Dan exceeded my expectations as far as hires overall and I don't think it's a stretch to say that this is his best staff that he has put together at MSU in terms of balancing coaching ability and recruiting.

HC/OC- Dan Mullen. Should pass Allyn McKeen in career wins this year with a season like last year and mathematically has a chance to pass Jackie on the all time wins list this year if we go 15-0. Of course, that's not likely but Dan will probably pass him next year in all likelihood. If the next two years are comparable to 2014-2015 you can make an argument that Dan is the best coach we have ever had. Also, his QB development is unquestioned as both Pro Bowl starters this year were developed by him and Nick and Keytaeon appear to be following on the same path as his other QB's. As long as Dan is here, we should be able to legitimately recruit QB's nationally which is huge for us because Mississippi hasn't really produced a top flight SEC QB prospect since Tyler Russell- and yes I think Myles Brennan will be a bust for LSU.

QB- Brett Elliott. This was an expected hire and not really a sexy hire to me. I would have been fine if Dan wanted to coach QB's- but Elliott could be a very underrated hire. He has been an OC twice now and many consider him a rising coaching prospect. His resume' is similar to Brian Johnson and if he turns out like that- that's fine with me. At worst he's Scott Sallach 2.0. His position group is going to be much more star studded than Sallach's though. And I do like the fact that he has play calling experience. Dan obviously let Johnson call some plays and having someone like Elliott that has experience with play calling will free up Dan to do some of the head coaching duties he needs to do. Pretty solid hire.

RB- Greg Knox. I think he gets a lot of flack for Holloway and Shumpert and for Aeris, Lee, and Gibson "not being ready because the excuse of the week". That said, when used properly Holloway was effective. I doubt Knox was telling Dan to run him up the middle. Aeris looks like a very solid RB for us. I think Kylin Hill will be a star in the SEC and even Dontavian Lee looks like at worst a special teams head hunter and at best a guy that can play the Nick Griffen role and FB/RB for us. That's several four star guys and relatively good production out of his group- not to mention he coached Vick Ballard and Josh Robinson who both got into the pros. Verdict- Country Club but I'm OK with him.

WR- Billy Gonzales. He's kind of like Knox but I think he's considered a better overall coach. He has certainly had his misses on the recruiting trail lately- AJ Brown, Stephen Guidry, etc. but he has also brought in Jamal Couch and he landed four star Reggie Todd late in the process. He also has a commitment from one of the best in the state in Malik Heath. He did a great job with Fred Ross who set some school records and will be in the NFL, Gray has been solid even though feel he is out of position most of the time and I think Malik Dear has met expectations so far and will likely get better. He gets the same verdict as Knox- CC but I'm OK with it.

TE (cough assistant o-line cough)- DJ Looney. I like this move a lot. He has been in the SEC before at Georgia as a coach and he played at and loves MSU. I think that's one reason why Matt Luke has recruiting success at Ole Miss- he absolutely loves it there and it comes through in recruiting. That and massive bags of cash of course. My point is, I don't think we've had an assistant like Looney in a few years that was very loyal and tied into MSU and I think we've missed that on the recruiting trail. He also has connections to EMCC which will help balance the Ole Miss presence there after all of their guys go there after not making the NFL. I think he will be an outstanding recruiter and will really help us out on o-line recruiting which is where we've had a lot of trouble. I think he also could be a good coach to boot and despite the title, I think he will help out with the o-line some as well as the TE's of course.

OL- John Hevesy. He has his faults. But I also think he has some value as well. I think he knows a lot about o-line from a technique standpoint. And I think the fact that Dan trusts him a lot and is a good friend of Dan's probably benefits Dan a lot on and off the sideline. Obviously I would have re-assigned him because the fact of the matter in college football is you have to be able to recruit at least at a minimal level. And in the SEC weaknesses are magnified exponentially. But as I said, I am fine with Looney helping him out and by hiring Looney Dan killed two birds with one stone on the recruiting front and also probably landed our o-line coach of the future in Looney. Country Club but it is what it is.

DL- Brian Baker. I thought he did a solid job in recruiting this year- especially with the Aaron Odom saga. Let's be honest- more often than not we would have come out empty handed in the past with that situation. He has NFL experience and while DL was a huge weakness last year, we at the very least appear to have attempted to address it. I think he's pretty solid as a coach. I would give him a B only because his unit was a big weak link last year but I don't think it will last nor do I think it was his fault.

DC/LB- Todd Grantham. He's by far the most qualified DC hire we have had under Dan. I like this move a lot and I hope he becomes Dan's Joe Lee Dunn. He has had success in the SEC and ACC as well as in the NFL. He's a big reason why we got Odom back as well and he helped seal the deal with Willie Gay. I'm excited to see what he brings to the table and I'm excited to see MSU bring in a coach of his caliber. He's also very intense and he gets big time bonus points for going after James Franklin and Heaven help Peter Sirmon if we play Louisville in a bowl. Home run hire by Dan.

CB- Terrell Buckley. Probably the best recruiter on the staff and to be honest I thought he did a very solid job with our corners. Jamal Peters was pretty good for never having played the position before I thought. Graham looked better and Durr was pretty solid and didn't seem to have to make as huge a jump from JUCO to MSU. He also has NFL experience and has gotten us some good players from Florida. My verdict is I think he is a home run hire as a recruiter and an underrated coach on the field.

S- Ron English. This move surprised me. But I think it's a solid move- other SEC teams were looking at him to be a DC and he has been a DC in the Big Ten and a head coach in the MAC. I love his intensity and I fear for Brandon Bryant if he loafs. The only bad thing I see about him so far is he may have a bit of a potty mouth. I can't wait to watch him call Hugh Freeze a shitbird for not hiring him.

K/P (Off the field)- Chris Boniol. At one time I admit that I thought it would be good to have Boniol on the field and after consideration, that would have been a mistake. The fact of the matter is we don't need a coach to make a lot of personal in home visits to kickers. I love the fact that we have a coach that is a former NFL kicking coach on staff because that in and of itself is what we need to attract quality kickers. Kudos to Boniol for landing an Army AA K/P/KO guy. I think we are going to see our kicking fortunes turn around over the next couple of years.

The Mystery 10th assistant coach- Brad Peterson/Tony Grantham/????????? I think this will be interesting to see how Dan plays this. Peterson has been rumored to have been promised an on the field job. But maybe not. Grantham has been rumored to also be the extra coach- but if that was the case, wouldn't Dan have put him on the staff as an analyst or something? And maybe Dan will and it hasn't been announced yet. Or maybe Dan goes a totally different direction. It will be interesting to see.

At any rate I'm very excited to see this staff and what happens going forward.