Some reminders about Dan Mullen

[Quaoarsking]

I love Dan Mullen. If we ever need a new coach, he's absolutely my first call and we should give him whatever it takes to get him back. However, I think a lot of us are forgetting how his tenure actually went.

First off, he finished 69-46 as our coach. That includes 5-2 in bowls, so 64-44 in regular season games. Over 9 seasons, that averages out to 7.1-4.9. So when people attack Leach as a "7-5 coach" and wish for Mullen back, that doesn't make much sense.

Secondly, people saying "I want the early Mullen back, not the late Mullen back" are forgetting how much ... dissatisfaction Mullen had here in 2010 through 2013. Go back and check old threads from here and SPS and see.

• 2010 - It turned out to be a really good year, 9-4, ranked #15 in the final poll, a blowout win over Michigan. But people were pretty crushed that we lost a winnable game to Cam Newton in game 2 and then were very flat in Baton Rouge the next week. A lot of people wrote the season off already after that, although beating Georgia in game 4 calmed us down. Even after we beat Florida, we had very close wins over UAB and Kentucky that made people question him again.
• 2011 - We began the season ranked, and had almost everyone back. A lot of people predicted we'd win 8 or 9 games, and Coach34 himself said we'd win 10. Instead, we limped to 6-6, and even that was just because Ole Miss and Kentucky were awful. Huge disappointment of a season.
• 2012 - Started out 7-0, to finish 8-5. People were pretty brutal on Mullen at the end of the year, especially after losing the Egg Bowl.
• 2013 - Never really got much going, and were 5-6 headed to the Egg Bowl with a huge chunk of the Internet fanbase wanting him fired. Then Dak had his miracle comeback in the Egg Bowl and that died down a bit.

So just keep all this mind that what many of us are feeling about Leach (who may very well be a "7-5 coach" like Mullen) is the same thing many of us were feeling about Mullen a decade ago. And 10 years from now when we lose a road game we thought we would win and everyone gets nostalgic about the Leach days, bump this post.

[DownwardDawg]

Why does everyone keep talking about Dan? Not a shot. Just simple question. It's in every thread when we lose a game and there's always new discussions about him here. He ain't coming back. State would not hire him again and he wouldn't come back anyway.

[Quaoarsking]

Why does everyone keep talking about Dan? Not a shot. Just simple question. It's in every thread when we lose a game and there's always new discussions about him here. He ain't coming back. State would not hire him again and he wouldn't come back anyway.

Because nowadays (more so than he was here) we recognize him as the pinnacle of what's possible here. I just think we need to remember that he was a 7.1-4.9 coach, and is Leach much worse than that, or even worse than that at all?

[Cowbell]

Give me Hugh Freeze

[basedog]

Give me Hugh Freeze

Heck No!

[Quaoarsking]

Give me Hugh Freeze

I could write up this same type of post about Freeze. Moral issues aside, he could probably be a "7-5 coach" for us like Mullen and Leach, but is that worth selling our soul over?

[Percho]

I love Dan Mullen. If we ever need a new coach, he's absolutely my first call and we should give him whatever it takes to get him back. However, I think a lot of us are forgetting how his tenure actually went.

First off, he finished 69-46 as our coach. That includes 5-2 in bowls, so 64-44 in regular season games. Over 9 seasons, that averages out to 7.1-4.9. So when people attack Leach as a "7-5 coach" and wish for Mullen back, that doesn't make much sense.

Secondly, people saying "I want the early Mullen back, not the late Mullen back" are forgetting how much ... dissatisfaction Mullen had here in 2010 through 2013. Go back and check old threads from here and SPS and see.

• 2010 - It turned out to be a really good year, 9-4, ranked #15 in the final poll, a blowout win over Michigan. But people were pretty crushed that we lost a winnable game to Cam Newton in game 2 and then were very flat in Baton Rouge the next week. A lot of people wrote the season off already after that, although beating Georgia in game 4 calmed us down. Even after we beat Florida, we had very close wins over UAB and Kentucky that made people question him again.
• 2011 - We began the season ranked, and had almost everyone back. A lot of people predicted we'd win 8 or 9 games, and Coach34 himself said we'd win 10. Instead, we limped to 6-6, and even that was just because Ole Miss and Kentucky were awful. Huge disappointment of a season.
• 2012 - Started out 7-0, to finish 8-5. People were pretty brutal on Mullen at the end of the year, especially after losing the Egg Bowl.
• 2013 - Never really got much going, and were 5-6 headed to the Egg Bowl with a huge chunk of the Internet fanbase wanting him fired. Then Dak had his miracle comeback in the Egg Bowl and that died down a bit.

