re: Welp folks that's a wrap..Mullen gone after this year.

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Why would he leave for a much bigger pressure job. He wins 8 or 9 games a year and he has a job for life

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Why? Easy, look at Vanderbilt. James Franklin also had a "job for life", and chose to leave it when the right suitor came along. I'm assuming that's because he knew he had the program max'd out, and 2 things would happen: people would expect the same and want more, and his program would slide back to where it really sits in the conference. That combination of occurrences can lead to being run off.
Franklin now looks like he made a great decision, as Vanderbilt has plummeted and he has the reigns at Penn St, where he should be able to recruit a lot better.

Mullen was already being pushed out the door prior to this season. Unless he really, truly believes he can sustain State as an annual top 10 program (unlikely), then he knows they will slide back down again, and his arse will be on the line. Again.
It sure seems like his style of play would fit in Michigan, where there's a lot more money and the field is more level. He wouldn't be trying to raise an underdog, he'd be restoring a conference power, while that conference was down.