3 questions on Miles firing...

[thekimmer]

1. Was the timing bad? Most firings take place at the end of the season. A few happen in the latter part of the season. Not many happen in after week 4. Especially a guy who averaged 10 wins a season over 11 years and went to a bowl game every one of those years, won 3 division titles and went to the NC game twice. How does this hurt the tigah's chances of landing a top coaching prospect? Does LSU pay the Stansbury price for this action? Should they?

2. Does this provide any kind of wake-up call for Mullen? Does it give stricklin or whomever is in the corner office a precedence to move on if this season goes in the toilet? Sure we are on a way different plane than LSU but still....

3. Does the ogre get a legit shot to be perm HC? For the second time Ed Ogeron finds himself as an interim HC after a mid-season firing. If he can muster this team into 8-9 wins, which isn't too far fetched, does he get a shot at the perm job or would he once again get the short shrift?

 

[Drebin]

1. Was the timing bad? Most firings take place at the end of the season. A few happen in the latter part of the season. Not many happen in after week 4. Especially a guy who averaged 10 wins a season over 11 years and went to a bowl game every one of those years, won 3 division titles and went to the NC game twice. How does this hurt the tigah's chances of landing a top coaching prospect? Does LSU pay the Stansbury price for this action? Should they?

2. Does this provide any kind of wake-up call for Mullen? Does it give stricklin or whomever is in the corner office a precedence to move on if this season goes in the toilet? Sure we are on a way different plane than LSU but still....

3. Does the ogre get a legit shot to be perm HC? For the second time Ed Ogeron finds himself as an interim HC after a mid-season firing. If he can muster this team into 8-9 wins, which isn't too far fetched, does he get a shot at the perm job or would he once again get the short shrift?

1. Someone else said it and I agree - he had to go now. If he went on a run and finished the season strong, they would have another situation like last year, and they don't want that again.
2. No. Mullen isn't going anywhere, even if he wants to.
3. No. They are swinging for the fences and will go after a big name, as they should. They will pretend to show interest in Ogre, but they are looking at someone like Hermann, Shaw, Stoops, Fisher, etc.

All my opinions, of course.

 

[Joe Schmedlap]

I hope it's Stoops

 

[was21]

Re: Miles. To paraphrase a quote from Jeremy Foley: " If a something is inevitable, it's best to go ahead and do it now"

 

[olblue.sixpack]

1. Someone else said it and I agree - he had to go now. If he went on a run and finished the season strong, they would have another situation like last year, and they don't want that again.
2. No. Mullen isn't going anywhere, even if he wants to.
3. No. They are swinging for the fences and will go after a big name, as they should. They will pretend to show interest in Ogre, but they are looking at someone like Hermann, Shaw, Stoops, Fisher, etc.

All my opinions, of course.

If they are afraid that LSU would go on a run, why did they bring him back in the first place? Would they not face a similar situation with O The Coach at the helm. Surely, nobody in their right mind down there thinks he is a long term solution. Plus, what would make anyone think they were about to go on a run with the schedule they face in the next two months?

Of course we are talking about King "Sonny Drysdale" Alexander trying to run the show there, so anything is possible.

 

[BossDawg78]

2. Does this provide any kind of wake-up call for Mullen? Does it give stricklin or whomever is in the corner office a precedence to move on if this season goes in the toilet? Sure we are on a way different plane than LSU but still....

Nerp. MSU doesn't keep it real like that. We have to wait until the head coach has done as much damage as possible.

 

[Drebin]

If they are afraid that LSU would go on a run, why did they bring him back in the first place? Would they not face a similar situation with O The Coach at the helm. Surely, nobody in their right mind down there thinks he is a long term solution. Plus, what would make anyone think they were about to go on a run with the schedule they face in the next two months?

Of course we are talking about King "Sonny Drysdale" Alexander trying to run the show there, so anything is possible.

I think they had to bring him back last year.

The news of them talking to Fisher got out, and led to him withdrawing his name. They had a PR mess on their hands. With all their talent coming back, there was maybe an outside chance of them having a big year - and Miles had promised to open up the offense.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

1. Was the timing bad? Most firings take place at the end of the season. A few happen in the latter part of the season. Not many happen in after week 4. Especially a guy who averaged 10 wins a season over 11 years and went to a bowl game every one of those years, won 3 division titles and went to the NC game twice. How does this hurt the tigah's chances of landing a top coaching prospect? Does LSU pay the Stansbury price for this action? Should they?

