re: Mullen the game day coach

Even I could win with the Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback

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Because trolling UGA is the fad on the rant these days. That's why there are actually idiots on here trying to convince everyone that Tennessee is going to be able to beat UGA this year.

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Actually, they're trolling you because UGA fans have been flipping the frick out over recruiting. No one has even said Tennessee is beating UGA this year.

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Hahaha go sit down you fricking child

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I noticed you failed/refused to answer my question.
Why hasn't UGA won a National Championship in 40 years?

I can't speak much on his time at Florida because I've only watched a few UF games the last two years, but I did see every game he ever coached at State.

He can be an incredibly inconsistent gameday coach. I've seen days where he looked like a genius and then other days where you couldn't figure out what the heck he was doing. And sometimes you see it within the same game. Example: 2014 Auburn game, #2 vs. #3, State jumped out to 21-0 lead before Auburn realized the game had started. The game was on its way to being a beatdown. Then for some inexplicable reason, Mullen calls a fake punt inside his own 30 and it gets intercepted. Auburn gets back in the game, and State has to hang on for dear life until they finally put the game away with about three minutes left.

There was also a feeling at State that he was ultra conservative against the big boys, namely Bama. So many games where it felt like they were just playing not to lose, and they pretty much always did lose, even if there was a chance to win. The first half of the 2014 Bama game just pisses me off, State was the higher ranked team in that game and Mullen's gameplan made it seem like he didn't think they had a chance to win and were just trying to keep it respectable.

I also think of the 2017 Bama game, which for three quarters may have been the best game he ever coached at State (for my money it was the last game he ever coached at State, as he was totally checked out for the Arkansas and Ole Miss games that year). But then State gets to the 4th quarter and it's all this uptight crap again. 4th and short from the Bama 42 in the 4th quarter and he decides to punt (of course it was a touchback, and of course Bama was out past midfield in like 2-3 plays anyway). Then he gets another chance when Bama misses the field goal, you've got two minutes left to try to get in range for a game-winning field goal. His play calls: shovel pass for nothing, incomplete pass, run up the middle on 3rd and 10 for nothing. Had to punt back to Bama and you knew it was over at that point.

I've always said with Mullen that the good usually outweighs the bad, mostly by a lot, but there are for sure going to be games where you think he's an idiot.

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I still have no idea how MSU screwed up the 2017 Bama game. Grantham calling a jail break blitz or something?

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Yeah Grantham loves his blitzes, and he's going to live and die by them. Bama had a 3rd and 15 late and State called timeout at the very last second after showing that they were blitzing everybody. Came out of the timeout in the exact same look and Hurts found Ridley wide open for about 30 yards. The play after that was the game winning TD.

And as I mentioned in an earlier post, Mullen's 4th quarter play calling was questionable at best. I think State had something like 34 yards of total offense in the 4th quarter, and half of it came in the final seconds when Bama was playing prevent.

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That game was 24-10 with 10 to go. It was over.

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You say that like that deficit has never been overcome in the last 10 minutes. That’s plenty of time for a comeback win.

The Mullen move I will never forget was the 2014 Alabama-State game in Tuscaloosa in which Alabama took a 25-13 lead and State got the ball with 3 minutes left on their own 28. State proceeded to take the entire 3 minutes to go on a scoring drive with zero sense of urgency. They ran 5 plays in 90 seconds between the 3:05 mark and the 1:31 mark before running 5 plays in the 40 seconds between the 1:31 mark and the 49-second mark.

It was obvious to anyone who watched that Mullen was hoping to lose a game to what would be the #1 team on the road by 5 points, win out and sneak into the (first year) playoff.

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Until they played their next game.

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Not true. State was #1 for 5 weeks and beat 3 teams as #1.

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Well shucks, guys, I guess Kirby only got 4 years to win a national title as a HC.

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Based on recent history, the chances greatly diminish after 3-4 years.

NY Times

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Since 2000, every title but two has been won by a coach in his second, third or fourth year with his team — or by a coach who has already done so with the same team. The same can be said of the head coaches for most runners-up.

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Early Success Stories In this list of coaches who won national championships since 2000, nearly every one either did it in their first four years — or already had. Nick Saban and Urban Meyer each accomplished this feat at two programs. Year Winning Coach Season at School 2000 Bob Stoops, Oklahoma Second 2001 Larry Coker, Miami First 2002 Jim Tressel, Ohio State Second 2003 Pete Carroll, U.S.C.* Third Nick Saban, L.S.U. Fourth 2004 Carroll** Fourth 2005 Mack Brown, Texas Eighth 2006 Urban Meyer, Florida Second 2007 Les Miles, L.S.U. Third 2008 Meyer Fourth 2009 Saban, Alabama Third 2010 Gene Chizik, Auburn Second 2011 Saban Fifth 2012 Saban Sixth 2013 Jimbo Fisher, Florida St. Fourth 2014 Meyer, Ohio State Third 2015 Saban Ninth

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This is a 2016 article, so add in ‘16-‘19 and the trend continues:

2016 - Clemson/Swinney (his 9th, exception)
2017 - Bama/Saban
2018 - Clemson/Swinney
2019 - LSU/Orgeron (3rd)

If Kirby can replicate Swinney, he’d join a very small group who have won a championship without doing so in his first 3-4 years. The only problem is he has to play an SEC schedule instead of ACC.