quote:
A coach on the verge of being great should have at least one big win, one major upset over a top opponent in four years. Saban beat a number of really good teams when he was at Michigan State. He showed signs of being able to compete against the big boys. What is Dan Mullen's greatest win at Mississippi State? Beating an 8-5 Florida team in the swamp? I'm not impressed.

Saban had one true "signature" win in his 5 years against Ohio St. The rest of those "signature" wins came against overrated teams that lost at least 3-4 games. Those are still better wins than Mullen has had, no doubt. Also some much worse losses too. Fact is, Mullen hasn't had the blessing of seeing the "tweener" teams that Saban did in his time at Michigan State.

Saban inherited a program that had be 50-40-3 on the field the previous 8 years. Mullen inherited one that was 29-65 the previous 8 years.

I'm in no way saying that Mullen is, or ever will be, as good of coach as Nick Saban. But this "start of career" discussion is plentifully debatable and interesting.

The beginning of Spurrier's time at SC is also a good comparison(in a similarly difficult situation, albeit still easier than MSU)...