College Football 2017: Winners, losers from Week 14 coaching carousel

Loser: Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Mississippi State Bulldogs lost what’s probably the program’s most successful head football coach in Dan Mullen. He came over to Starkville from the Florida Gators where he served as the offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer. He won two national championships in Gainesville before heading to MSU.

Once at Mississippi State, he coached Dak Prescott, now an NFL starting quarterback, and has posted a 69-46 record in a place that’s hardly seen winning records in its history. While Mullen only has one 10-win season, back in 2014, he has had two nine and two eight-win seasons.

Mullen leaving could return the Bulldogs to mediocrity. This isn’t a “loser” in the way that they have bungled the search like my top choice for loser of the week. However, it’s a loser because how can it even remotely have the same success under someone else that it had under Mullen?

Mullen is being replaced by Joe Moorhead. He is the former head football coach of the Fordham Rams of the FCS and most recently served as the offensive coordinator of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Moorhead could be a great hire, don’t get me wrong, but the odds of him maintaining the success Mullen did, and the likelihood of being on campus that long, are rare given the program’s history. Moorhead will bring a high-powered offense to Starkville if he follows his recent success with Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley are any indication.