Is Dan going to be Dan this year - or will he take the next step...

[Dawgheadcheese]

There is no doubt that Mullen has had some questionable coaching decisions over the past few years. But he is younger than most head coaches - especially ones that have reached number 1 - and I couldn't be happier with him as the lead Dawg. Here are some things i will be watching out for early on:

1. Protect Dak - Limiting unnecessary hits / wear and tear early in the season (not LSU) in lopsided games. Dan should have a number in mind of how many downs to run him. Last year was too many as evidenced in his play down the stretch. For us to have a shot at finishing 2015 strong, we have to have an LSU '14 performing Dak - not a Alabama '14 performing Dak. Dan has got to get this right.

2. No "brainfart" calls in games - was watching a replay of the Auburn game and it still gives me a migraine when I see us go for that fake punt. One of the craziest calls I have ever seen and i have watched a whole lot of football. I think it was simply a sign of immaturity - the question is, has Mullen learned from this and won't let a crazy call result in a loss that could disrupt the entire season.

3. Not be hardheaded - we all know the importance of the LSU game. He needs to be quicker to make adjustments if things are not going well. For instance, I hope Shumpert comes out on fire and can be a feature back - but I haven't seen evidence of that yet. If Shumpert is being shut down against LSU, will Dan be willing to bring in Dontavian Lee (if he in fact has shown the most potential in practice)? Again, rather than running Prescott to death which goes back to point 1.

[missouridawg]

There is no doubt that Mullen has had some questionable coaching decisions over the past few years. But he is younger than most head coaches - especially ones that have reached number 1 - and I couldn't be happier with him as the lead Dawg. Here are some things i will be watching out for early on:

1. Protect Dak - Limiting unnecessary hits / wear and tear early in the season (not LSU) in lopsided games. Dan should have a number in mind of how many downs to run him. Last year was too many as evidenced in his play down the stretch. For us to have a shot at finishing 2015 strong, we have to have an LSU '14 performing Dak - not a Alabama '14 performing Dak. Dan has got to get this right.

2. No "brainfart" calls in games - was watching a replay of the Auburn game and it still gives me a migraine when I see us go for that fake punt. One of the craziest calls I have ever seen and i have watched a whole lot of football. I think it was simply a sign of immaturity - the question is, has Mullen learned from this and won't let a crazy call result in a loss that could disrupt the entire season.

3. Not be hardheaded - we all know the importance of the LSU game. He needs to be quicker to make adjustments if things are not going well. For instance, I hope Shumpert comes out on fire and can be a feature back - but I haven't seen evidence of that yet. If Shumpert is being shut down against LSU, will Dan be willing to bring in Dontavian Lee (if he in fact has shown the most potential in practice)? Again, rather than running Prescott to death which goes back to point 1.

Limiting the number of runs Dak has is stupid. He needs to run the offense a certain way in order to be most comfortable. I'd hate to have Dak take a bunch of sacks against Auburn because he was scared to scramble because of the run limits in 2 of the first 3 games.

What Dan needs to do, is make sure Dak understands that there are many, many situations in football in which a QB can run and not take a hit. Slide, jump out of bounds, don't lunge for the 1st down if it's 1st or 2nd, that kind of thing...

Everyone hates fake punts when they don't work. Had Richie not fell down, everyone would be excited about our special teams. Remember when Brauchle onside kicked against Auburn in 2011 coming out of the half and it worked? It's risk vs. reward. We all complained about Dan not stepping on the throat of LSU three weeks prior to the Auburn game last year... It appears, to me, that Dan was trying to step on the throat of Auburn and if a player hadn't lost his footing, it would've worked and pushed us even further in front.

The blocking ability of Dontavian Lee will determine his snaps much moreso than the performance of Ashton running the ball. Dan highly values blocking ability with his RB... and this year, it's even more important as the RB will be the last line of defense for a blitzing LB trying to hurt Dak.

[Liverpooldawg]

Yeah, we certainly don't want him to be the same coach that lead us to #1 for the first time in our history.***** Sheesh.

[5 Star]

He's already taken that step. Going 10-2 at a non-elite school in the SEC is top the line. Even Bobby Petrino could not muster better than a 10-2 regular season at a non-elite school. 10-2 in the SEC is like 11-1 in any other conference, so, apply that evenly.

