Imagine you had an employee who had served you faithfully for nine years and overall done a good job. If that person received an opportunity with a competing firm to make much more money than you could afford to pay them, what would your reaction be?
Most of us would wish them well, even if it meant some temporary hardship for ourselves finding a replacement and getting them up to speed.
Perhaps that perspective is needed in the torrent of emotions that accompanies modern college football coaching changes. I’m speaking specifically about former Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen, recently departed for Florida, but generally about all the switches. I’m frankly embarrassed by the actions of fans of my alma mater, the University of Tennessee, over the announced hire of former Rutgers coach and current Ohio State assistant Greg Schiano. They unfairly painted him as a party to child molestation because of a tenuous-at-best connection to the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State. The school’s athletic director backed off the hire as a result of the protests.
The Bulldog faithful have thankfully not been as ugly about Mullen’s choice to leave for a bigger school in the SEC, but I have heard some grumbling about how Mullen handled it. Specifically, he gave no mention or appreciation of his time at Mississippi State in his official announcement about going to Florida.
But he did thank Mississippi State in his introductory press conference Monday in Gainesville.
“There was a great administration, great athletic director, great president, and great people there and a great community that embraced and believed in me, and moving forward, I hope, that they continue to have the success that has been built up over the last several years and that they continue to build that program in the right direction,” he said.
What more could you say?
Mullen made $4.5 million at State this past season and received a boost to $6 million per year over six seasons from Florida. Not many of us would turn down a 33 percent raise. And in Mullen’s case it means going back to the school where he won two national championships as offensive coordinator and reuniting with Florida AD Scott Stricklin, who had been at State previously.
I can’t blame Mullen for leaving. At 45, he is in his coaching prime and undoubtedly wants to compete for SEC and national titles. Despite building a consistent winner in Starkville, he was unlikely to be able to do those things there, despite reaching No. 1 for a moment during the memorable fall of 2014.
Overall, Mullen went 69-46 over nine seasons and played in eight bowls. He took a program that was in the absolute pits after the disastrous tenure of Sylvester Croom and made it into a contender, despite playing one of the most difficult schedules in the nation every year in the SEC West.
And you never know if Mississippi State could find someone better. Mullen only finished above fourth in the SEC West once in nine tries and could never seem to make the transition from good to great, even with a star like quarterback Dak Prescott.
The pressure college football coaches face today to win is incredible. It’s a zero-sum game, meaning that for every win one coach gets another gets a loss; the overall record of all the NCAA teams combined is always going to .500 every season. Yet every school’s fan base wants a 10-win season every year. I don’t pity coaches in that situation; in return for facing those absurd expectations regarding young men playing a game, they also make an absurd amount of money, and they know full well what they’re getting into.
Like everything regarding college football today, most of us would be well served to take a step back and remember that it’s not the most important thing in our lives.
