Lets say we beat WMI, Arkansas, and Southern Miss before heading into the OM game...

[mstateglfr]

Thats a record of 5-6.

If we beat Ole Miss, finish .500 for the regular season, and are bowl eligible - will the crazies that want to fire Arnett now be happy enough to give him a 2nd season?
If we lose to Ole Miss, finish 5-7 for the regular season, and end with 1 conference win - will the hesitant who dont like firing a coach after 1 season be willing to jump on board with a new coach search?





There are always people who are willing to take a risk at a historically middling program within a major conference. Maybe they strike gold and are successful, which can be parlayed to better pay and/or a higher profile job in a few years. At worst, they are paid millions and will go back to being an assistant.
But at the same time, I do think the pool of interested and really attractive options is heavily narrowed when the school shows they are willing to fire someone after 1 season and a 5-7 record.

Now if we finish with 3 wins, Croom-style? Well thats another story entirely.

 

[aTotal360]

I wanted to fire him in Tampa.

 

[dawgstudent]

We fired Moorhead after 2 straight bowls and undefeated vs Ole Miss. We then snagged a P5 head coach. So him being 5-7 won't matter. State can afford a top 15 salary.

I do think NIL has changed the SEC for now. The depth of the conference is gone.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

The problem is that 6-6 is our ceiling with a roster that has some pretty good talent. And it's pretty obvious that we have a head coach that doesn't know what he's doing. So it's not really about record.

BUT....that being said, if he beats Ole Miss, our mouth-breathing segment of the fanbase will get in their feelz and make sure that he gets another year. That is what it boils down to.

 

[thatsbaseball]

We fired Moorhead after 2 straight bowls and undefeated vs Ole Miss. We then snagged a P5 head coach.

I do think NIL has changed the SEC for now. The depth of the conference is gone.

Watching the NIL play out in the SEC has been about the most interesting thing about this season so far. It has given me hope that IF/WHEN we hire the right coach we can compete even without the wealth of some of the other schools.

 

[Seinfeld]

I don’t know what it would take for me to want Arnett gone after just one season. I mean, I’m both incredibly disappointed and worried about what we’re seeing, but barring the team just quitting on him, I just don’t like canning a guy, especially a football coach, after one year.

With that said, I am struggling, and I mean REALLY struggling, to find Arnett’s mark on this team. Recruiting? Nope. Attitude and aggression? Nope. A fun, high flying offense? Lol. In other words, where in the hell is this ship headed? With Jans, we saw it last year, and the basketball team may fall flat on their butts this year in true MSU fashion, but we see the direction. Year 1 under Leach was a grind, but we saw glimpses of where we were headed. With this football team, I don’t have any idea as to what we’re trying to be. Everything about it except our freshman kicker is an absolute mess

I guess I say all that to say that Arnett deserves another season to get this right, but my gosh man. There need to be some clear signs of direction next year, and frankly, I don’t know where it’s gonna come from with this roster

 

[Maroon Eagle]

It will be a Keenum decision especially since he hired him.

We fired Moorhead after 2 straight bowls and undefeated vs Ole Miss. We then snagged a P5 head coach.

I do think NIL has changed the SEC for now. The depth of the conference is gone.

Yeah.

I’m thinking that State really couldn’t call Arnett an interim coach given the new realities of NIL.

But coaches are hired to be fired — so in that sense everyone’s an interim — except maybe for Smart and Saban.

 

[Drebin]

Thats a record of 5-6.

If we beat Ole Miss, finish .500 for the regular season, and are bowl eligible - will the crazies that want to fire Arnett now be happy enough to give him a 2nd season?
If we lose to Ole Miss, finish 5-7 for the regular season, and end with 1 conference win - will the hesitant who dont like firing a coach after 1 season be willing to jump on board with a new coach search?





There are always people who are willing to take a risk at a historically middling program within a major conference. Maybe they strike gold and are successful, which can be parlayed to better pay and/or a higher profile job in a few years. At worst, they are paid millions and will go back to being an assistant.
But at the same time, I do think the pool of interested and really attractive options is heavily narrowed when the school shows they are willing to fire someone after 1 season and a 5-7 record.

