So where do we go from here?

[patdog]

Can't really do anything about this season. It's gonna be a looong 2-1/2 months. Don't know that we could fire a second consecutive 1st-year coach even if we had the money to (we probably don't). Even if we did, I have zero confidence in Selmon to make another football hire (or really any hire). Keenum needs to go for both academic and athletic reasons, but he works for the College Board not us, so I don't see that happening. I think what I would do is fire Selmon tomorrow and have a new AD in place by the start of the new year. Then make major changes to the assistant coaching staff in November and give Lebby 1 more year, but have a new (hopefully better) AD in place to make the hard decisions.

Edit to add: The new AD job priority #1 would be to make sure we get a legitimate, serious NIL foundation established and give it the backing it needs to do its job.

 

[Baddog11]

South Carolina got rid of their longtime AD after whipping Kentucky on the road. So why not fire him. He sucks bad.

 

[biodawg]

Can't really do anything about this season. It's gonna be a looong 2-1/2 months. Don't know that we could fire a second consecutive 1st-year coach even if we had the money to (we probably don't). Even if we did, I have zero confidence in Selmon to make another football hire (or really any hire). Keenum needs to go for both academic and athletic reasons, but he works for the College Board not us, so I don't see that happening. I think what I would do is fire Selmon tomorrow and have a new AD in place by the start of the new year. Then make major changes to the assistant coaching staff in November and give Lebby 1 more year, but have a new (hopefully better) AD in place to make the hard decisions.

Can’t fire Lebby yet. Can’t fire Selmon yet. Lebby inherited a pretty bad situation, but I’m not excusing it. There has to be drastic changes on the defensive staff. I thought our S&C guy was a solid hire, but maybe not. I’ll wait and see. I’m still trying to process getting absolutely WHIPPED by a MAC school.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

The DC needs to be fired immediately. I'm not against firing Levee today also. Greg Knox as interim couldn't do worse.

 

[PhredPhantom]

At this point, my expectation is that Lebby will be here for 3 years. He’ll win two games this year, 3 or maybe 4 next year, and maybe 5 in his third year here. We’ll get a new coach hired by (hopefully) by a new AD. Then we start the cycle all over again. About every 4th or 5th cycle we accidentally get a good coach and have decent teams for a few years until the good coach is poached to go somewhere he can stand a chance of coaching a playoff team.

We are Mississippi State.

 

[kired]

I’m tired of the coaching turnover. Change assistants, sure. But I don’t want a 5th, wait, 6th head coach in less than a decade. That’s just digging a deeper hole to get out of.

There is a severe lack of talent in the trenches on both sides. These guys just aren’t good. Most would at best be second string on an average sec team.

 

[mcfly.sixpack]

Every aspect of football has to be analyzed and improved. Everything. From recruiting to NIL to branding to fan experience to how we practice to warmups to you name it. Every single thing football related needs to be evaluated. Start with the low hanging fruit improvements and act like we’re an SEC school for once.

 

[patdog]

At this point, my expectation is that Lebby will be here for 3 years. He’ll win two games this year, 3 or maybe 4 next year, and maybe 5 in his third year here. We’ll get a new coach hired by (hopefully) by a new AD. Then we start the cycle all over again. About every 4th or 5th cycle we accidentally get a good coach and have decent teams for a few years until the good coach is poached to go somewhere he can stand a chance of coaching a playoff team.

We are Mississippi State.

I wish I shared your optimism.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Lebby gets a second year, and we load up on NIL for linemen.

If we suck again next year, Lebby is fired.

 

[Bneal]

Thankfully I detached emotionally from our sports programs after the Natty. It was easy since FB program has been lame for years. Short version, we have no speed at any position. Very few athletes. Zero hustle. Which is required kinda. Whether or not we can raise any NIL money seems to be the crossroads. Oxford is not the holy grail for football. Not exactly sure what those guys are doing, but they’re good at it. Have learned how to appreciate the NFL since saturdays are a wash now.

 

[Anon1665155225]

Quit. Leave the conference or quit altogether. The continual shooting oneself in the foot is disheartening.

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

The DC needs to be fired immediately. I'm not against firing Levee today also. Greg Knox as interim couldn't do worse.

Has crazy Eddie O blown through his buyout with cocaine, booze, and hookers? If so, put him into rehab this fall and make him one of the highest paid DCs in the country after the Egg Bowl blowout.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Where do we go? Nowhere. You either have to hope Lebby fixes it, or quit supporting. For the next year anyway.

