Bulldog Outlook

John Cohen, Dan Mullen, and of course Rick Stansbury. As of this moment in time, I really do not think our sports teams could be in better hands. One is proven to be a top notch basketball coach and recruiter. Another is proven to be a top notch baseball coach and recruiter. The other is proving right now to be a top notch recruiter and has proven himself to be one of the best offensive minds in all of college football. Two of these coaches have yet to coach a game. Another has won over 200. I will guarantee this though, John Cohen will catch Rick Stansbury some day in the not so distant future. While it is virtually impossible for Mullen to accomplish that, I do expect him to lead us back to the glory days of the '90s.

First off, let us start with the constant. Rick Stansbury has been a feature of Bulldog Basketball since early in Richard William's tenure. While Williams was one heck of a coach, the behind the scenes guy was Stansbury. The guy that put all the recruits together for Williams to coach was mostly Stansbury. He worked his arse off to get top-quality players to come to Starkville. Stansbury played as big a role in getting us to the Meadowlands in '96 as Williams did. And since Williams departure, Stansbury has made us a staple in the national college basketball picture. How did he do that? Recruiting. And if it wasn't for a few guys jumping to the League early then I have no doubt that Rick would have gotten us back to the promise land of March's Madness. I know, I know. Rick has yet to get past the 2nd round. But fellas, let's look at this. In '02, we played Texas in Dallas in the round of 32. '03 we got knocked off by the best mid-major in the tournament in Butler. '04 we ran into the hottest team in the country in Xavier and let's face it, probably not a team on the planet would have beaten the Musketeers on that day. In '05 we drew Duke, in Charlotte. Two words, JJ Redick. And after a 2 year absence and some rebuilding, we played Memphis to the best game they had until the Championship. Honestly, we have just had some bad draws. While Stansbury's teams usually start slow, they always finish strong. Look at this year. We still have a really good shot at making the Dance and an even better shot and defending the West for our 3rd straight title. Put coaching aside for a moment. Would it be possible for us to have a better man leading our program? A family man with three wonderful kids, and a devout-converted Bulldog wife in Meo. If you ask me, our basketball program could not be in any better shape. And if we don't get it done this year, in '09-'10 we could be a contender not only in the conference, but in the national picture as well.

On to Coach Cohen. It was obvious who the choice for our next head baseball coach was gonna be. While Coach Polk wanted Tommy Raffo, much of the Bulldog faithful wanted a proven ex-Bulldog. And can you be more proven than a National Coach of the Year award? I don't think so. Coach Cohen took a perennial loser in Kentucky to the tops of the best baseball conference in the world. He had a couple of top-5 recruiting classes there as well. While he has yet to coach a game in maroon, I don't think there is any doubt that Cohen will lead us back to the national spotlight in baseball. Soon enough, our team will always be a contender for Omaha, if not already. Soon enough, the crowds will flock back to the Dude like the days of old. Soon enough, the SEC will be scrambling to try to catch back up to MSU in baseball like the rest of our conference brethren did throughout the '80s and '90s. I really think we are on to something here. Heck, even after the worse year in recent history, our team looks to be solid this year. We have depth all around the field and the only weakness may be in left-handed pitching depth. We very well could make some noise this year. And if not, then watch out for next year and the year after and the year after, etc. We are going to build a dynasty here. And it starts on Feb. 20. Coach Cohen brings a totally different style of play than did our legend, Ron Polk. This super aggressive style will use baserunning and small ball, combined with the slugging of some power hitters, to put a lot of runs on the scoreboard. Opposition will have to put a lot of runs up to hope to beat us. I'm telling you this, for the first time in a while, I am really excited for baseball season. Things will be vastly different. And without disrespect to Coach Polk, things will be better.

On to the newest member of the group. Dan "the Man" Mullen is taking a football program that has been near the cellar of the SEC since 2001. He replaces Sylvester Croom, a man of character, however, not a FBS (Division I) quality coach. I'm not gonna rant on about Croom's failures, I'll save that for later. What I will discuss is the task ahead of Mullen and my feelings toward the hire. So far, I would give Greg Byrne an A+ on this hire. Yet again, I feel he hit a home run. Dan Mullen's grade so far would also have to be an A+. In a short amount of time, he has put together what looks like a great staff of coaches. He has held a top 20 recruiting class together, of which much credit is due to Croom, Rockey Felker, and Reed Stringer. Since his hiring he has rallied fans around the state and the southeast with his explanations of the spread offense and his talk of consistently having a nationally ranked recruiting class. Before he has even coached a game, Mullen has re-energized much of the distraught Bulldog fanbase. I'm excited about our football program for the first time since the days of Jackie Wayne Sherrill. I actually think we will be back in Atlanta sooner rather than never. I expect this season to be a rebuilding type of year. We are still weak on the offensive line, but we have play makers. Oh, and we will be developing a real quarterback for the first time in my life. Good times are ahead for Mississippi State football. "Dan is the Man" to take us there. Now whether we're a stepping stone or not, doesn't matter to me. All I know is that for Dan to leave, he will have to get us back in the national spotlight. It's only a matter of time now.



Coming Soon: The Croom Years, a baseball season preview, and a Recruitin Wrap-up.