December 11, 2008

Live from Starkville... its the Dan Mullen Show!

You gotta hand it to Mississippi State. Not only did the Bulldogs get the coach they wanted, but they're rolling out Dan Mullen in a traveling roadshow - spread across four cities today - to introduce the new coach. (And if you can't catch Coach Mullen in a city near you, you catch watch the whole gosh darn thing on the google machine!)

So... who's Dan Mullen?

The 36-year-old Mullen has served under current Gators head coach Urban Meyer for the past eight seasons, following Meyer from Bowling Green to Utah and then to Florida. He has spent the past four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida and served as quarterbacks coach while at Bowling Green and Utah as well.

The search for a new coach began one day after the Bulldogs ended the 2008 season with a 45-0 loss to arch-rival Ole Miss when Sylvester Croom announced his resignation. Croom spent five years at the helm and guided the Bulldogs to a record of 21-38, including just 4-8 this past season.

Mississippi State had just one winning season under Croom, an 8-5 finish last year that included a victory over UCF in the Liberty Bowl.

So what's the reaction over at the University of Florida, where the team is... oh... just preparing for a little football game coming up?

The best of the Gator Blogs -- Orange and Blue Hue -- says that the breakup of the UF staff was inevitable, but the timing does kinda suck.

We all knew he’d move along sooner than later. Competing for two national championships in 3 years was sure to shatter this coaching staff. It is the natural order of things.

...

The timing is rather bad; this will be a distraction as the Gators prepare for Oklahoma. It also portends poorly for Tebow’s return to Florida as he is closer with Mullen than anyone else on the coaching staff. I am personally of the opinion that Tebow needs to return regardless of how anticlimactic it would be if Florida won another national championship; he needs a year of solid NFL prep. As it stands, I’m not sure he’d be drafted in the top 2 rounds as a quarterback.

Saurian Sagacity calls it a distraction.

Mullen leaving is definitely a distraction, but having it happen on December 10th allows the staff plenty of time to deal with the situation and put it behind them before the game-plan is developed. Now with being said, if Mullen “poaches” a couple of coaches from the staff, I fear that may be too tough to overcome.

And EDSBS channels Baghdad Bob, saying there is no distraction.

He is a superb hire who may do this strange and potentially frightening thing called “scoring points.” Be not afraid, People of the Cowbell. This is permitted under NCAA by-laws.

Will this be a distraction before the national title game? OF COURSE NOT. Look! A BABY SEAL AWWWWW!!!!!

The real question behind the Mullen hire has less to do with Florida, and much more to do with Mississippi State. There's no question that Mullen is a great offensive coach, but will he be able to recruit players who can execute in his system... or will he have to water down a spread option to the point that it becomes much less of a spread with hardly any options?

Past successes in Starkville have been few and far between. Croom did a hell of a job in building something out of the tarpit that was left for him, but with Houston Nutt up the road at Ole Miss... things aren't going to get any easier for the Bulldogs, that much is certain.

I like the hire. I don't know how it will translate for the Bulldogs, who seem rather destined to hang around the top of the bottom half of the SEC. But... it's a new coach and a new day in Starksville. And Tupelo. And Meridian. And Jackson.

Hey, everybody! It's the Dan Mullen Show!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments:

Live from Starkville... its the Dan Mullen Show!
You gotta hand it to Mississippi State. Not only did the Bulldogs get the coach they wanted, but they're rolling out Dan Mullen in a traveling roadshow - spread across four cities today - to introduce the new coach. (And if you can't catch Coach Mullen in a city near you, you catch watch the whole gosh darn thing on the google machine!) So... who's Dan Mullen?
The 36-year-old Mullen has served under current Gators head coach Urban Meyer for the past eight seasons, following Meyer from Bowling Green to Utah and then to Florida. He has spent the past four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida and served as quarterbacks coach while at Bowling Green and Utah as well. The search for a new coach began one day after the Bulldogs ended the 2008 season with a 45-0 loss to arch-rival Ole Miss when Sylvester Croom announced his resignation. Croom spent five years at the helm and guided the Bulldogs to a record of 21-38, including just 4-8 this past season. Mississippi State had just one winning season under Croom, an 8-5 finish last year that included a victory over UCF in the Liberty Bowl.
So what's the reaction over at the University of Florida, where the team is... oh... just preparing for a little football game coming up? The best of the Gator Blogs -- Orange and Blue Hue -- says that the breakup of the UF staff was inevitable, but the timing does kinda suck.
We all knew he’d move along sooner than later. Competing for two national championships in 3 years was sure to shatter this coaching staff. It is the natural order of things. ... The timing is rather bad; this will be a distraction as the Gators prepare for Oklahoma. It also portends poorly for Tebow’s return to Florida as he is closer with Mullen than anyone else on the coaching staff. I am personally of the opinion that Tebow needs to return regardless of how anticlimactic it would be if Florida won another national championship; he needs a year of solid NFL prep. As it stands, I’m not sure he’d be drafted in the top 2 rounds as a quarterback.
Saurian Sagacity calls it a distraction.
Mullen leaving is definitely a distraction, but having it happen on December 10th allows the staff plenty of time to deal with the situation and put it behind them before the game-plan is developed. Now with being said, if Mullen “poaches” a couple of coaches from the staff, I fear that may be too tough to overcome.
And EDSBS channels Baghdad Bob, saying there is no distraction.
He is a superb hire who may do this strange and potentially frightening thing called “scoring points.” Be not afraid, People of the Cowbell. This is permitted under NCAA by-laws. Will this be a distraction before the national title game? OF COURSE NOT. Look! A BABY SEAL AWWWWW!!!!!
The real question behind the Mullen hire has less to do with Florida, and much more to do with Mississippi State. There's no question that Mullen is a great offensive coach, but will he be able to recruit players who can execute in his system... or will he have to water down a spread option to the point that it becomes much less of a spread with hardly any options? Past successes in Starkville have been few and far between. Croom did a hell of a job in building something out of the tarpit that was left for him, but with Houston Nutt up the road at Ole Miss... things aren't going to get any easier for the Bulldogs, that much is certain. I like the hire. I don't know how it will translate for the Bulldogs, who seem rather destined to hang around the top of the bottom half of the SEC. But... it's a new coach and a new day in Starksville. And Tupelo. And Meridian. And Jackson. Hey, everybody! It's the Dan Mullen Show!!!!!!!!!!!!