 

[Dawgbite]

I probably didn’t miss three home games over a 12-15 year span but I’m so detached from what college football has become that I sat and laughed at our ineptitude last night. I flipped between our game and the Ga/ Ky game, I’d never done that a few years ago. I actually woke up in a good mood this morning. I almost didn’t read the Pack fearing it would ruin my mood but it’s something I have no control over so I’m not stressing over it.

 

[Called3rdstrikedawg]

I’m tired of the coaching turnover. Change assistants, sure. But I don’t want a 5th, wait, 6th head coach in less than a decade. That’s just digging a deeper hole to get out of.

There is a severe lack of talent in the trenches on both sides. These guys just aren’t good. Most would at best be second string on an average sec team.

State will have to pay a coach more than any other schools pay, with an incredible buyout, so that his wife and family can use the university jet to fly where ever she wants to go shopping!

 

[patdog]

Where do we go? Nowhere. You either have to hope Lebby fixes it, or quit supporting. For the next year anyway.

Of course this is what will happen. Nothing. I'm actually considering dropping my NIL and BC contributions completely.

 

[BigDawg0074]

Lebby gets another year to see what he can do with recruiting. On that note, pull out all stops including replacing or adding to the staff doing the scouting and recruiting.

 

[Seinfeld]

I think we're in for a long 12 months of infighting amongst the fanbase between those that want change and accountability and those that think Selmon, Lebby, and the rest of this crew need more time.

My question to all the people in the latter group is... as you sit here today, can you honestly point to a single thing or a single data point that gives you confidence that these leaders(and I use that term very loosely) are moving things in the right direction? Our NIL situation is a disaster, our talent level on this roster is bottom half G5 caliber, our recruiting is bottom of the barrel in this conference, and the guys that we do have completely laid down last night.

Having said all that, we're not going to clean house, so I'm doing my best to come up with some reasonable expectations, and this is all I've got...

1) This university has to start holding holding athletic staff accountable for failure, and if we go 2-10 to 3-9 like most are expecting at this point, multiple assistants have to go in December.

2) Lebby gets another year to show improvement on both the field and the recruiting trail, but if we aren't fighting for a bowl game at a minimum next season, he doesn't get a year 3

3) Selmon gets one last year to get our NIL where it needs to be so that his coaches can start landing something other than G5 castaways or else year 3 is his last as well. He was brought here for one primary purpose, and there is absolutely no tangible evidence that he and all of his new hires are having any level of success here that an average Joe off the street couldn't also be having.

We may very well be worst team in all of P4 right now, and it should be an embarrassment for every leader of our university to be in this position. Again, we've got to something that has rarely been done in MSU's history, and that is hold these high earning individuals accountable for their failures

 

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

Lebby gets a second year, and we load up on NIL for linemen.

If we suck again next year, Lebby is fired.

Lebby is needs to have 3 years minimum. Maybe 4. The constant changing of head coaches is part of the reason we are where we are.

 

[ckDOG]

In the old days we'd say "oh we just gotta coach em up and develop these kids". Those days are gone so we need a different approach with personnel if the coaches don't change. I say don't spend a dime on skill players until you are 2 deep with SEC quality linemen. Then think about skill players.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

Lebby is needs to have 3 years minimum. Maybe 4. The constant changing of head coaches is part of the reason we are where we are.

If it's clear that Lebby sucks after next year, we have to move on. We "are where we are" because of the 4 head coaches we've hired since Mullen left, 2 were awful, Lebby looks awful (but maybe not unsalvageable..), and Leach was good but died.

We have to have the right guy here to have a chance to succeed. Mullen was the right guy. Leach would have been the right guy if he had lived. Moorhead and Arnett weren't the right guy, and we have strong evidence that Lebby probably isn't either.

 

[patdog]

I think we're in for a long 12 months of infighting amongst the fanbase between those that want change and accountability and those that think Selmon, Lebby, and the rest of this crew need more time.

My question to all the people in the latter group is... as you sit here today, can you honestly point to a single thing or a single data point that gives you confidence that these leaders(and I use that term very loosely) are moving things in the right direction? Our NIL situation is a disaster, our talent level on this roster is bottom half G5 caliber, our recruiting is bottom of the barrel in this conference, and the guys that we do have completely laid down last night.

Having said all that, we're not going to clean house, so I'm doing my best to come up with some reasonable expectations, and this is all I've got...

1) This university has to start holding holding athletic staff accountable for failure, and if we go 2-10 to 3-9 like most are expecting at this point, multiple assistants have to go in December.