Only certain schools, at present, can muster the resources and talent to win a national championship. For everyone else, what I just stated above applies. Dan Mullen is in that elite level of coaches at this point.

[Dawgheadcheese]

Limiting the number of runs Dak has is stupid. He needs to run the offense a certain way in order to be most comfortable. I'd hate to have Dak take a bunch of sacks against Auburn because he was scared to scramble because of the run limits in 2 of the first 3 games.

What Dan needs to do, is make sure Dak understands that there are many, many situations in football in which a QB can run and not take a hit. Slide, jump out of bounds, don't lunge for the 1st down if it's 1st or 2nd, that kind of thing...

Everyone hates fake punts when they don't work. Had Richie not fell down, everyone would be excited about our special teams. Remember when Brauchle onside kicked against Auburn in 2011 coming out of the half and it worked? It's risk vs. reward. We all complained about Dan not stepping on the throat of LSU three weeks prior to the Auburn game last year... It appears, to me, that Dan was trying to step on the throat of Auburn and if a player hadn't lost his footing, it would've worked and pushed us even further in front.

The blocking ability of Dontavian Lee will determine his snaps much moreso than the performance of Ashton running the ball. Dan highly values blocking ability with his RB... and this year, it's even more important as the RB will be the last line of defense for a blitzing LB trying to hurt Dak.

I'm saying that if Dan runs Prescott as heavy as he did last year, he won't be 100% for the entire season. That is a fact. It is the job of a top tier coach to understand this. Dak can play his game, get his key carries and be just as successful for us and yet have his number of touches managed better. That is what needs to be done.

[Dawgheadcheese]

Yeah, we certainly don't want him to be the same coach that lead us to #1 for the first time in our history.***** Sheesh.

That was a great accomplishment - doesn't mean that he doesn't have glaring room for improvement. And at his pay rate, that is what we should expect. Foolish to think otherwise.

[Dawg61]

Yeah, we certainly don't want him to be the same coach that lead us to #1 for the first time in our history.***** Sheesh.

The original post is a good one. Dan is roughly 5-30 vs ranked teams. If we are to truly take the next step into being a perennial top 20 program it will take Dan being better IN GAME vs the other HC across the field. This is Dan's biggest weakness imo. He doesn't approach games like he himself is about to go toe to toe mentally against the other guy. I want a pissed off with something to prove Mullen in every single game for 60 minutes. Our ceiling is only as high as Dan is willing to fight for.

[Johnson85]

That was a great accomplishment - doesn't mean that he doesn't have glaring room for improvement. And at his pay rate, that is what we should expect. Foolish to think otherwise.

It's not so simple to tweak performance of highly successful individuals. What you see as "glaring room for improvement" are probably decisions that are the result of personality traits and/or ways of thinking that contribute a lot to his overall success. Strengths often come paired with weaknesses and you can't just say, I'll take all the good from having a coach that thinks outside of the box, but just without the decisions taht don't work out. You can't say, I want the disciplien and character of a team that comes from rewarding players who do things the right way on and off the field over the most talented backs, but I'd like that while playing Robinson over Perkins. Not the way the world works.

Not saying Mullen can't or won't improve, just that it's not as easy as you make it sound to improve when you're at the level he's at.

[LC Dawg]

That was a great accomplishment - doesn't mean that he doesn't have glaring room for improvement. And at his pay rate, that is what we should expect. Foolish to think otherwise.

Glaring room for improvement? Come on. Dan Mullen is the best thing that's ever happened to our football team. We were ranked #1 for 5 weeks. We won 10 games and finished ranked 11th. Coach Mullen may make some mistakes but what coach doesn't? Using glaring seems a little over the top to me.

[Dawgheadcheese]

He's already taken that step. Going 10-2 at a non-elite school in the SEC is top the line. Even Bobby Petrino could not muster better than a 10-2 regular season at a non-elite school. 10-2 in the SEC is like 11-1 in any other conference, so, apply that evenly.

Only certain schools, at present, can muster the resources and talent to win a national championship. For everyone else, what I just stated above applies. Dan Mullen is in that elite level of coaches at this point.

