College GameDay hosts break down who Mississippi State should hire

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Bill Connelly took some time to examine the top candidates for the Mississippi State Bulldogs job opening.

The program moved on from Zach Arnett earlier this week, and will be looking for their next leader over the next couple of months. During this week’s ESPN College GameDay Podcast, the duo attempted to find who the candidates for the job will be.

“This is one of those jobs where it’s a great opportunity, but maybe you don’t wish it on somebody. It’s so hard to get everything — like, Joe Moorhead was the prototype, hot-shot offensive coordinator. He came in, outsider. Needed to hire some local guys. Some SEC ties. Did what I thought was a pretty solid job, but he was run out in two years,” prefaced Connelly. “Mike Leach, obviously was his own unique thing, Zach Arnett comes in. Tries to change, make tweaks to the identity for this team, and that was always going to be a hard thing to do without Mike Leach, and that falls apart pretty quickly.”

Here’s who the duo believes would be the best choices for Mississippi State, as they look to take their program to the next level.

Former Mississippi State, Florida Gators HC Dan Mullen

“My first phone call would be to Dan Mullen,” Thamel started. “Best coach in school history. … If you say, ‘How do you figure out a really hard job?’ Well, he did it. Did it for a decade. Did a really good job there. Understood you need to run the quarterback. Understood recruiting a development.”

Sometimes you have to go back to move forward. Mullen helped the Bulldogs achieve unparalleled success, and has been biding his time with ESPN, awaiting a future opportunity. Could it be a return to Starkville? It’d likely be a home run hire, graded by fans and media alike.

Tulane Green Wave HC Willie Fritz

“I would just think locally, there’s going to be some pressure there. The guys won everywhere. Every single step,” Thamel stated, throwing Fritz’ name into the hat. “JUCO, D2, Sunbelt. So you’ve got to think an old, crafty hand like Willie could figure out a way to win there.”

Fritz has done some major good at Tulane since taking over the program. Heck, they won a New Year’s Six game last season. The Green Wave would miss him, but the Bulldogs would be smart to give him a call.

Troy Trojans HC Jon Sumrall

“I think nearby, Jon Sumrall has done an unbelievable job at Troy,” Thamel delineated. It’s evident the ESPN duo has respect for the Trojans leader, but he’s the wild card among a pool of candidates.

Nevertheless, Sumrall has been around the SEC. He was an assistant for Kentucky and Ole Miss prior to taking over the Trojans, and has led Troy to a 20-4 record since being their head coach. Some team is eventually going to pry him from Troy, and Mississippi State would be a great option.

Alas, there will be candidates aplenty in Mississippi State’s pool, but the ESPN crew gave us some fascinating names. We’ll see what direction the Bulldogs decide to spin their wheels over the next couple of months.