So just keep all this mind that what many of us are feeling about Leach (who may very well be a "7-5 coach" like Mullen) is the same thing many of us were feeling about Mullen a decade ago. And 10 years from now when we lose a road game we thought we would win and everyone gets nostalgic about the Leach days, bump this post.

Maybe it is not the coach that is, "a," 7 - 5 but the program that is, "a," 7 - 5.

[State82]

Maybe it is not the coach that is, "a," 7 - 5 but the program that is, "a," 7 - 5.

Well, that sums it up about as well as any single sentence could.

[Catfish]

Maybe it is not the coach that is, "a," 7 - 5 but the program that is, "a," 7 - 5.

You're exactly right.

[WhiskeyPirate]

There is a poster on another board that claimed all college football success and rankings are directly tied to revenue. He documented and diagrammed program monetary wealth and on the field success......he was 100% correct. There is a really strong correlation.


There are outliers but the higher up the rankings you go the fewer they are. It also ties in with tradition and blue bloods so to speak.

[Quaoarsking]

There is a poster on another board that claimed all college football success and rankings are directly tied to revenue. He documented and diagrammed program monetary wealth and on the field success......he was 100% correct. There is a really strong correlation.


There are outliers but the higher up the rankings you go the fewer they are. It also ties in with tradition and blue bloods so to speak.

We need to figure out how to double the population of Mississippi, with sports fans who are unaffiliated in college football fandom, preferably people with money and high school age kids who want to stay close to home.

[Saltydog]

I love Dan Mullen. If we ever need a new coach, he's absolutely my first call and we should give him whatever it takes to get him back. However, I think a lot of us are forgetting how his tenure actually went.

First off, he finished 69-46 as our coach. That includes 5-2 in bowls, so 64-44 in regular season games. Over 9 seasons, that averages out to 7.1-4.9. So when people attack Leach as a "7-5 coach" and wish for Mullen back, that doesn't make much sense.

Secondly, people saying "I want the early Mullen back, not the late Mullen back" are forgetting how much ... dissatisfaction Mullen had here in 2010 through 2013. Go back and check old threads from here and SPS and see.

• 2010 - It turned out to be a really good year, 9-4, ranked #15 in the final poll, a blowout win over Michigan. But people were pretty crushed that we lost a winnable game to Cam Newton in game 2 and then were very flat in Baton Rouge the next week. A lot of people wrote the season off already after that, although beating Georgia in game 4 calmed us down. Even after we beat Florida, we had very close wins over UAB and Kentucky that made people question him again.
• 2011 - We began the season ranked, and had almost everyone back. A lot of people predicted we'd win 8 or 9 games, and Coach34 himself said we'd win 10. Instead, we limped to 6-6, and even that was just because Ole Miss and Kentucky were awful. Huge disappointment of a season.
• 2012 - Started out 7-0, to finish 8-5. People were pretty brutal on Mullen at the end of the year, especially after losing the Egg Bowl.
• 2013 - Never really got much going, and were 5-6 headed to the Egg Bowl with a huge chunk of the Internet fanbase wanting him fired. Then Dak had his miracle comeback in the Egg Bowl and that died down a bit.

So just keep all this mind that what many of us are feeling about Leach (who may very well be a "7-5 coach" like Mullen) is the same thing many of us were feeling about Mullen a decade ago. And 10 years from now when we lose a road game we thought we would win and everyone gets nostalgic about the Leach days, bump this post.

Well considering Leach had an overall losing record coming into this year he would have to win 10 games this year to avg 7-5 and that ain't happening so that blows that theory to start with.

[Quaoarsking]

Well considering Leach had an overall losing record coming into this year he would have to win 10 games this year to avg 7-5 and that ain't happening so that blows that theory to start with.

Mullen didn't average 7.1 per regular season after just 3 years, he built it up later.

He had 19 regular season wins after 3 years. Leach is currently at 12, and probably won't make it to 19 this year, though he probably would if he had the 3 gimme non conference games canceled in 2020.

Point remains that if we give Leach 9 years, he'll win as much as Mullen did.

