Jackson Jambalaya

Papa was a rolling stone.
Were ever he layed his hat was his home.

No wonder he was so calm and had that shit eating grin on his face after the egg in your face bowl. I could read his face at the end of the game.... he was gone

Such is the nature of college football. How long was he expected to stay? The days of Joe Paterno, Eddie Robinson, Woody Hayes etc. are long gone. Even modestly successful coaches like Mullen don't stay long. Every intelligent athletic director maintains a working short list he revises each year just in case. If not, his ass is grass. We will now find out if MSU has grass growing in it's athletic dept.

He knows the legal system and NCAA is about to hit State hard for things that he did. He will be safe and State will be holding the bag.

State would do well to hire Les Miles.

Mullen’s legacy: he hardly ever beat a top 20 team that finished in the top 20.

Who cares? The taxpayers will just have to foot the bill for some other overpaid fool who thinks he's above the law. How about this --- the university pays the coach the state max salary and the boosters cover the difference between that and the contract demand. This lets the taxpayer off of the hook for the ridiculous salaries these people demand, and would put quite a dent in the boosters' "recruiting" budget...just a thought.

Now let's see who REALLY cares about the football "progrum." You all need to get a life.

I would imagine those cowbells are enough to shy a lot of people away

coaches are not paid with taxpayer funds. they are paid through foundations that are privately funded. they earn a minimum state salary much like high school coaches and biology professors.

6:54, cowbells are preferable to Klan rallies and burning of AA presidents in effigy on election night.

I must confess, I am laughing at the CL's attempt to make the Egg Bowl rivalry seem worse than the Iron Bowl. No offense, and I really mean no offense, that rivalry doesn't come close to the Bama-Auburn rivalry. Period. It's intense, but that rivalry next door is at another level as in white-hot rage level. Year round.

KF, I agree with your 8:06 PM comment. I think that the Egg Bowl “rivalry” is only just that, a friendly rivalry. The Bama-Auburn rivalry is something akin to the Montague-Capulet level of hatred, only in the Iron Bowl version, two cousins from Bama and Auburn wed and commit suicide via gas inhalation from an 80’s Pontiac Firebird.

attn 4:39 PM If you are that astute, why did you not comment before he quit.? Please share with us where (if) you are employed.

The desperate print media will perpetuate the over the top Egg Bowl rivalry myth to sell papers. The problem is when you have students and athletes buying into the narrative then perception becomes reality.

Absolutely right KF. Bama-Auburn is the most intense rivalry in the country. The only thing in the world one wants more than victory is to see the other destroyed.
It's really a good thing Mississippi does not have a rivalry like that. This state has enough problems without self-destruction at it's only mid-major universities.

It is not enough that I succeed; everyone else must fail.

Mullen is 5-4 against TSUN. No amount of piss and moan from TSUN can change that.

Mullen and his family are carpetbaggers from New Hampshire. College coaches have every right to do their best in the market place, which he is doing. However, trying to promote "family" among many of those players is hurtful, especially when you're trying to develop trust in something they believe in more than anything they've EVER believed in, and you tell them you're not going anywhere, then abandon them. Not good form for any coach. Coaches should keep it purely professional. State fans and players feel used.....but much kudos to Matt Luke.

wait a minute Kingfish, what's this "karma" you speak of that awaits the Bulldogs?

Show me the link where Mullen ever told his players "I'm not leaving". I'll wait.

There IS no karma awaiting the Dogs. That's just a reflection of the TSUN faithful butthurt.

A 69-46 record? What’s so great about that?

Coach Mullen took State , Mississippi State people, to Number 1 in the country and you people are dogging his record and him as a coach. Let's be grateful he gave us that much to cheer about

Kiffin to Starkvegas.

I hear there is a coach named Freeze that might be looking for a job....

6:56 - educate us, how exactly are these coaches compensated? Describe the money trail and then let's talk about the accompanying influence, it's no mystery the lengths these coaches (indentured servants) will go to satisfy their benefactors/masters. What a sewer - I'd rather watch pee-wee hockey than this bullshit.

Attn 8:46, it was inevitable he left. More money. It was a strategic move. Place Scott Strickland at Florida and insure you have a place to go. Yeah, I'm educated. Just not from OM.

