An Objective View of Mullen, MSU and Penn State
Penn State has announced they have formed a search committee to find a new head football coach. According to Joe Schad, Dan Mullen is at the top of their list. Chris McKendry, an ESPN anchor, broke the news by saying ‘Mississippi coach Dan Mullen’. Thanks.
The Facts:
– Dan Mullen grew up in the Northeastern United States and pulled for Penn State during his youth. His father went to Penn State.
– Penn State fired Joe Paterno, who made just over $1,000,000, on November 9th for his inaction involving Jerry Sandusky’s alleged child molestation.
– Penn State’s athletic budget is estimated to be around $92 million this year and growing at a rate of 7%. That is #8 in the country.
– MSU’s athletic budget is estimated to be around $40 million this year and growing at a rate of 12%. That is #51 in the country.
– Dan Mullen’s salary is $2.5 million per year at MSU. That is the 18th highest in the country.
– The NCAA is investigating the Penn State football program and athletic department for lack of institutional control.
The Educated Guesses:
– Penn State is about to be hit with a ton of civil law suits related to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation allegations.
– Penn State does not have a bunch of money saved up from paying Joe Paterno so little because athletic departments use their cash flow to build new facilities, increase salaries, upgrade what they have, buy jets to fly the softaball team around in, etc.
– Penn State needs and/or wants an outsider to come in to restore the image of the football program.
– Not many proven college football coaches will be willing to step into a situation that is full of chaos. Urban Meyer took the Ohio State job Monday despite NCAA investigations, however, Penn State’s troubles include criminal charges and and NCAA investigation.
Remember, Penn State says Dan Mullen is at the top of their list, not they specifically want to hire Dan Mullen. Will he interview for the job? Well, he should…as you should interview for any job that is interesting in your career. Will he take the job is the question. USC has one of the largest athletic budgets in the country, they are in the midst of some of the most fertile recruiting grounds anywhere, and the scenery is beautiful in Los Angeles. Four coaches turned them down before they hired Pete Carroll in 2001. Lane Kiffen was their 4th choice. Tennessee had to go through several candidates before they hired Derek Dooley. Alabama got rejected a couple of times before they landed Nick Saban. It’s not always a slam dunk. We don’t even know if Penn State wants Dan Mullen. They might get dizzy from all his energy after being around an 84 year old coach. And we certainly don’t know if Dan Mullen wants Penn State.
Tweet from Scott Stricklin: “Deja vu … Everyone take a deep breath and pre-order bowl tickets. Speculation of this nature is the price of success”.