[Goldendawg]

He beat the OOC teams and usually the SEC teams were supposed to beat for 4-0 OOC and 3 to 4 SEC wins against teams comparable to us. Had a horrible record against ranked teams and poor recruiter. Didn't win with FL recruits and loyal to Hev and Country Club almost to the end. Don't forget Holloway up the middle and too much QB draw and not playing the best players. Days of developmental programs are over unless you can play NIL/portal. He could have quit late season job search, stayed focused and have the first status of himself outside the stadium. Just no for 2.0. BTW, in today's PC world, could Megan still slobber all over the players as they existed the bus for the Bulldog walk? Asking for a friend.***

[Goldendawg]

Mullen didn't average 7.1 per regular season after just 3 years, he built it up later.

He had 19 regular season wins after 3 years. Leach is currently at 12, and probably won't make it to 19 this year, though he probably would if he had the 3 gimme non conference games canceled in 2020.

Point remains that if we give Leach 9 years, he'll win as much as Mullen did.

I'm 67 and not sure I can give Leach 9 more years, but Hail State Always!

[Commercecomet24]

Mullen didn't average 7.1 per regular season after just 3 years, he built it up later.

He had 19 regular season wins after 3 years. Leach is currently at 12, and probably won't make it to 19 this year, though he probably would if he had the 3 gimme non conference games canceled in 2020.

Point remains that if we give Leach 9 years, he'll win as much as Mullen did.

Yep and Dan was actually blessed with a roster full of nfl players when he took over. 20 players on 2009-2010 we're on nfl rosters, so one might say Dan underachieved a little.

[FISHDAWG]

I love Dan Mullen. If we ever need a new coach, he's absolutely my first call and we should give him whatever it takes to get him back. However, I think a lot of us are forgetting how his tenure actually went.

First off, he finished 69-46 as our coach. That includes 5-2 in bowls, so 64-44 in regular season games. Over 9 seasons, that averages out to 7.1-4.9. So when people attack Leach as a "7-5 coach" and wish for Mullen back, that doesn't make much sense.

Secondly, people saying "I want the early Mullen back, not the late Mullen back" are forgetting how much ... dissatisfaction Mullen had here in 2010 through 2013. Go back and check old threads from here and SPS and see.

• 2010 - It turned out to be a really good year, 9-4, ranked #15 in the final poll, a blowout win over Michigan. But people were pretty crushed that we lost a winnable game to Cam Newton in game 2 and then were very flat in Baton Rouge the next week. A lot of people wrote the season off already after that, although beating Georgia in game 4 calmed us down. Even after we beat Florida, we had very close wins over UAB and Kentucky that made people question him again.
• 2011 - We began the season ranked, and had almost everyone back. A lot of people predicted we'd win 8 or 9 games, and Coach34 himself said we'd win 10. Instead, we limped to 6-6, and even that was just because Ole Miss and Kentucky were awful. Huge disappointment of a season.
• 2012 - Started out 7-0, to finish 8-5. People were pretty brutal on Mullen at the end of the year, especially after losing the Egg Bowl.
• 2013 - Never really got much going, and were 5-6 headed to the Egg Bowl with a huge chunk of the Internet fanbase wanting him fired. Then Dak had his miracle comeback in the Egg Bowl and that died down a bit.

So just keep all this mind that what many of us are feeling about Leach (who may very well be a "7-5 coach" like Mullen) is the same thing many of us were feeling about Mullen a decade ago. And 10 years from now when we lose a road game we thought we would win and everyone gets nostalgic about the Leach days, bump this post.

Thread winner right here ... when I look backwards I see continuing improvement... it takes more than 3-4 years to climb the cellar stairs ... but if Mark Stoops can do it at Kentucky then I think Leach can do it here

[Goldendawg]

Yep and Dan was actually blessed with a roster full of nfl players when he took over. 20 players on 2009-2010 we're on nfl rosters, so one might say Dan underachieved a little.

Dan was ahead of his time. He was a "quiet quitter" and we didn't know for most of his tenure.

[Commercecomet24]

Dan was ahead of his time. He was a "quiet quitter" and we didn't know for most of his tenure.

Man the dude could've done so much better here than he did. He left wins on the field just about the end of every year because of his job hunting and he bailed on the 2018 team that had a real chance to compete to play in Atlanta and beyond. Really don't like the guy.

[Goldendawg]

Man the dude could've done so much better here than he did. He left wins on the field just about the end of every year because of his job hunting and he bailed on the 2018 team that had a real chance to compete to play in Atlanta and beyond. Really don't like the guy.

Despite the wheels coming off the last couple of years Jackie will always be my favorite MSU coach, until someone else carries back to Atlanta. He is a Bulldog and made us believe we could win and we often did in the beginning and middle of his MSU years. Hail Jackie! Hail State!