Chris Hatcher

[Todd4State]

I think MSU should give him a long look.

He is on the Leach tree and runs the Air Raid with some tweaks- more empty sets and runs a little more.

He is an experienced head coach and he gave Dan all he wanted at MSU and Florida scoring I think over 50 both times. His Samford team also gave North Dakota State who is the Alabama of FCS all they wanted last weekend with a back up QB.

I think he would keep most of our staff in place including Arnett and I think he could be a good short term solution for us.

[Commercecomet24]

My first cousin, Chris Boone is the DC at Samford

[DownwardDawg]

Interesting

[Captain Falcon]

I just don?t see it myself. He got fired from one FCS job and had a losing record at another. Samford had a great year this year but otherwise his resume as a head coach is nothing to write home about.

[Quaoarsking]

https://i.imgur.com/gsXQqV0.png

[Todd4State]

My first cousin, Chris Boone is the DC at Samford

Bye Zach Arnett!**


I just don?t see it myself. He got fired from one FCS job and had a losing record at another. Samford had a great year this year but otherwise his resume as a head coach is nothing to write home about.

I hear you. But this is not an ideal situation that we're facing. I think having him with his experience and keeping our staff intact could buy us stability for a few years. The places he has coached at are not easy places to win at. And when he was at Georgia Southern installing the Air Raid after they had been running the triple option for decades was a massive shift and honestly not the smartest hire for them at the time in hindsight. The biggest thing that appeals to me is the fact that he has been a head coach and was under Leach at Kentucky.

[STATEBALLIN]

I think MSU should give him a long look.

He is on the Leach tree and runs the Air Raid with some tweaks- more empty sets and runs a little more.

He is an experienced head coach and he gave Dan all he wanted at MSU and Florida scoring I think over 50 both times. His Samford team also gave North Dakota State who is the Alabama of FCS all they wanted last weekend with a back up QB.

I think he would keep most of our staff in place including Arnett and I think he could be a good short term solution for us.

I?ve been saying this to people also. You at least have to give him a look and interview.

[BrunswickDawg]

Bye Zach Arnett!**



I hear you. But this is not an ideal situation that we're facing. I think having him with his experience and keeping our staff intact could buy us stability for a few years. The places he has coached at are not easy places to win at. And when he was at Georgia Southern installing the Air Raid after they had been running the triple option for decades was a massive shift and honestly not the smartest hire for them at the time in hindsight. The biggest thing that appeals to me is the fact that he has been a head coach and was under Leach at Kentucky.

About his time at GSU - it was actually Brian Van Gorder who came in for 1 season an wrecked the triple option, then left to go back to the NFL. Hatcher came into a similar situation as to what happened here with JoMo. He also faced a ton of backlash because he wasn't going to go back to the traditional GSU way. He improved them from 3-8 to 7-4 in his first season - but the boosters and much of the fanbase was gunning for him. It was a horrible situation.

I've mentioned Hatcher a couple of times. But, I'm just not sure that he's the right guy.

[Dawgface]

If we're thinking short term I would just go with Arnett. Hatcher wouldn't excite anyone.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Given the overall situation we are in, Arnett as head coach is really our best option, and not as an interim. Full head coach status. Keeping the entire staff intact should absolutely the goal.

The entire team just lost their head coach. Not from being fired, but through a very abrupt situation. Stabilizing this with familiar is the best course of action. Whether we are talking for team chemistry, recruiting, transfer portals, etc. You think our entire defense who decided not to go into the draft or portal wouldn?t reconsider if Arnett wasn?t their coach? A new head coach would switch the entire staff over. At this time and in this situation, I just don?t see how we bring in a better coach for all the variables than Arnett and Co.

They have my vote, and I would believe Keenum would see this the same way.

[Leroy Jenkins]

I think looking for someone to stabilize things is very short-sighted, panic move. We are in a very unfortunate situation, but there is no reason we cannot take this as an opportunity to upgrade. Arnett may be a HC one day but he is not qualified right now. It would be very MSU to turn over a multi-million dollar SEC football program to someone who has been a coordinator for 3 years. We hired Mike freaking Leach, and he left the program in better shape than when he arrived; there is no reason to not go for at least a Leach-level coach.

A lot of CFB offenses look similar these days and with the portal you can retool a team in one season. As long as we don't hire someone like Paul Johnson most offensive philosophies are "close enough".

So, keep Arnett, and hire a real HC to run the program.

[CoachT14]

I'd be fine with him as an OC option. HC not so much.