Now if we finish with 3 wins, Croom-style? Well thats another story entirely.

There's always nuance to these things. I don't think it's as simple as finishing record and how we did in the egg bowl.

How are we playing? Are we showing improvement? Did we make some fundamental changes? Or are we doing the same old stuff and just benefitting from the schedule easing up a bit?

Seeing us completely and totally unprepared in the LSU game is a hard hurdle to overcome, regardless of what else happens. It's a huge red flag. Seeing QBs go 58-66 on passes over the last three games is a huge red flag.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Happy? No. But if we go 6-6, that means we got a lot better, so I'm ok to go another year. Hurts to say that, but with wins over USM and OM, I'll back off.

 

[GloryDawg]

If they fire Arnette, he will leave with a pocket full of money. He will be alright. If he is at 500 at the end of the season, he should be let go. He had too many guys coming back with an average strength schedule.

I like him and hope he turns it around. There is no team left on our schedule we can't beat. They are all average at best. Don't buy into KY beating Florida at home. Florida is a below average team that caught Tenn at the right moment. Tenn is no world beater. I think Bama ends up winning the SEC West. Worst Bama team in 15 years and they are in the driver's seat.

 

[Dawg1976]

I figure he will be back if we go 5-7. But if OM smashes us all bets are off.

 

[knock him out john]

if he is 500 at the end of the year and we beat Ole Miss to get there then he comes back.
He's in over his head though and we will be starting over eventually if he's given another year.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

There's always nuance to these things. I don't think it's as simple as finishing record and how we did in the egg bowl.

How are we playing? Are we showing improvement? Did we make some fundamental changes? Or are we doing the same old stuff and just benefitting from the schedule easing up a bit?

Seeing us completely and totally unprepared in the LSU game is a hard hurdle to overcome, regardless of what else happens. It's a huge red flag. Seeing QBs go 58-66 on passes over the last three games is a huge red flag.

Agree with this. If the game prep and performance on the field improves, then even with a 6-6 record, I could see him coming back, but if they look like the keystone cops for every game and look totally unprepared that he needs to go.

 

[thatsbaseball]

if he is 500 at the end of the year and we beat Ole Miss to get there then he comes back.
He's in over his head though and we will be starting over eventually if he's given another year.

The conundrum here is how should an AD, who appears to be in over his head, handle replacing the head football coach, who is definitely in over his head, when both were hired by a president who is appearing more everyday to be in over his head ????

 

[Drebin]

The conundrum here is how should an AD, who appears to be in over his head, handle replacing the head football coach, who is definitely in over his head, when both were hired by a president who is appearing more everyday to be in over his head ????

I don't think Keenum is in over his head. I think it's possible that he may be distracted. He's involved in a bunch of stuff nationally. And to be honest, every time I hear him talk lately, he sounds like he's prepping for a run for office.

 

[POTUS]

I can't imagine a world where KJ Jefferson, Dart, Ashford/Thorne, & Max Johnson don't all just tear us apart. So I don't think we have to worry about that hypothetical.

 

[grimedawg1]

if he is 500 at the end of the year and we beat Ole Miss to get there then he comes back.
He's in over his head though and we will be starting over eventually if he's given another year.

What must be done eventually must be done immediately. If we think he is in over his head, we need to go get another coach.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

For me if we improve that much over the rest of the year I eould be ok with it but I can't see that happening. Now we have the injury bug coming after us and we did not manage our roster very well so its just a matter of time before these players say 17 it. I was high on this team before the AZ game. Downhill ever since. It's a joke.

 

[00Dawg]

6-6 and I can stomach a return. 5-7 with this roster and schedule is inexcusable, even changing offensive schemes so severely.

We're sitting at 2-3 with a glorified scrimmage and an off-week. Starting this past Saturday night, Arnett and his staff have three weeks to finish perfecting the offensive plays we can execute and come up with a workable plan with the defensive players you have on hand. You need to at least slow down a bad Arkansas team, do the same for an Auburn team that can't pass, and force Kentucky's QB to win the game with his arm (which he might very well do).

If you can't do that, it's time to part ways.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

We fired Moorhead after 2 straight bowls and undefeated vs Ole Miss. We then snagged a P5 head coach. So him being 5-7 won't matter. State can afford a top 15 salary.