2) Lebby gets another year to show improvement on both the field and the recruiting trail, but if we aren't fighting for a bowl game at a minimum next season, he doesn't get a year 3

3) Selmon gets one last year to get our NIL where it needs to be so that his coaches can start landing something other than G5 castaways or else year 3 is his last as well. He was brought here for one primary purpose, and there is absolutely no tangible evidence that he and all of his new hires are having any level of success here that an average Joe off the street couldn't also be having.

We may very well be worst team in all of P4 right now, and it should be an embarrassment for every leader of our university to be in this position. Again, we've got to something that has rarely been done in MSU's history, and that is hold these high earning individuals accountable for their failures

Agree with all but #3. Selmon has had almost 2 years & has done nothing To make our NIL even remotely competitive. He needs to be fired immediately. Let’s say we do fire Lebby after next season. Do you really want Selmon to hire his replacement?

 

[85Bears]

Agree with all but #3. Selmon has had almost 2 years & has done nothing To make our NIL even remotely competitive. He needs to be fired immediately. Let’s say we do fire Lebby after next season. Do you really want Selmon to hire his replacement?

No. He botched this hire. Too many rookie first timers everywhere you look. Need ateast one veteran experienced guy somewhere

 

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

If it's clear that Lebby sucks after next year, we have to move on. We "are where we are" because of the 4 head coaches we've hired since Mullen left, 2 were awful, Lebby looks awful (but maybe not unsalvageable..), and Leach was good but died.

We have to have the right guy here to have a chance to succeed. Mullen was the right guy. Leach would have been the right guy if he had lived. Moorhead and Arnett weren't the right guy, and we have strong evidence that Lebby probably isn't either.

I just dont agree with you. That loss was horrible but giving up on a coach coming into a bad situation after 3 games isn't the answer either.

Firing coaches after 2 years gives no hope in recruiting especially with the portal. Anyone worth keeping will just leave and you are starting all over. If we are losing games like this in year 3, I would be more on board of making a change. Not year 2

 

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

No. He botched this hire. Too many rookie first timers everywhere you look. Need ateast one veteran experienced guy somewhere

Mullen was a rookie head coach too. They all have to be at some point.

Closing the book on him after 3 games is not the way to go.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

I just dont agree with you. That loss was horrible but giving up on a coach coming into a bad situation after 3 games isn't the answer either.

Firing coaches after 2 years gives no hope in recruiting especially with the portal. Anyone worth keeping will just leave and you are starting all over. If we are losing games like this in year 3, I would be more on board of making a change. Not year 2

"Recruiting" isn't a thing anymore, at least not like it was. It's all about how much money can you scrape together to give high school players, or preferably transfers. Everything about how a coach is "supposed" to turn a bad team around is out the window now.

Someone like Mullen who hates recruiting could be super successful at a rich big school like Ohio State.

 

[85Bears]

Mullen was a rookie head coach too. They all have to be at some point.

Closing the book on him after 3 games is not the way to go.

Cant compare this to dan. I have not been critical of lebby to this point but his staff hires are terrible and hos talent evaluation is terrible

kennedy is bad and the hustler
is beyond bad

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Raze the stadium. Turn the spot into a memorial for our mediocre time spent in that sport.

 

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

Cant compare this to dan. I have not been critical of lebby to this point but his staff hires are terrible and hos talent evaluation is terrible

kennedy is bad and the hustler
is beyond bad

I am fine with changing assisstants. Changing the head coach is a different matter

 

[85Bears]

I am fine with changing assisstants. Changing the head coach is a different matter

Im not calling for lebby to be replaced but his ceo decision making is bad. Talent evaluation and putting together a good staff are about the
Only way for thos program to keep ots head above water and hes terrible at it.

look at
The o lineman he brought in and keenedy was a castoff from arkansas where he was terrible

 

[She Mate Me]

At this point, my expectation is that Lebby will be here for 3 years. He’ll win two games this year, 3 or maybe 4 next year, and maybe 5 in his third year here. We’ll get a new coach hired by (hopefully) by a new AD. Then we start the cycle all over again. About every 4th or 5th cycle we accidentally get a good coach and have decent teams for a few years until the good coach is poached to go somewhere he can stand a chance of coaching a playoff team.

We are Mississippi State.

Not to sure about that cycle theory.

I think the last good coach we had poached before Mullen was Darrell Royal in 1955.

