Leach Passing (RIP) = USM hiring Ellis Johnson?

[L4Dawg]

Considering the money we can pay, we can get a good coach with credentials. When you make $5mil/year with a $15mil buyout, not many coaches, that we can get, are going to worry about only getting one or two years. Plus football coaches are overflowing with self confidence. I think coaches these days expect to only be at a program a couple of years, if not successful or uber successful.

We've only gotten "name coaches" in my memory (I'm also 60). Our most successful coach came to us as a young, but experienced and successful, OC. When we hired Leach, the rumor was that Sark (then at Bama IIRC) lobbied for our job.

It's not only money. The only real name coaches I can remember us hiring were JWS, and to a lesser extent Leach. Emory wasnt really one. Felker sure wasn't. Mullen, Lebby, and JoMo had about the same credentials. In fact JoMo might have been slightly better because he had been a successful head coach on a lower level. Tyler was the same. None of them were REALLY name coaches. They had coached UNDER name coaches. Croom dang sure wasn't a name coach. You need to remember that Sark was a totally disgraced ex coach at that time.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

It's not only money. The only real name coaches I can remember us hiring were JWS, and to a lesser extent Leach.

Yes that's the only two (in my memory). Mullen had credentials of winning a natty at UF and coaching a Heisman winner and first overall pick.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

I was behind the Arnett hire to keep the momentum of the season going. He lost me the day he fired the offensive staff. If he would’ve run the defense and took a hands off approach of the offense we would’ve gone bowling last year. We’d also be in much better shape now.

Then the Arnett hire should have never been made. Surely Keenum and whoever else in the athletic department asked him in the interview what he would do with the offensive staff. If they didn't, Keenum needs to go for failing to ask this basic question. If Arnett told him what he was doing to do, then Keenum needs to go for agreeing to nuke the program.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

Its not going to happen though. Too many people love Keenum and think he's great. Keenum loves Selmon. Selmon doesn't want to admit Lebby was a mistake and Lebby doesn't want to fire his buddy.

Other than Keenum, none of them care about Mississippi State. We are a paycheck and a stepping stone.

I'm still not sold that Lebby was a mistake at all. At least not yet. The roster this season was abysmal and I doubt anybody in college football could have done much with it. We will know if Lebby is "the dude" or not after the 2025 season and we see how much improvement come with it. I know we like to ***** about recruiting, but his class is ranked 22 on this site and there are three SEC teams behind us. This is by no means a "bad" recruiting class compared to some we have had in the past.

I still think teams like Kentucky and Arkansas will pass us and leave us second to last in the SEC before its all said and done. We shall see.