I do think NIL has changed the SEC for now. The depth of the conference is gone.

Is it NIL or the portal? I think it's the portal. I still say the driving force behind most of these players' decisions is playing time/fit/coach/etc. Now sometimes that comes with NIL but when you're talking depth.....not so much.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

With that said, I am struggling, and I mean REALLY struggling, to find Arnett’s mark on this team. Recruiting? Nope. Attitude and aggression? Nope. A fun, high flying offense? Lol. In other words, where in the hell is this ship headed? With Jans, we saw it last year, and the basketball team may fall flat on their butts this year in true MSU fashion, but we see the direction. Year 1 under Leach was a grind, but we saw glimpses of where we were headed. With this football team, I don’t have any idea as to what we’re trying to be. Everything about it except our freshman kicker is an absolute mess

This is a great point. Normally we would say that defense/toughness would be his calling card, but he's totally let that go and now he just sits on the sidelines with his arms crossed. That's NOT who he was for the past 3 years.

Does anybody truly feel like we have THAT crappy of defensive talent? Of course not. It's coaching.

It sucks but we said the same things about Croom and Moorhead. Their side of the ball didn't maximize players, and the identity of the program was always shaky with no clear direction, and team appeared slow, out of shape and injury-ridden.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

5-7 with this roster and schedule is inexcusable, even changing offensive schemes so severely.

5-7 or 4-6 is about as good as we can expect with this roster, from the games I've seen so far. Maybe they can improve. But just going on the eye test, we ain't got it talent wise.

 

[FlotownDawg]

My prediction is we scrape out a 5-7 or 6-6 season and he stays. Next season we crater and finish 3-9 or 4-8. He will then be fired and we will move on to our fifth head coach since 2017.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I don't think Keenum is in over his head. I think it's possible that he may be distracted. He's involved in a bunch of stuff nationally. And to be honest, every time I hear him talk lately, he sounds like he's prepping for a run for office.

Dude’s 62.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to retire as President and do something else.

 

[mcdawg22]

Dude’s 62.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to retire as President and do something else.

Ummmm have you seen the ages of our Nationally elected officials? He’s a spring chicken compared to them.

 

[mstateglfr]

We fired Moorhead after 2 straight bowls and undefeated vs Ole Miss. We then snagged a P5 head coach. So him being 5-7 won't matter. State can afford a top 15 salary.

I do think NIL has changed the SEC for now. The depth of the conference is gone.

Ok, I can get behind this as decent reasoning to counter the concern for finding another coach that wants to come and take a job in a middling program that will fire you after one mediocre season.
Good thought.

 

[mstateglfr]

Dude’s 62.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to retire as President and do something else.

I hear 62 is the new 35. Give him a decade, then this country will be ready for a man so young to take office.

 

[Ranchdawg]

I think he's done. LSU's defense is terrible and we had 7 yards on them in the first half. Even Grambling fared better. The defense was non existent in that game. We should have beaten a hapless USCe. Instead, they coasted to an easy win while our offense played out of their heads. We had opportunities against Alabama but . . .
If he wins close or loses to WMU that's it IMHO. I hope Selmon already has a new coach picked out and waiting in the wings. The talent on this team should not be 2-3 at this point.

 

[AstroDog]

Thats a record of 5-6.

If we beat Ole Miss, finish .500 for the regular season, and are bowl eligible - will the crazies that want to fire Arnett now be happy enough to give him a 2nd season?
If we lose to Ole Miss, finish 5-7 for the regular season, and end with 1 conference win - will the hesitant who dont like firing a coach after 1 season be willing to jump on board with a new coach search?





There are always people who are willing to take a risk at a historically middling program within a major conference. Maybe they strike gold and are successful, which can be parlayed to better pay and/or a higher profile job in a few years. At worst, they are paid millions and will go back to being an assistant.
But at the same time, I do think the pool of interested and really attractive options is heavily narrowed when the school shows they are willing to fire someone after 1 season and a 5-7 record.

Now if we finish with 3 wins, Croom-style? Well thats another story entirely.

Crazies don't matter.....only Selmon does.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Unless they have a rash of injuries, we are not beating Ole Miss.

 

[LIdawg1157]

6-6, he gets another year but if you take a step back, you gotta can him. If he's anything below 5-7 this year, you gotta can him.

 

[Drebin]

I think he's done. LSU's defense is terrible and we had 7 yards on them in the first half. Even Grambling fared better. The defense was non existent in that game. We should have beaten a hapless USCe. Instead, they coasted to an easy win while our offense played out of their heads. We had opportunities against Alabama but . . .
If he wins close or loses to WMU that's it IMHO. I hope Selmon already has a new coach picked out and waiting in the wings. The talent on this team should not be 2-3 at this point.

Based on what I've seen so far, we are severely lacking in talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball and at the QB position.

And most had us at 3-2 or 2-3 to start the season anyway. It was a brutal front loaded schedule.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

And at 6-6, there should be no extension or raises-nothing! Again, that 6-6 has to include OM/USM in the win collumn.

 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

And at 6-6, there should be no extension or raises-nothing! Again, that 6-6 has to include OM/USM in the win collumn.

One of my personal favorites is when people torture themselves with hopes they will never have. Us beating OM is a snowball's chance in you know where.

 

[johnson86-1]

There's always nuance to these things. I don't think it's as simple as finishing record and how we did in the egg bowl.

How are we playing? Are we showing improvement? Did we make some fundamental changes? Or are we doing the same old stuff and just benefitting from the schedule easing up a bit?

Seeing us completely and totally unprepared in the LSU game is a hard hurdle to overcome, regardless of what else happens. It's a huge red flag. Seeing QBs go 58-66 on passes over the last three games is a huge red flag.

I basically agree with you. I don't expect us to look better, but if we beat Arkansas and are competitive against UK, Auburn, and Ole Miss, as bad as 5-7 will feel, I could at least chalk up the early struggles to just having a first year head coach that made some big mistakes. The only thing is that if we actually are playing up to our potential, we should get two out of those. Really should have gotten 2 out of those and USCe, and he just made his job harder.

If we go 6-6, I'll feel ok. Not great, but provided we get there by actually beating two SEC teams and look like we belong in the SEC the other games and it's not that we get our *** kicked in the losses but squeak out a win against Arkansas and then get a fluke win where the other team has lots of turnovers and/or special teams miscues that let us turn a 14 point loss into a 3 point win, that will indicate to me that he figured out a lot of things in the course of his first year and if we can put enough NIL money together to give him a chance, he can be competitive.

 

[PBRME]

5-7 to 7-5 is where I thought we’d be at the beginning of the season. At this point it would take some major improvements by the coaching staff to make 6-6. I would be content with this season. Next season better be major improvements.

That said, we’re going to struggle for 5 wins, and I won’t be happy at all.

 

[MagnoliaHunter]

I don't understand all the people talking about all the talent on this team.

 

[StateCollege]

But at the same time, I do think the pool of interested and really attractive options is heavily narrowed when the school shows they are willing to fire someone after 1 season and a 5-7 record.

While that is certainly a consideration, chances are that our pool is already limited to the point that this won't matter. Can't imagine a G5/FCS Head Coach passing on tripling or quadrupling their salary and a shot at coaching in the SEC because the last guy had a short leash.

 

[kired]

My opinion of Arnett won't be based so much on record but more about how the team looks. It has looked bad but I'll withhold judgement till we play a few more SEC games against teams not named lsu and bama.

Kind of like the 2018 season with jomo. 8-4 sounds great but we could all see the writing on the wall - head coach was an offensive rpo genius who could only win 8 games even though we had the best defense in the nation. This time we promote our up & coming DC and suddenly look like a Peter Sirmon defense. Both were successful as coordinators but apparently not prepared to be head coaches. Maybe ZA can turn it around in the next few weeks but I wouldn't bet on it. Whether we win 5 or 6 games... if we look like we have thru the first 5, I have no hope for 2024.

 

[Rupert Jenkins]

My prediction is we scrape out a 5-7 or 6-6 season and he stays. Next season we crater and finish 3-9 or 4-8. He will then be fired and we will move on to our fifth head coach since 2017.

This is what will happen. Except 4-8 maybe 5-7 and then 3-9