I am just not so sure that a pirate who likes to hang out in Key West wlll be good fit in the Baptist culture of Starkville, Mississippi. John Cohen the Mississippi State AD said that his program is blue collar which plays hard nosed football and has to outwork their rivals who have more resources than they do. So what did he do? He goes out and hires 58 year old Mike Leach the poster boy for the air raid offense. I am not so sure how Leach is going to do against SEC West defenses like Alabama, Auburn, LSU week in and week out. I don't see how you can get anywhere in the SEC without playing defense and being able to run the ball.
Mullen was able to have success in Starkville based on his football philosophy, his energy, his clean cut demeanor, his confident yet also humble nature. That speaks to Mullen's ability as a football coach. But even Dan Mullen could not supplant Jackie Sherrill in the eyes of many of the MSU faithful. Of course, the Bulldogs were ticked off and bitter when Mullen returned to Gainesville.
Mississippi State football trolls Dan Mullen by honoring Jackie Sherrill
I think Cohen's hire of Leach was more of a counterpunch to the hiring of Lane Kiffin by Ole Miss than it was for trying to find the best long term fit for Mississippi State. Think what you want to about the Lane Kiffin hire, but it has just sucked all the air out of sports talking in Mississippi. There's was nothing else left. Cohen had to get his school back in the conversation so he fired his coach and hired Leach. Cohen thought he had hired the right guy when he hired blue collar Joe Moorhead out of the coalfields of western Pennsylvania. I am not so sure he's hired the right guy now. Maybe I'm wrong. We'll see. It's going to be an interesting season in the SEC.