[Spiderman]

I like Hatcher. Always have. That said I think we should just go with Arnett this next year. The roster will explode if not.

He can hold together the recruiting class, and also retain players after spring. It's a very tough situation we are in, we don't need to make it worse

[Leroy Jenkins]

Some of our fans don't have a grasp on how good the MSU job is.

[CoachT14]

I like Hatcher. Always have. That said I think we should just go with Arnett this next year. The roster will explode if not.

He can hold together the recruiting class, and also retain players after spring. It's a very tough situation we are in, we don't need to make it worse

You can NOT hire a guy for a year and expect the program to still be viable in 3 years.

[basedog]

I still think we will roll with Arnett. For Leach to tell him to go to Tampa as his replacement says a lot to me. I think he had lots of confidence in him plus no doubt the player respect and like him. But we shall see, if he is our guy it will be interested to see who is or will be the HC.
If I recall, DM was never a head coach and was OC only for a short period and did pretty good at Msu.

[TrapGame]

Some of our fans don't have a grasp on how good the MSU job is.

That's why Arnett is fighting for the job. An opportunity fell in his lap and he's not letting get away.

[trob115]

Garrett Riley needs an interview. He's young, innovative, and is well liked by recruits. His offensive philosophy would work well with our roster makeup too!

[Johnson85]

I'd be fine with him as an OC option. HC not so much.

Yea, if his offenses have been successful, that's an appealing OC option. I just can't see how that would be a viable head coach candidate. Looks like a Cohen type move thinking he's smarter than evreybody else and can pick out a great head coach despite the lack of track record (e.g., Judge).

[Spiderman]

You can NOT hire a guy for a year and expect the program to still be viable in 3 years.

Yes, you can. What you can't do is lose your roster and let next year be a total disaster. You would have to make a Leach like hire to avoid it. Name a sitting coach we could get and hold it together. Arnett could also win with this roster. Better odds with him than someone else that's reasonable

[TrapGame]

Yes, you can. What you can't do is lose your roster and let next year be a total disaster. You would have to make a Leach like hire to avoid it. Name a sitting coach we could get and hold it together. Arnett could also win with this roster. Better odds with him than someone else that's reasonable

Thank God somebody has some ****ing sense around here.

[CoachT14]

Yes, you can. What you can't do is lose your roster and let next year be a total disaster. You would have to make a Leach like hire to avoid it. Name a sitting coach we could get and hold it together. Arnett could also win with this roster. Better odds with him than someone else that's reasonable

You think hiring an interim for a year won't decimate our roster?

Man I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.

Every team in the SEC would be stealing our guys left & right through the portal because of the uncertainty of an interim coach and the future.

How do you know he'd win? He could just as easily be a disaster as the guy running the show as he could be a home a run. It's a coin flip. And a coin flip I'm willing to take with the right OC. But I worry about his OC connections. He isn't an original air raid guy and been around them. He's more likely to hire within for his OC. Which means we are basically risking it all on a first time HC and a first time OC as an SEC team. Talk about non sense.

[TrapGame]

You think hiring an interim for a year won't decimate our roster?

Man I got some ocean front property in Arizona to sell you.

Every team in the SEC would be stealing our guys left & right through the portal because of the uncertainty of an interim coach and the future.

How do you know he'd win? He could just as easily be a disaster as the guy running the show as he could be a home a run. It's a coin flip. And a coin flip I'm willing to take with the right OC. But I worry about his OC connections. He isn't an original air raid guy and been around them. He's more likely to hire within for his OC. Which means we are basically risking it all on a first time HC and a first time OC as an SEC team. Talk about non sense.

We are not hiring an interim coach for a year.

This plays out one of two ways: 1) Arnett is made head coach. 2) We hire someone else to be the head coach.

There is no interim head coach for a year.

[CoachT14]

We are not hiring an interim coach for a year.

This plays out one of two ways: 1) Arnett is made head coach. 2) We hire someone else to be the head coach.

There is no interim head coach for a year.

Spiderman originally was calling for an interim for a year.

[TrapGame]

Spiderman originally was calling for an interim for a year.

They ain't gonna happen.

[Johnson85]

I think looking for someone to stabilize things is very short-sighted, panic move. We are in a very unfortunate situation, but there is no reason we cannot take this as an opportunity to upgrade. Arnett may be a HC one day but he is not qualified right now. It would be very MSU to turn over a multi-million dollar SEC football program to someone who has been a coordinator for 3 years. We hired Mike freaking Leach, and he left the program in better shape than when he arrived; there is no reason to not go for at least a Leach-level coach.

