Report: Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen a candidate at Virginia Tech
Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is a “serious candidate” to be the next Virginia Tech head coach.
There is still one week remaining in the 2015 college football season, but the coaching carousel has been in motion for several weeks.
On November 1, Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer announced he would retire at the end of this season – his 29th at the helm in Blacksburg. Saturday, the Hokies fell to 30-27 in overtime to No. 17 North Carolina in Beamer’s home finale, which dropped the team’s record to 5-6 this season. Nevertheless, Virginia Tech players carried the legendary coach off the field in appreciation of the man who has led his alma mater to a 234-115-2 record and has posted 276 career victories.
Now, according to Scott Roussel of FootballScoop.com, Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is considered to be a “serious candidate” to replace Beamer.
Mullen is 54-34 as the head coach of the Bulldogs. State is 8-3 this season following a dramatic 51-50 victory over Arkansas Saturday. Under his direction, the Bulldogs are bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season, which extends the school record Mullen set two seasons ago.
The impact Mullen has made in Starkville is remarkable. Only seven seasons into his first head coaching opportunity, Mullen ranks third on the school’s all-time wins list and reached 50 career wins quicker than any Bulldogs head coach since 1946.
In addition to the school-record bowl streak, the Bulldogs have won a record three-straight bowl games, as well as three victories over top 10 teams, and have also spent 10 weeks ranked in the top 10 in the polls, including five weeks ranked No. 1 in the nation – all of which are achievements no other Mississippi State coach has reached.
A two-time national championship offensive coordinator at Florida, Mullen has also called the offensive plays at Mississippi State since taking over in 2009. During that time frame, the Bulldogs have set 74 individual and team school statistical records and 18 Mississippi State players have been selected as NFL Draft picks.
That number is sure to rise this season as quarterback Dak Prescott – who holds 36 school records in his four seasons under Mullen’s direction – is among several current Mississippi State players with NFL potential.
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Such success, as well as the fact that Mullen was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in New Hampshire, has made Mullen a regular rumored candidate for head coaching vacancies across the country. Last season, his name was among the first to pop up as a possibility at Michigan before Jim Harbaugh emerged as the eventual head coach of the Wolverines.
Add Starkville’s rather, well, stark resources in terms of attracting five-star talent and the rough road the Bulldogs face in the SEC West to the mix, and it’s possible Mullen would jump for the right opportunity to chase a national title elsewhere – potentially a little closer to home.
Mullen has also led the Bulldogs to four victories over rival Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, which is more than all by two other former MSU head coaches. Mississippi State hosts the Rebels this Saturday in Starkville.
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If FootballScoop’s sources are correct, and Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock has identified Mullen as one of his top candidates, it could be the last game Mullen coaches at Mississippi State.