the OB target carries MSU and OM items. A Columbus target would probably carry Bama Gear.

[Maroonthirteen]

I would call it hitting the lottery if a high school coach got a multi million dollar job. But not a guy that already makes a million.

He could take the state job and be fired in 2 years and not make 8million. Or have the ULL for the next 10 years or more at 1MM. And raise his family in one town and not bounce all over the us.

[GreenheadDawg]

Listen. I lived in Starkville for 4 years and I currently live in Lafayette. I love Starkville and I love MSU but Lafayette is a way better place to live. Great food, great festivals, and great people. I can see why his wife would balk at switching. Just saying.

[Todd4State]

Listen. I lived in Starkville for 4 years and I currently live in Lafayette. I love Starkville and I love MSU but Lafayette is a way better place to live. Great food, great festivals, and great people. I can see why his wife would balk at switching. Just saying.

Is all that worth 3 million? Especially since they could still go there in the offseason and have the best of both worlds.

[Todd4State]

I would call it hitting the lottery if a high school coach got a multi million dollar job. But not a guy that already makes a million.

He could take the state job and be fired in 2 years and not make 8million. Or have the ULL for the next 10 years or more at 1MM. And raise his family in one town and not bounce all over the us.

If we were offering him 4.1 and even Joe made it two years here. So that's not adding up. Not to mention I doubt he will be at ULL for 10 years.

[defiantdog]

Listen. I lived in Starkville for 4 years and I currently live in Lafayette. I love Starkville and I love MSU but Lafayette is a way better place to live. Great food, great festivals, and great people. I can see why his wife would balk at switching. Just saying.

Lafayette is fun..... carnivals nearly every weekend, drive thru daiquiris, drive thru crawfish fast food, liquor in grocery stores, meche's donuts (best ever), Don's seafood, etc.

[TUSK]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

[TUSK]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

[Todd4State]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

Better perception wise in his mind? Yes. Better pay? There aren't many that pay more than MSU. Based on the numbers I just looked what we are paying Leach is top 16 in the country last year. What we were rumored to offer Napier was just outside top 25 pay last year. That's the problem Dan Mullen had. He viewed us as a stepping stone but we were willing to pay him 6 million and a lot of team just weren't going to match that. I think basically matched what we paid him or maybe went slightly above. That's part of the reason why I think he had a hard time finding a place to go. A place like Miami just isn't likely to pay that.

I can't imagine that Baylor would pay him more than what we were rumored to offer even though the could I don't see why they would. And our offer was not far off of what South Carolina is paying Muschamp which is the job that Napier "really" wants per rumors.

Honestly to me I feel like we probably dodged a bullet. It's obvious that he didn't want to be at MSU and if he did take our job I doubt he would have been here for long. Losing a coach to South Carolina would have been pretty embarrassing honestly.

[StateDawg44]

Isn't he still his agent?

Seems EXTREMELY unlikely than a potential power five type coach would let his agent sabotage a deal because of a rivalry and keep him.

Not everyone has an unhealthy obsession with their rivalry. Most normal people treat the opposing fans and their own personal job just like they would any other.

I grew up in a more room ole Miss dominant area of Mississippi. I have more bear close friends than state close friend.

Could it be possible that the agent sabotaged this? Yes it's possible. Is it likely? No.



Did you not hear?... these people sacrifice their first newborn!***

[GreenheadDawg]

To some people it may be. Different strokes for different folks.

[Tbonewannabe]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

Better opportunity - maybe. State typically does more with less and if a coach was scared to go against Bama, LSU, A&M, and AU every year plus whoever might be from the East then we are probably better off. It isn't like we don't have great facilities (I would say top 25 level which is around where we recruit). You can only add so many gold toilets at Bama before you don't see an actual advantage from it.

Higher paying gig - We were offering Napier top 25 pay for a coach who wasn't in the top 25. We paid Mullen around top 15 salary and we only got there a couple of times in 9 years. Mullen got "stuck" at MSU because we were actually paying more than a lot of people would pay for top 20-30 results. We paid more for consistency than end of year ranking and big wins.