Alabama and Auburn's rivalry is intense, because what is always at stake and that's a national championship. Auburn serves primarily as a spoiler to Bama at the end of the year. But for the last decade, that game had National title implications in it.

Ole Miss vs State doesn't compare because usually there's nothing at stake

from Sports Illustrated:

After the Egg Bowl loss, he told reporters that he “plans” on remaining the Mississippi State coach.

“As I said, I’m very, very happy here,” Mullen told reporters, according to the Commercial Dispatch newspaper of Columbus, Miss. “I’m happy with what we’ve built. I think it’s pretty special. I’m fortunate to be the head coach, and [MSU athletic director John] Cohen and [MSU President Mark] Keenum have both told me that they want me to continue to be the head coach here—before the game they did. We’ll see what they say right now. That’s obviously something that I’ll talk with them about in the next coming days, I’m sure. What we’re going to continue to do is build the program in the right direction.”

Yes, Mullen pulled a Tubberville on us and sadly that's what most will remember him by. One thing is for sure, and you can mark it down, Mullen, nor Scott Strickland, will ever grace our Jumbotron to lead a little half time cheer.

How about merging State & Ole Miss? Then you’d see the results everyone desires.

So you are a pretty good lawyer at Brunini. Rainmaker and top trial lawyer. Bennett Williams comes calling and is going to triple your salary, give you clients that you can only dream of in Mississippi. You say yes to that deal and you are now the enemy? Mullen worked wonders for State but now he is persona non grata. Ok.

The Mullen situation boils down to this:

1. Is Mullen the kind of college football coach that wants to win a national championship? If you are an MSU fan, you certainly hope so.

2. If the answer to #1 is "yes," then the next question is whether Mullen believes he can win a national championship at MSU. The answer to that question appears to be "no."

MSU was paying Mullen almost $4.3M/year, and he was certainly in line for a raise and extension after this season. Yes, he will get more dollars from Florida, but that is simply opportunistic. His move was not about the money - it was about joining a program where he believes he can achieve his goal of winning it all.

There are only 20-25 football programs left that have a real shot at winning the national championship, and - sadly - MSU and Ole Miss are not in that number.

KF - don't slap the intellectually challenged hands (readers) that support your blog. Thanks to their short sighted and uninformed state of mind, they rather enjoy gathering on your website to display said lack of intellect.

State fans being state fans, that's all

As an Ole Miss fan who endured the Tuberville saga, I can understand MS State fans’ raw feelings (especially with Stricklin involved). However, there is no doubting that Dan left MSU INFINITELY better than he found it. If he’d left after 3-4 years (as Tuberville did and as Mullen had originally tried), MSU would be in a lesser position than they are right now. He’s proven that you can maintain a consistent and solid program in Starkville.

No institution and no place in the State of Mississippi is a destination for any person in demand on a national level(Not just universities!) At best they can be stepping stones to something better. Mississippi schools do best when they make realistic searches among the talented young men at mid-level schools and offer an opportunity for a rising star as a launching pad. It requires hard work and meticulous research on the part of a talent scout (AD) not just an open checkbook. You're not going to win 10 games every year anyway, so why not have a little patience? MSU should find the smartest, most imaginative young upstart out there and give him a shot in the SEC. You might have the next Saban. If he is, he won't stay anyway, but you get a sweet ride, then go find another one. Good luck Mullen. Now let's move on.

9:30
Mullen was a key part of the coaching staff at Florida that won TWO National Championships. Not his first rodeo. As stated above, he left MSU in FAR better shape than he found it. Good luck to him.

Coaches (all schools) are like high school boys talking to a girl - "You are the one for me, forever" (until a better looking one comes along).

I don't know that Kingfish slapped my hand, but I'm trying to figure out where he got the notion that Mullen has tripled his salary.

Saying "I'm happy here and we plan to continue building the program" is more sensible than answering with, "No comment". Nothing Mullen said resembled Tuberville's "They'll have to carry me out of here in a pine box" comment.

PS: Mullen is getting a divorce. He must be, since his wife said she would never return to Florida and couldn't go to Walt Mart down there without being hooted and harassed.

SEC coaches are as phony as professional wrestling.

I am with 9:05 AM, let's combine the schools and build a new campus in Pelahatchie, call them something like the mudskipper's, gar, or even pollywogs --

So who was this guy and what did he do?