Mullen's departure from MSU.... and possibly to UT at the time?

[Walter White.sixpack]

Rumors were Tennessee was about to be his destination before Florida was turned down by multiple coaches. So Stricklin gave Dan a call. But Dan was already on the way out, right? He ended up in Gainsville and UT hired Pruitt (after MSU passed him over for Moorhead).

If Dan had become the Vols' coach, how do you speculate the UT program would be right now and is he still there?

 

[dawgstudent]

I think Tennessee fan expecations are like State now. Win 8 games and have a year where you flirt with the big one.

So with that being said - I think he would still be there.

 

[Bulldogg31]

I think Tennessee fan expecations are like State now. Win 8 games and have a year where you flirt with the big one.

So with that being said - I think he would still be there.

Mullen should go to Cal or UCLA. Somewhere with a big name and small expectations. And a logo that would look cool on ugly shoes.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Mullen should take a G5 job where he won't be expected to bring in big recruits, but can just develop and coach up overlooked talent and have a fanbase happy with going to bowls regularly.

Such as Bowling Green, where he was once an assistant and where he met Megan.

 

[Smoked Toag]

I think he’d have done alright there with less pressure. He’s a better fit there than Florida, at minimum.

 

[Herbert Nenninger]

Hugh Freeze: “Wait, Tennessee actually has a Hooker playing quarterback?!!”

 

[msstatelp1]

I think he would be there but his seat would be getting warm. He may have done better than Pruitt but not enough better to satisfy the hillbillies

 

[Go Budaw]

I don’t think Mullen was ever going to UT. Never even signed a memorandum of understanding with them (the “pre-contract” that allows both parties to move forward and stop searching / looking, even though it isn’t legally binding). In fact, when pressed for it, he ghosted on them and never talked to UT again after giving the initial indications that he wanted the job. A few days later he was named HC at Florida.

He was actively flirting with them to try and force UF’s hand and grease the wheels for Stricklin to talk to him (to get him over the “can’t take MSU’s coach” hump), but that interest was never real. Mullen is an *******, a lazy recruiter, and overly arrogant about his abilities and knowledge, but he isn’t an idiot. And taking that job at a program that really was a lateral move (at best) to work under a buffoon of an AD like John Currie while trying to appease the most irrational fanbase in the SEC is something that only an idiot would do.

 

[Dawgzilla]

I think Tennessee fan expecations are like State now. Win 8 games and have a year where you flirt with the big one.

So with that being said - I think he would still be there.

He would have been out in 3 years. The Tennessee job requires a great recruiter. The State of Tennessee does not produce enough quality players to sustain an elite program. Like Nebraska, UT has always relied on a large percentage of out of State players to be successful. Despite the money and fan support, UT is no longer a favored destination for national recruits.

I just don't see Dan being able to recruit there at a desirable level. He might have scrounged around and put together some decent, undervalued players to win 6 or 7 games, but he is not restoring them to national relevance.