Mississippi State Football Off Field Incidents not Indicative of a Rogue Program
Ever since the 2015 Mississippi State football season came to an end, the Bulldogs have had one off field issue after another which hasn’t been the norm under Dan Mullen.
When Dan Mullen took over the Mississippi State football program, one of the few good things Sylvester Croom left for him was a program that was rid of all the trouble makers it was infected with at the end of the Sherrill era. There have been some off field issues for the Bulldogs since Mullen took over as there will be from time to time with every program, but nothing that has shown the football team has discipline issues.
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For some reason, the Mississippi State football team is getting more bad press than we are accustomed to since Mullen’s arrival within the last four to five months. There have been more uncharacteristic moments than Bulldog fans would like to hear about.
Here is what Mullen has had to deal with.
- Dak Prescott arrested for a DUI
- