It’s a time of big change in the college football coaching ranks.
Some schools, like the SEC’s Arkansas program, have dismissed their coaches already, and some coaches have decided to depart for greener turf.
Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen is perhaps the most notable among these coaches who decided to leave their programs on their own terms.
While many Bulldog fans lament the departure of Mullen as much or more than the crushing Egg Bowl defeat at the hands of Ole Miss this year, this may be the most perfect timing for what many have always considered an inevitable parting of ways between the two.
Mullen is a smart man.
I have spoken to him in a professional capacity on more than one occasion, and he is one of the smartest coaches I have ever met.
While some may question his clock management in the game, I believe Mullen’s timing off the field is impeccable.
This is not the first time a team has tried to lure him away from Starkville. Rumors have swirled at the conclusion of the last few seasons about Mullen potentially leaving the school, but MSU and its alumni have always been able to keep him and his family happy.
This time, though, I don’t think it was about getting a monetary incentive to stay. I’m sure he fielded some lucrative counter offers from the athletic department, but I think his mind was already made up.
And it’s really the best time for both him as a coach and State as a program.
Mullen has compiled 69 wins during his time as head coach at Mississippi State. While his SEC record leaves much to be desired, he’s consistently coached the Bulldogs to between seven and 10 wins a year.
More often than not, MSU is in a bowl game, and on multiple occasions, they were very good bowls.
This year, Mullen leaves State with an 8-4 record going into whatever bowl the team is assigned.
This allows Mullen to choose his own destiny, as he returns to Florida where he once was the team’s offensive and quarterbacks coach during two National Championship runs.
On the other hand, the outstanding record and consistency Mullen has given the MSU program since 2008 has attracted top talent for his replacement.
State announced this week the school will hire Joe Moorhead, current offensive coordinator at Penn State, to replace Mullen.
That deal is done, but fans should not lose sight of the fact that an awful lot of good coaching talent was in the running for that job.
According to reports, Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt was in the running for the job.
Think about that.
The coach that is leading one of the most consistent defensive squads in the country was in line to interview.
Using forwhomthecowbelltolls.com’s list of reported candidates, here’s the rundown of candidates who could have just as easily have been picked as Mullen’s successor.
UAB head coach Bill Clark was also in the running, reports have indicated.
If you don’t know Clark’s story, I suggest you go read about UAB’s recent football history. Clark was hired to take over a dying program school officials were looking to cut three years ago, but he surprised the country by coaching the Blazers to a 6-6 bowl-eligible season.
UAB announced in December 2015 the program would be cut, only to reinstate it after a public outcry and new financial support pledged to the team.
In their first year back in 2017, the Blazers were 8-4 (the same record as Mullen’s Bulldogs) and a 6-2 Conference-USA record.
Another big time defensive coordinator who was also in the mix was Clemson’s Brent Venables.
Venables has been with Clemson since 2012, where the Tigers have won four ACC Atlantic division titles and have averaged just under 12 wins a season.
Appalachian State head coach Scott Satterfield was also reportedly in the running after averaging just under 9 wins a season since 2014, including a Sun Belt championship in 2015.
There’s Toledo head coach Jason Candle.
Candle was hired as full-time coach in 2016 and led Toledo to a 9-4 campaign.
This season, the team finished the regular season 10-2, with a MAC Western division title to go along with that.
And finally there’s Moorhead, who eventually won the job.
He coached an offense to an average of 41.6 points per game in 2017 and led Penn State to a Big Ten championship in 2016.
While some schools will struggle to rebuild after their coach left or was fired, State has the luxury of riding almost a decade of success into 2018 with its new coach.
Now Mullen can ride off into the Sun Belt not feeling one shred of guilt about his decision to leave.