Napier's biggest challenge is that he just turned down a big payday for all of his assistants along with himself. He has now lost his DC. It will be interesting to see if other assistants leave next year unless he gets them a bigger gig. The thing is that he might get a better high paying gig but he has yet to beat a high ranked team. Pretty much every coach that makes the jump up from G5 to P5 has either a long track record of 10+ wins (Napier could have 2 seasons if he does well next year) or has a few 10 win seasons along with big time wins. Napier doesn't really have anyone on the schedule that will get him that kind of exposure (being in play for our job oddly enough will benefit him next year). Tom Herman had 3 or so wins over top 10 teams at Houston. Norvell had a win over Ole Miss along with 3 or 4 other top 25 wins. Napier lost to us and lost to App State twice (the only top 25 team he played).

He needs to go undefeated or have 1 loss to get the G5 bid or he very well could be at ULL in 2021 which would probably piss off his staff big time.

[MedDawg]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

Such as?

[Spiderman]

AGAIN, Napier was never offered the job. State contacted him and many others about their interest. He told them from the start he didn't have any.

State interviewed those that did.

AGAIN, do you honestly think he was offered the job before Leach? If so, Cohen is a flaming idiot, and Cohen isn't an idiot. Judge and Leach got the offers.

The Giants took Judge, which I think is best for both parties. Leach took the job.

[Ari Gold]

**** Napier.

[DogsofAnarchy]

Listen, I lived in Lafayette for 6 years. I found it to be a mosquito invested shit hole where a gust of wind smelled like shit and was 120 degrees. Your right, some people might like the beer on every corner (You can get that in Starkville), they might like the festival?s ( which don?t happen everyday of the week like you make it sound), and they might love all the many fine dinner establishments ( they have no more than the Golden Triangle and you can only go to one a night) but they don?t get to be near StarkVegas and we do. Incumbered by idiots, we pushed on.

[DCdawg]

Another update, looks like two more members of his staff have left for power five jobs - another defensive assistant and their recruiting coordinator. He may be waiting on a better job, but his staff doesn't seem to be.

[Duckdog]

and they might love all the many fine dinner establishments ( they have no more than the Golden Triangle and you can only go to one a night)

THIS IS THE DUMBEST THING IVE EVER READ ON THE INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OLJWales]

they might might love all the many fine dinner establishments ( they have no more than the Golden triangle you can only go to one a night)

No.

[FISHDAWG]

Another update, looks like two more members of his staff have left for power five jobs - another defensive assistant and their recruiting coordinator. He may be waiting on a better job, but his staff doesn't seem to be.

I know how he must feel ... I've let some nice bucks walk before early in the season and then thought at the end of deer season "What the Heck was I thinking ??? #remorsecanbeabitch

[dawgs]

It's like hitting the lottery for 4 mil but throwing the ticket away in case you can get 5 mil next year.... I understand betting on yourself and thinking you can do better, but you have to balance that with knowing you only have so many years of earnings in life. I can see both points.

Well, there's a difference in that he can control how he coaches a team for 2020 to position himself for better jobs. It's not like he's drawing random numbers out of a hat. I have no idea what he's returning, but if he thinks he can repeat 2019 in 2020, he'll be fine. And sure, he missed making more money in 2020, but if he didn't view any options as secure long term, making $3M or $4M for 2-3 years ($6-8M) and getting fired and going back to coordinator/position coach/analyst status vs. landing a gig he feels like he could succeed at for 10 years (or set him up for a long term lucrative HC career) ($30-40M over a decade for a P5 HC is a low estimate) then the money ultimately favors having longevity at the expanse of an immediate pay raise.

I don't know if he made the right or wrong decision, but if he didn't think he would be set up for long term success, then he made a reasonable decision to wait a year instead of getting joevester'd. Like, does anyone think joevester gets another P5 HC gig? I think he's a career coordinator at the P5 level and will have to step down to G5/FCS level to be a HC again.

[dawgs]

Better perception wise in his mind? Yes. Better pay? There aren't many that pay more than MSU. Based on the numbers I just looked what we are paying Leach is top 16 in the country last year. What we were rumored to offer Napier was just outside top 25 pay last year. That's the problem Dan Mullen had. He viewed us as a stepping stone but we were willing to pay him 6 million and a lot of team just weren't going to match that. I think basically matched what we paid him or maybe went slightly above. That's part of the reason why I think he had a hard time finding a place to go. A place like Miami just isn't likely to pay that.

I can't imagine that Baylor would pay him more than what we were rumored to offer even though the could I don't see why they would. And our offer was not far off of what South Carolina is paying Muschamp which is the job that Napier "really" wants per rumors.

