CFB coaching carousel

Joe Glenn was one of Stitt's mentors and he flamed out pretty quickly at Wyoming. I think he'd be perfect at a school like Air Force.

 

I think the problem with bringing in a guy like Stiitt is always how well he can recruit.

 

I don't think you are setting the bar very high when you compare those towns to Lawrence.

I also think the problem with Kansas is the lack of in-state talent. You have two schools chasing talent in a state with a population of just over two million. A successful coach would have to find a recruiting base out of state. I guess that would be Texas but there are a lot of schools in that state to compete with.

 

The biggest reason Mangino was successful was he started getting the in-state guys, the Jake Sharps and Kerry Meiers, K-State had been getting for a decade and he was able to identify the underrated 2-star recruits from Texas, Reesing, Talib, Anthony Collins, etc.

 

The classic path to building talent on a losing team is to get the best local kids you can, to identify and recruit under-rated talent, to coach up lesser rated kids. You grab guys who got hurt and bigger teams backed off of, or who are marginal academically, or have had conduct/character issues, and you work with and monitor them.

Start to win more and then you can begin to attract better recruits over time.

 

Lawrence is "a close second" to Austin? Wow. It might be the second-best college town in the Big 12, but IMO, that's a pretty big drop.

That's like saying Knoxville or Gainesville is a close second to Athens in the SEC.

 

And what bank would that be? The First Bank of East Central Nowhere? Unless I'm missing something, Mississippi State doesn't have the heavy hitters necessary to make that happen. Even if they do, why would anybody stay in that state if escape is possible? Building a program in Starkville is an arduous process that cannot be sustained.

 

Mullen is making about $3.2 mil a year. I would not be surprised to see him get an extension worth about $4 million a year during or after this season.

Can Florida or Michigan pay more? Of course.

As of right now, there are only three coaches making $5 million or more a season and 15 making $4 million or more. I think MSU could get Mullen to $4 million a year, but I don't know if they could get him to $5 million.

I'm not sure Florida wants Mullen and I'm not sure Mullen wants to go there. Mullen worked for Meyer and they're still tight and Meyer and Foley don't get along. Obviously, it's a better job than Mississippi State, but who knows how much rebuilding is involved there. Florida fans aren't known for being patient.

I think if Michigan focuses on Miles more than Harbaugh, they might get him.

 

The thing about MSU and other schools is there just aren't enough MSU fans and regional corporate support to make it a good deal for MSU.
Alabama and Michigan football are economies unto themselves between sponsorships, merchandise and media - doesn't matter how big MSU gets, they are still boxed in by Alabama, LSU and Tennessee and there just aren't enough people to fuel that kind of commitment.
MSU could give Mullen one hell of an extension though - 10 years at $4 mill per.

 

I think that's probably what is most likely to happen. He won't get the kind of $$$ that Saban, Stoops, Strong, Sumlin and Meyer have, but he'd get a longer deal, maybe not 10 years, but possibly seven.

As rich as Florida and Michigan are, they're not paying much more than $5 mil a year for Mullen. Michigan might go higher than that for Miles or Harbaugh, but not a guy like Mullen who has never had a 10-win season or been in a major bowl.

 

Mullen has recruited and coached up his kids. He's taken Miss. St. to #1 in the SEC West. That's a proven level of competency, and it will get him looked at for jobs. Miss. St. will have to pony up or risk losing him.

That said, he's a good solid flavor of the month, not an proven elite hire. Frankly, he'd be smart to take his big raise and contract extension, take the occasional bump in his contract when some other school comes sniffing around, and keep working what he's got. He's got a good solid thing going. The worst that can happen is he makes $4m for several years, falls off some, and then gets run off with a fat buyout.

If he does get an elite offer, all bets are off. Misstake is still in Starkvegas.

 

I think he stays. I don't think Florida is looking at him. Obviously, he'll be considered for other jobs, but I'm not sure Michigan makes a ton of sense.

Mullen was Meyer's right-hand man in Utah and at Florida. I think they were even at Bowling Green together and everything I read indicates the two are still very close. Meyer and Foley HATE each other. I think the only assistant from the Meyer Era who would be considered at Florida would be Charlie Strong because he was on UF's staff before Meyer was. But I'd be stunned if he left Texas after one season, even though Longhorn fans might not be too sad if he did.