Dan Mullen’s getting close to leaving Mississippi State

If you believe the news, Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is talking to Miami about the head coaching job in Coral Gables.

The connection for Mullen and Miami isn’t a particularly difficult one. Mullen was the offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida between 2005 and 2008, and is know as one of the better quarterback coaches in the game.

Under Mullen’s leadership at Mississippi State, Dak Prescott became one of the best quarterbacks in college football in 2014 and 2015, and Mullen’s team also managed to get to No.1 in the polls in the regular season for the first time in the school’s history last year.

Mississippi State had a 54-35 record with Mullen, who is currently God in The Land Of The Cowbell.

But it’s getting obvious that Mullen’s looking for a better opportunity, and with openings available from Athens to Charlottesville to Miami opening up, the opportunities are there for the former Florida man to be well paid once this off-season is over.

So why would he be leaving? It’s pretty easy. Miami and the State of Florida are two of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the nation, and is one of the biggest names in college football – far bigger than Mississippi State. You can also expect Miami – one of the wealthier private schools in the nation – to be able to stump up around $5m – more than the current $4.2m he’s being paid by MSU.

And will Dan Mullen leave? Well, now with the graduation of Dak Prescott, Mullen’s going to have to rebuild again. MSU’s currently 18th on the 24-7 recruiting ranks – good for 8th in the SEC. Nick Fitzgerald and Elijah Staley would be battling it out for the starting QBs job on the team, which loses six starting seniors and could lose as many as 10 starting juniors (although that’s unlikely).

In Miami, Mullen might have to rebuild again, but he’ll be able to rebuild quicker – especially with the talent at his hands in South Beach.