Honestly to me I feel like we probably dodged a bullet. It's obvious that he didn't want to be at MSU and if he did take our job I doubt he would have been here for long. Losing a coach to South Carolina would have been pretty embarrassing honestly.

I don't think we were willing to pay Napier what we are paying leach (nor should we imo). MSU is traditionally a "prove it" first kinda program.

[PGHBulldogBG]

Funny because Napier was the 2nd best coach in the sun belt. Drinkwitz was number 1 and most likely would?ve beaten him again next year if we hired him. Glad it worked out with Leach and we didn?t get Napier

[HoopsDawg]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

How many jobs are better than the MSU that he could actually get hired for?

On another note, He stole our kicker Ruiz, lol. I was actually excited about Ruiz.

[Lord McBuckethead]

they might might love all the many fine dinner establishments ( they have no more than the Golden triangle you can only go to one a night)

No.

How many do they have if you hate cajun food and are allergic to shell fish?

[FISHDAWG]

He was never offered the job. State reached out to see if he was interested. For whatever reason he wasn't.

Do you actually think Cohen had him above Leach in who he wanted to hire? Hell no

so did Cohen reach out to Leach first before Napier ???

[FISHDAWG]

Isn't there one in Tupelo? And Hattiesburg?

screw Target ... in the past (and maybe they still do) they gave a percentage of sales to PETA ...... I hope they bankrupt

[dawgs]

How many jobs are better than the MSU that he could actually get hired for?

On another note, He stole our kicker Ruiz, lol. I was actually excited about Ruiz.

Maybe he just determined it wasn't the right fit for him to set himself for the long term. He made a subjective decision for him and we are applying objective logic without considering personal motives. Clearly more money is better when viewed by a 3rd party with no horse in the race, and maybe it will be his only/best P5 opportunity, but he weighed factors and might've determined for the next 20-30 years, he'd rather wait for something else for a myriad of reasons we'll never know.

[deadheaddawg]

so did Cohen reach out to Leach first before Napier ???

not a single poster on here knows the answer to that. It should be more than clear by now that the 'sources" people have here are either completely fake or full of BS

[Jack Lambert]

I don't care! Regardless how it happened the football gods were looking after us. He is by far the best case we could have ended up with. We came out way better than Ole Miss and Arkansas. Look at it this way. Everyone got what they wanted. We beat ole miss, we went to a bowl game and we got a really good HC. I am happy and don't care how we got to this point.

[Todd4State]

I don't care! Regardless how it happened the football gods were looking after us. He is by far the best case we could have ended up with. We came out way better than Ole Miss and Arkansas. Look at it this way. Everyone got what they wanted. We beat ole miss, we went to a bowl game and we got a really good HC. I am happy and don't care how we got to this point.

Perspective. Worked out perfectly for us. Other than losing the Music City Bowl. Small price to pay though.

[Tbonewannabe]

Perspective. Worked out perfectly for us. Other than losing the Music City Bowl. Small price to pay though.

But losing the bowl made getting Leach possible.

[Todd4State]

But losing the bowl made getting Leach possible.

Agree. I do wonder if the Gay/Shrader incident was enough to warrant firing even with a bowl win though. We'll never know but Stansbury was fired after a winning season if I remember correctly.

[msu15]

Agree. I do wonder if the Gay/Shrader incident was enough to warrant firing even with a bowl win though. We'll never know but Stansbury was fired after a winning season if I remember correctly.

He was but we had a minimum sweet 16 caliber team and we lost in the first round of the NIT.

[Todd4State]

He was but we had a minimum sweet 16 caliber team and we lost in the first round of the NIT.

Sounds similar to our 8 win caliber football team that won 6. We'll never really know but I believed the Gay/Shrader incident was the last straw.

[Homedawg]

Sounds similar to our 8 win caliber football team that won 6. We'll never really know but I believed the Gay/Shrader incident was the last straw, FOR EVERYONE besides Cohen, who already wanted him gone.
.

Fify

[maroonmania]

Sounds similar to our 8 win caliber football team that won 6. We'll never really know but I believed the Gay/Shrader incident was the last straw.

And the 10 win caliber team the year before that only won 8.