2. Does this provide any kind of wake-up call for Mullen? Does it give stricklin or whomever is in the corner office a precedence to move on if this season goes in the toilet? Sure we are on a way different plane than LSU but still....

3. Does the ogre get a legit shot to be perm HC? For the second time Ed Ogeron finds himself as an interim HC after a mid-season firing. If he can muster this team into 8-9 wins, which isn't too far fetched, does he get a shot at the perm job or would he once again get the short shrift?

No to all three.
1. No, the timing was not bad. If it was, it's because it was too late and should have happened last November. LSU will not be scrambling for a coach.
2. No. Mullen can have three straight losing seasons and he'll still be "the guy who led poor little Missippi State out of the wilderness."
3. No, but I think LSU does their best to retain him and give him a raise.

 

[John Lorry]

1. I don't think the timing is all that bad. It allows them to get in front of the hiring process and leaves no chance that Miles could stitch together a reason for another average season. I think Miles was given an ultimatum at the end of last season - the Wisconsin game proved nothing had changed and Auburn was the nail in the coffin. What Miles did with LSU is somewhat criminal when you consider LSU probably has more talent than anyone else in the country, a stadium with 100,000+ capacity and elite facilities, and insane fan support, etc.

1. a. First of all, MSU and LSU are incommensurable. If LSU runs a good hiring process, LSU will end up with an elite/very promising coach, e.g., Jimbo Fisher, Gary Patterson, Dabo Swinney. They can pay as much as anyone in the country and are loaded with talent, have top 10 facilities, and recruiting is somewhat on autopilot with LA and somewhat with TX. Just because Miles had an outstanding overall career at LSU and was fired due to recent performance does not mean that interest in the job will be affected by Miles' seemingly abrupt termination in my view. Just like people will always apply to Harvard because its Harvard, no matter the slim chances of admission or difficulty, elite coaches will be interested in the LSU job regardless of the extremely high expectations and insane competition in the SEC West. The best attracts the best.

2. No, not to me at least. Again, comparing LSU and MSU in this context is apples and oranges. I know that there are a lot of vocal minority types on here that want to fire Mullen, but I think those in charge recognize Mullen's achievements and performance and, most importantly, they reconcile that with perspective where MSU was and how MSU has progressed since Mullen arrived.

3. Almost certainly not. I don't know how competent the LSU search committee is, but I can't see them settling for Orgeron. That would be a monumental mistake.

 

[msstatelp1]

1. Timing was bad only because he never should've made it to this season .He was a dead man walking .

2. Nope. We won't pull the trigger due to money or press or something . I hope DM gets things turned around but I don't know if his heart is in it .

3. Nope .The only way EO becomes full time head coach is if everyone else turns them down .

 

[Dawgzilla]

If they are afraid that LSU would go on a run, why did they bring him back in the first place?

Its the Tommy Bowden principle. I know a big time booster at Clemson. They kept wanting to fire Tommy Bowden, and then every year he would do just enough to save his job. So, finally they decided the next time he started out the season poorly, they would go ahead and fire him midseason so he wouldn't have a chance to save his job again. Sure enough, in 2008 they fired him after 6 or 7 games.

Same principle here. Miles managed to get the fans on his side last year and saved his *** by beating A&M. They didn't want that controversy again. Get him out, and now no one lobby to save him.

 

[thekimmer]

Is that the reason few of our most successful coaches have winning records?....

1. I don't think the timing is all that bad. It allows them to get in front of the hiring process and leaves no chance that Miles could stitch together a reason for another average season. I think Miles was given an ultimatum at the end of last season - the Wisconsin game proved nothing had changed and Auburn was the nail in the coffin. What Miles did with LSU is somewhat criminal when you consider LSU probably has more talent than anyone else in the country, a stadium with 100,000+ capacity and elite facilities, and insane fan support, etc.

1. a. First of all, MSU and LSU are incommensurable. If LSU runs a good hiring process, LSU will end up with an elite/very promising coach, e.g., Jimbo Fisher, Gary Patterson, Dabo Swinney. They can pay as much as anyone in the country and are loaded with talent, have top 10 facilities, and recruiting is somewhat on autopilot with LA and somewhat with TX. Just because Miles had an outstanding overall career at LSU and was fired due to recent performance does not mean that interest in the job will be affected by Miles' seemingly abrupt termination in my view. Just like people will always apply to Harvard because its Harvard, no matter the slim chances of admission or difficulty, elite coaches will be interested in the LSU job regardless of the extremely high expectations and insane competition in the SEC West. The best attracts the best.

