Dan Mullen on potential Mississippi State return: 'I don't know if this is the time'

After Mississippi State announced its plan to fire head coach Zach Arnett earlier this week, one of the first names to come up was Dan Mullen. The Bulldogs’ head coach from 2009-17, Mullen took MSU to a 69-46 record over that time before leaving to take the position at Florida.

UF fired Mullen after the 2021 season, and he seems to have enjoy his time as a broadcaster for ESPN. That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill, though, and it’s led some to wonder if he’d come back to Starkville for another go-round.

During an appearance on SiriusXM College with Peter Burns and Dari Nowkhah, Mullen acknowledged how much Mississippi State means to him and he’s heard from the fan base, as well. However, it doesn’t sound like a return is in the cards at this point.

Dan Mullen is the 2nd winningest coach in Mississippi State history and went to 8 bowl games in 9 seasons. Would he return to Starkville?@PeterBurnsESPN and @ESPNDari asked Mullen just that question. #HailState pic.twitter.com/lcZV3LRVgp

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) November 15, 2023

“It’s always a great honor once your name gets mentioned with stuff, and I know the people of Mississippi are so special and hold a special place in my heart,” Mullen said. “As I would say, you never say never when those things go on. And I’ve had a lot of people — I haven’t spoken to anybody administratively with Mississippi State. I’ve talked to all kinds of the fans and friends and people that we love in Mississippi, as you see all over the place.

“You never say never going back, but I don’t know if this is the time.”

Paul Jones on Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: ‘I’m not sure if it gets to serious talks with Dan’

Almost immediately after Mississippi State announced Arnett’s departure, Mullen came up on the list of names the Bulldogs should consider, including Andy Staples’ Hot Board. After all, while he was in Starkville, Mullen took Mississippi State to a No. 1 ranking in the first-ever College Football Playoff rankings.

As far as whether Mullen, 51, would be interested in returning to Starkville, though, Maroon and White Daily’s Paul Jones doesn’t know if it’s a possibility.

“I’m not sure if it gets to serious talks with Dan,” Jones said on Andy Staples On3. “Obviously, people change their minds, especially when you’ve been out of the game. But I’ve always been under the impression — and this goes back to my talks with Dan when he was here — that he’s probably done with coaching. He told us often even on the record, off the record when he was here that he didn’t want to coach much past his early 50s. He wanted to be with his kids, follow their dreams with sports. I know his son’s a very avid golfer, and he’s very involved with that.

“Outside of getting fired from Florida, what he told us a few years ago was exactly the path that he has taken, and it’s been out of college football. I wonder if Dan has that competitive fire to be in the new NIL world because the knock against Dan was his recruiting. Evaluation and all that? Man, he was one of the best. But when it comes to the NIL era, I just wonder if he has the hunger for that.”