A lot of CFB offenses look similar these days and with the portal you can retool a team in one season. As long as we don't hire someone like Paul Johnson most offensive philosophies are "close enough".

So, keep Arnett, and hire a real HC to run the program.

Mullen was a coordinator for 4 years, he turned out ok. Arnett's resume looks exactly right for us except that he has worked his way up the ladder so quickly, overall he has less experience than you'd typically want overall. But that's the only reason he's not exactly the type of candidate you'd expect us to have in our top 3.

[basedog]

Mullen was a coordinator for 4 years, he turned out ok. Arnett's resume looks exactly right for us except that he has worked his way up the ladder so quickly, overall he has less experience than you'd typically want overall. But that's the only reason he's not exactly the type of candidate you'd expect us to have in our top 3.

Yes, it's mostly how well he could put a staff together as in working together. His advantage is he knows our culture in our program, our players, our recruits and loves Starkville.

[Leroy Jenkins]

Mullen was a coordinator for 4 years, he turned out ok. Arnett's resume looks exactly right for us except that he has worked his way up the ladder so quickly, overall he has less experience than you'd typically want overall. But that's the only reason he's not exactly the type of candidate you'd expect us to have in our top 3.

You can't compare the MSU job now to the MSU job immediately post-Croom. We had to take a chance on a coordinator then, we don't have to do that anymore.

[Joebob]

We are not hiring an interim coach for a year.

This plays out one of two ways: 1) Arnett is made head coach. 2) We hire someone else to be the head coach.

There is no interim head coach for a year.

I've got to agree with this. Having an interim coach is almost guaranteeing trouble because of the uncertainty it would create. Whoever it ends up being, we need to hire a permanent head coach and move forward with a plan.

[Johnson85]

You can't compare the MSU job now to the MSU job immediately post-Croom. We had to take a chance on a coordinator then, we don't have to do that anymore.

It is more desirable, but it's not like we're going to be pulling sitting P5 head coaches on the reg now. Hell, we hired a P5 coordinator just 5 years ago. Things haven't changed that much.

We're still picking from coordinators at P5 programs and head coaches at G6, unless the cards fall just right at a lower tier P5 school.

Arnett is just a couple of years shy of being a typical hire for us. The lack of longer experience may end up being off set by the fact that he is on staff and has experience in Mississippi and will provide some continuity.

[Really Clark?]

You can't compare the MSU job now to the MSU job immediately post-Croom. We had to take a chance on a coordinator then, we don't have to do that anymore.

Blah, P5 HC are hired from coordinator positions all the time and succeed at about the same rate as sitting HC from another program. Find the best fit for the program with whom you think will be the best coach for the program.

[basedog]

Blah, P5 HC are hired from coordinator positions all the time and succeed at about the same rate as sitting HC from another program. Find the best fit for the program with whom you think will be the best coach for the program.

Indeed, totally agree.

[Leroy Jenkins]

I hope our administrators have higher expectations than some fans. This is a sad situation right now, but you don't have to just tread water and survive. This is an opportunity to improve.

[ImissCityBagel]

Whatever we do, keep Arnett.

[Leroy Jenkins]

It is more desirable, but it's not like we're going to be pulling sitting P5 head coaches on the reg now. Hell, we hired a P5 coordinator just 5 years ago. Things haven't changed that much.

We're still picking from coordinators at P5 programs and head coaches at G6, unless the cards fall just right at a lower tier P5 school.

Arnett is just a couple of years shy of being a typical hire for us. The lack of longer experience may end up being off set by the fact that he is on staff and has experience in Mississippi and will provide some continuity.

Who had previously been a HC btw.


None of us know how a new guy will pan out, but you can certainly lessen the odds of things going south by observing a guy's track record.

[R2Dawg]

I think MSU should give him a long look.

He is on the Leach tree and runs the Air Raid with some tweaks- more empty sets and runs a little more.

He is an experienced head coach and he gave Dan all he wanted at MSU and Florida scoring I think over 50 both times. His Samford team also gave North Dakota State who is the Alabama of FCS all they wanted last weekend with a back up QB.

I think he would keep most of our staff in place including Arnett and I think he could be a good short term solution for us.

Stupid to put a requirement for has to be from a Leach tree. If he is then fine, if he ain't then fine.

Hire the best coach we can get that can win.

[Really Clark?]

I hope our administrators have higher expectations than some fans. This is a sad situation right now, but you don't have to just tread water and survive. This is an opportunity to improve.