2. No, not to me at least. Again, comparing LSU and MSU in this context is apples and oranges. I know that there are a lot of vocal minority types on here that want to fire Mullen, but I think those in charge recognize Mullen's achievements and performance and, most importantly, they reconcile that with perspective where MSU was and how MSU has progressed since Mullen arrived.

3. Almost certainly not. I don't know how competent the LSU search committee is, but I can't see them settling for Orgeron. That would be a monumental mistake.

We are so grateful for a few good seasons we give em a few years after hitting bottom before pulling the trigger.

 

[Strike.sixpack]

We are so grateful for a few good seasons we give em a few years after hitting bottom before pulling the trigger.

6 straight winning seasons is NOT a few good years. And for reference if Dan doesn't win another game this year and goes 0-12 next season, he will be exactly .500 for his career here. That's still better than our historic average and better than JWS. It would take losing 20 games in a row to just get to .500. And no he wouldn't survive for another afterward's either. Turn in a 2-10 year this year and he is probably gone and I would be ok with that. Coaches don't bounce back from a 2-10 year after they have had success because they have lost the team usually at that point. Just trying to show how absurd some of the downplaying his record is at this point in time.

 

[johnson86-1]

1. Was the timing bad? Most firings take place at the end of the season. A few happen in the latter part of the season. Not many happen in after week 4. Especially a guy who averaged 10 wins a season over 11 years and went to a bowl game every one of those years, won 3 division titles and went to the NC game twice.

Not for them. They've got a guy in Orgeron that can coach out the year and keep them on pace in recruiting. By waiting an extra four games, they weren't blatantly refusing directions from the Governor. Not sure the governor will think this is that much better, but at least they aren't paying for Miles and a big time coach this year. And supposedly this will actually save some buyout money on assistants, as Miles being fired first starts the clock on reducing the buyout of the assistants.

How does this hurt the tigah's chances of landing a top coaching prospect? Does LSU pay the Stansbury price for this action? Should they?

No. They are stacked with talent and are one of the easiest schools to recruit to. Every school with LSU's advantages will come with high expectations.

2. Does this provide any kind of wake-up call for Mullen? Does it give stricklin or whomever is in the corner office a precedence to move on if this season goes in the toilet? Sure we are on a way different plane than LSU but still....

No. as you said, we are on a different level from LSU. We can't (and shouldn't) fire Mullen midseason. Even if Mullen continues with his current performance (which would put us at probably 4 wins on the year), the desirability of our HC job will go down in some eyes if we fire him even at the end of this year. May not matter depending on what prospects are available, but it does make firing Mullen at the end of this season a little riskier.

3. Does the ogre get a legit shot to be perm HC? For the second time Ed Ogeron finds himself as an interim HC after a mid-season firing. If he can muster this team into 8-9 wins, which isn't too far fetched, does he get a shot at the perm job or would he once again get the short shrift?

He'll get the short end of teh stick. The problem for him is that he makes the most sense for a program that can afford to hire the best X's and O's coordinators, and the programs that can afford to do that don't have to settle for a head coach that is weak on X's and O's.

 

[John Lorry]

For starters, we have had very few successful coaches. In the modern era, only JWS and Mullen have achieved any semblance of success.

Instead of comparing MSU to LSU, I think a better approach is to first establish what expectations are reasonable for MSU, which (should) differ greatly from expectations for LSU.

I think sustained success is the best possible "one thing" for dramatically improving the football program long-term. Here, for MSU and taking into account the current state of the SEC (and the West in particular), I define success as having most seasons ending with a 6-6 or better record. In my unqualified opinion, I think that's a reasonable expectation given the competitive state of the SEC right now, MSU's available resources (or lack thereof compared to other SEC programs), MSU's location, local recruiting pool, in-state competition, etc.

I'm not saying there won't ever be a reason for MSU and Mullen to part ways, but I certainly don't think we're there now.

I suspect that quite a few people disagree with my definition of success for MSU. For those that think MSU can do much more and consistently compete with LSU/Bama/FL/etc., I just don't think that's realistic right now.

 

[Moe Cabelle]

That's just ******* bull ****. Right now, we are 4 games into what many thought was a rebuilding year. We are one game down from where we expected to be, right on the tails of two of our best seasons back to back ever.

If you're perspective is that we are hitting bottom right now, then you are being unreasonable. Now, for my part... everyone's entitled to their opinion. But the more this talk and BS picks up steam, it only poisons the atmosphere and in time becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. Most guys I know with this opinion, oddly enough, are sitting at home on games days too.