We will just disagree. Elite is elite. Elite coaches don't make the kind of basic coaching mishaps made annually by Mullen in his young career. He may or may not become an elite coach - he needs to show improvement each season. And by the way, I am not saying it takes a national championship to be labeled elite. I do agree with your comparison of what a record in the SEC would translate to in any other conference.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

We will just disagree. Elite is elite. Elite coaches don't make the kind of basic coaching mishaps made annually by Mullen in his young career. He may or may not become an elite coach - he needs to show improvement each season. And by the way, I am not saying it takes a national championship to be labeled elite. I do agree with your comparison of what a record in the SEC would translate to in any other conference.

Saban is 1 of the 5 greatest coaches ever but he still makes the same mistakes against spread teams. I understand your point & every coach always can improve.

[5 Star]

We will just disagree. Elite is elite. Elite coaches don't make the kind of basic coaching mishaps made annually by Mullen in his young career. He may or may not become an elite coach - he needs to show improvement each season. And by the way, I am not saying it takes a national championship to be labeled elite. I do agree with your comparison of what a record in the SEC would translate to in any other conference.

There are always things that he could do better. I think he's braindead on special teams, but that could be delegated. Honestly, to amend my previous post, to really be considered in that level of elite coaches, he needs to follow up last year with another 2 loss maximum season (3 if Dak wins the Heisman I guess). Petrino did that, so did Spurrier. Of course, that's pretty good company so if we don't do that, it's not really a slight to Mullen - he's still a very good coach.

In other words, I sort of see your point.

[Dawgheadcheese]

Glaring room for improvement? Come on. Dan Mullen is the best thing that's ever happened to our football team. We were ranked #1 for 5 weeks. We won 10 games and finished ranked 11th. Coach Mullen may make some mistakes but what coach doesn't? Using glaring seems a little over the top to me.

OK, "glaring" was too strong - he has made some "poor decisions". Things he can improve on. When MSU runs a play and every single person watching goes "what the f___", that is not the sign of an elite coach. Against OM, running Dak up the middle on 3rd and forever, that is a WTF moment. When we look at our roster of kickers, that is a WTF moment. When you run a fake punt last year against Auburn, that is a WTF moment.

[SallyStansbury]

It's not so simple to tweak performance of highly successful individuals. What you see as "glaring room for improvement" are probably decisions that are the result of personality traits and/or ways of thinking that contribute a lot to his overall success. Strengths often come paired with weaknesses and you can't just say, I'll take all the good from having a coach that thinks outside of the box, but just without the decisions taht don't work out. You can't say, I want the disciplien and character of a team that comes from rewarding players who do things the right way on and off the field over the most talented backs, but I'd like that while playing Robinson over Perkins. Not the way the world works.

Not saying Mullen can't or won't improve, just that it's not as easy as you make it sound to improve when you're at the level he's at.

This is a thoughtful, in depth post. I think you are correct. Is Dan satisfied with good, or does he aspire to be great? It will be fun to watch this unfold over the next several years because I have been around MSU long enough to as a fan be completely satisfied with "good" but I think Dan is a competitor who wants to be great. I love that in him; we are fortunate to have him as our coach.

[SheltonChoked]

I think some of the hits on Dak in lopsided games will take care of itself. This year we have 2 very promising large QB's that need snaps. Bringing in Staley and Fitz for mop up time will limit Daks runs and keep him fresh for the big games.

I could also envision packages with One of them being the short yardage QB, if they are as good as people think.

[shoeless joe]

Always room to improve but some folks just don't understand the thought process that goes into every single scrutinized game decision. It's never as simple as fans make it seem. And because of that I think the original post is off base.

As mentioned above, Saban is an elite coach...he doesn't make mistakes? Did he take much state to #1? While at Koch state did he not have questionable decisions? This is just one example...there are many more.

[Liverpooldawg]

Shaking my head at this thread. Some of "our" fans can be down right ...............sometimes.

[5 Star]

Shaking my head at this thread. Some of "our" fans can be down right ...............sometimes.

Hey man, never forget 2013. Hud-Gate in full effect. We are just one bad game from that happening again. God forbid we somehow go 6-6 or 7-5 this year.

[DancingRabbit]

Saban had some brain farts at the end of the 2013 Iron Bowl. It happens to the best.

Dan and Dak will learn from last year's shortcomings, but both of them will still make some mistakes this year.

[Liverpooldawg]

Hey man, never forget 2013. Hud-Gate in full effect. We are just one bad game from that happening again. God forbid we somehow go 6-6 or 7-5 this year.

Yeah, and we went 10-2 the next year too. Shaking my head.