Nobody has low expectations but you don't limit the pool to just sitting HC. You be very sure of the fit and needs of the program at this time. Scheme ultimately doesn't matter and if they are a coordinator or sitting G5 HC or P5 HC or WR Coach (Dabo) or TE coach (Shane Beamer)...don't limit the pool and think it's only a sitting P5 HC or anyone else is a bust. I will tell you that is a very small pool of coaches so we better be looking at as many as possible. Arnett included.

[trojandawg]

There isn't much proof that if arnett is the coach next year or someone from leach tree that they stay. Several could be at USC or somewhere else next year anyway with leach not around anymore. Maybe they don't like working for Arnett or Miller. That's just the truth. Maybe they will want to leach after leach dying tragically like that

[trojandawg]

Correct approach.

[Leroy Jenkins]

Nobody has low expectations but you don't limit the pool to just sitting HC. You be very sure of the fit and needs of the program at this time. Scheme ultimately doesn't matter and if they are a coordinator or sitting G5 HC or P5 HC or WR Coach (Dabo) or TE coach (Shane Beamer)...don't limit the pool and think it's only a sitting P5 HC or anyone else is a bust. I will tell you that is a very small pool of coaches so we better be looking at as many as possible. Arnett included.

I hope Arnett grows up to be the greatest coach in the history of the universe. But right now, as of today, he has done nothing to warrant a shot at this job. Other than being convenient.

[Johnson85]

Who had previously been a HC btw.


None of us know how a new guy will pan out, but you can certainly lessen the odds of things going south by observing a guy's track record.

At an FCS school. That was a nice plus to his resume, but that doesn't make him considerably different than P5 coordinators that have not been a head coach.

[Really Clark?]

I hope Arnett grows up to be the greatest coach in the history of the universe. But right now, as of today, he has done nothing to warrant a shot at this job. Other than being convenient.

He has done more than Dabo when he took over Clemson or Beamer at USCe. Look I'm not saying hire him at all but he will be looked as he should be. Along with however many we get calls from and however many we reach out too. We already have

[Johnson85]

I hope Arnett grows up to be the greatest coach in the history of the universe. But right now, as of today, he has done nothing to warrant a shot at this job. Other than being convenient.

This is just crazy talk. He has 3 years as a successful P5 coordinator. His experience is a little light, but it's not off by much and that is somewhat offset by the fact that his success has been at MSU. Not saying he should ultimately get the job, but it's absurd to act like he doesn't have the resume to be a legitimate candidate.

[Leroy Jenkins]

This is just crazy talk. He has 3 years as a successful P5 coordinator. His experience is a little light, but it's not off by much and that is somewhat offset by the fact that his success has been at MSU. Not saying he should ultimately get the job, but it's absurd to act like he doesn't have the resume to be a legitimate candidate.

What's crazy is going from hiring a HOF caliber coach away from a P5 school, to following that up with an above average to good coordinator. If Arnett was not at MSU none of our fans would be clamoring to hire him. It's just small thinking. If Zack ends up being the guy then I will cheer for him just as loudly as anyone.

[Johnson85]

What's crazy is going from hiring a HOF caliber coach away from a P5 school, to following that up with an above average to good coordinator. If Arnett was not at MSU none of our fans would be clamoring to hire him. It's just small thinking. If Zack ends up being the guy then I will cheer for him just as loudly as anyone.

Why don't you name the P5 coaches we have a reasonable shot at pulling that actually have good resumes. An don't include stupid Lloyd Christmas, "So you're telling me a chance" names like Dykes or Gundy. The list is going to be pretty small and I'm nont sure there is any one on it that will obviously jump on a job offer from us. Only 4 names I can come up with are:

Klieman ($3.5M) - Legitimate target but never been in the Southeast plus KSU can probably bump his pay if they are motivated to keep him (which presumably they are). We going drop $6M annually based on his record so far? I'm not sure that'd be ludicrous in this market but even then, not sure KSU would just roll over.

Beamer - Lowly paid by USCe. THey'll probably give him a good raise and I doubt they refuse to match for anything we'd be willing to pay based on his current record. But there is the wife connection, so maybe.

Dave Clawson - $3.5M. No clue what Wake Forest's appetite is for ponying up or how much we'd want to pay to get him.

Mike Elko - $2.1M - we want to pony up for him based on his DC work and one year at Duke?

I'm sure there are a few others that I'm not thinking of, but most people that are doing well at a P5 job are looking at a potential blue blood stop next if they have any length to their resume.