[Coach34]

We talked to Napier's agent before the Egg Bowl. Leach's people werent contacted until after Willie Gay beat Shrader's ass. After the fight, we resumed talking to agents. The loss in the bowl game was the final straw. Cohen was serious when he said the bowl game was a business trip. He wanted a good showing

[OLJWales]

But losing the bowl made getting Leach possible.

Then I'm glad we lost, yea I said it....would rather have won it and still gotten Leach though.

[timotheus]

Good thing CML had his people reach out to Cohen.

[1bigdawg]

Napier (or his agent) was campaigning to get his name out there as available, much like Dan used to do. As a result, his name came up in EVERY search this past season. That can be smart, but don't think he would have stopped had he ended up at State. Not only do I like Leach as a coach better than Napier, I like the fact that he is not going to campaign to have his name is not going to come up in every high profile search in the future.

[sonof34]

Agree. I do wonder if the Gay/Shrader incident was enough to warrant firing even with a bowl win though. We'll never know but Stansbury was fired after a winning season if I remember correctly.

It wasn?t the fight that did him in, it was another incident that didn?t get out that actually did it.

[OLJWales]

It ain't any of my bidness, but did any of you cats speculate that, perhaps, Nap was willing to forego a few million bucks in the hopes he gets a legit, better opp, high payin gig?

just spitballin....

GTFO with that bullshit. our job IS Legit and it pays Top Dollar and is a great opportunity.

[Turfdawg67]

GTFO with that bullshit. our job IS Legit and it pays Top Dollar and is a great opportunity.

Just learn to ignore him. He's here to troll and dole out backhanded compliments... all the while many on here think he's a good guy. People liked Token Bammer too, until he showed his true colors.

[TheLostDawg]

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/02/08/mississippi-state-brandon-ruiz-louisiana/

[Todd4State]

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/02/08/mississippi-state-brandon-ruiz-louisiana/

Pretty bizarre. Probably best to let him walk.

[Todd4State]

It wasn?t the fight that did him in, it was another incident that didn?t get out that actually did it.

I figured it was a culmination of everything. Known and unknown.

[TUSK]

Just learn to ignore him. He's here to troll and dole out backhanded compliments... all the while many on here think he's a good guy. People liked Token Bammer too, until he showed his true colors.

Easy, there, kiddio... It'll be aight.

I'd bet you're the type that doesn't bet,,,,, (If I had to bet,,,)

[softballfanatic1]

GTFO with that bullshit. our job IS Legit and it pays Top Dollar and is a great opportunity.

I concur! Napier will never make what Leach is currently making or will make at State. Some guys just make bad decisions.

[Cowbell]

I concur! Napier will never make what Leach is currently making or will make at State. Some guys just make bad decisions.

This is a stretch. In ten years, I bet he is making more than leach is now.

[timotheus]

So you think he ends up at USCe, Bama, UGA, Michigan or MSU? fill us in?

[Cooterpoot]

WTF cares what Napier does? Why is this shit even coming up still?

[basedog]

WTF cares what Napier does? Why is this shit even coming up still?

I agree totally

[MarketingBully]

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/02/08/mississippi-state-brandon-ruiz-louisiana/

They spoke too soon. Ruiz is coming to MSU. Ruiz said it was a miscommunication with the new staff. He sent his signed papers to MSU and will be in Starkville in June. Nice try though Napier lul...

[MarketingBully]

Pretty bizarre. Probably best to let him walk.

He confirmed as of this morning he?s coming to MSU so those reports are false.

[BiscuitEater]

Pretty bizarre. Probably best to let him walk.

PJ says mixup in communication and Ruiz confirmed that he will be transferring to MSU in June and has two years left to play at MSU

[Todd4State]

WTF cares what Napier does? Why is this shit even coming up still?

Because every coaching search has to have a Steve Spurrier, Ray Perkins, Jimbo Fisher, Kevin Wilson, or Jeremy Pruitt. The "what if" guy.

[Todd4State]

PJ says mixup in communication and Ruiz confirmed that he will be transferring to MSU in June and has two years left to play at MSU

Good deal. I spoke too soon.

[Cooterpoot]

Because every coaching search has to have a Steve Spurrier, Ray Perkins, Jimbo Fisher, Kevin Wilson, or Jeremy Pruitt. The "what if" guy.

Napier isn't a "what if". More like a "thank god".

[Todd4State]

Napier isn't a "what if". More like a "thank god".

I agree. I'm much happier with Leach.