 

[ckDOG]

We have to hire a DC Lebby can trust to turn it over to. Lebby is clearly in over his head right now. He made a catastrophic error not hiring an experienced DC and now he's stretched himself thin and sucks at everything. Even Mullen knew he couldn't touch defense in year 1 and hired a retread with experience so he could at least turn the keys over and focus on his personal talents.

 

[SteelCurtain74]

Agree with all but #3. Selmon has had almost 2 years & has done nothing To make our NIL even remotely competitive. He needs to be fired immediately. Let’s say we do fire Lebby after next season. Do you really want Selmon to hire his replacement?

Do you want Keenum hiring Selmon's replacement because that is what you're advocating. Keenum would need to be the first domino to fall because **** rolls downhill. Yes, that's a tougher task to accomplish but you start at the head and work down. And while we are getting rid of Keenum, some of so-called cigar boys can get out to.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

We have to hire a DC Lebby can trust to turn it over to. Lebby is clearly in over his head right now. He made a catastrophic error not hiring an experienced DC and now he's stretched himself thin and sucks at everything. Even Mullen knew he couldn't touch defense in year 1 and hired a retread with experience so he could at least turn the keys over and focus on his personal talents.

You may be on to something here. Our offense looks terrible, but nothing is nearly as bad as our defense.

 

[eckie1]

I probably didn’t miss three home games over a 12-15 year span but I’m so detached from what college football has become that I sat and laughed at our ineptitude last night. I flipped between our game and the Ga/ Ky game, I’d never done that a few years ago. I actually woke up in a good mood this morning. I almost didn’t read the Pack fearing it would ruin my mood but it’s something I have no control over so I’m not stressing over it.

Can't really do anything about this season. It's gonna be a looong 2-1/2 months. Don't know that we could fire a second consecutive 1st-year coach even if we had the money to (we probably don't). Even if we did, I have zero confidence in Selmon to make another football hire (or really any hire). Keenum needs to go for both academic and athletic reasons, but he works for the College Board not us, so I don't see that happening. I think what I would do is fire Selmon tomorrow and have a new AD in place by the start of the new year. Then make major changes to the assistant coaching staff in November and give Lebby 1 more year, but have a new (hopefully better) AD in place to make the hard decisions.

Edit to add: The new AD job priority #1 would be to make sure we get a legitimate, serious NIL foundation established and give it the backing it needs to do its job.

I’m glad you have no control over the AD. This is insane. Let’s have no AD at all the rest of the year? WTF?

 

[patdog]

I’m glad you have no control over the AD. This is insane. Let’s have no AD at all the rest of the year? WTF?

What? The rest of the year is like 3 months. It'll take at least close to that long to do a proper search, interview candidates and make a hire. "End of the year" is more of a deadline at the latest than waiting to hire a new AD.

 

[Seinfeld]

Agree with all but #3. Selmon has had almost 2 years & has done nothing To make our NIL even remotely competitive. He needs to be fired immediately. Let’s say we do fire Lebby after next season. Do you really want Selmon to hire his replacement?

Yeah, and make no mistake, I wouldn’t oppose it now. He’s been here for 2 years, and when asked about noteworthy achievements during that time, all that people can come up with is that he’s hired a few people and he’s a good mingler.

I guess my comment is based more on the idea that I think he and Lebby’s futures are intertwined at this point. Lebby needs to get things going in the right direction during the next 15 months or else Selmon doesn’t get the chance to make another mistake

 

[60sdog]

Maybe y’all are determined to continue worshipping college sports, like I used to, but I’m finally free and it feels great. I started becoming detached from it several years ago, and thankfully the current predicament is not bothering me. This will be a hopeless scenario in the current insane world of NIL and portal. Let’s face it, college sports have been stripped of the charm they once had.

 

[85Bears]

Whats odd is avg fans could see the DC hire was a bad idea. These people are getting paid
Millions and they cant even make a simple decision using sound logic. Like who thought firing Leachs staff was a good idea ? Is anybody researching Kennedys background ? Tightends coach with little O line experience and arkansas O line was horrible with him now looks good without him.

 

[eckie1]

What? The rest of the year is like 3 months. It'll take at least close to that long to do a proper search, interview candidates and make a hire. "End of the year" is more of a deadline at the latest than waiting to hire a new AD.

So we should keep firing people after a 17ing year. And leaving the real problem employed by the IHL. Absolutely 17ing idiotic.

Selmon was brought into some tough situations. The single toughest situation in all of college football. He has a pedigree from one of the best college programs in the country. You really want Keenum to make ANOTHER hire having a significantly smaller talent pool to hire an AD from after firing him after a few months?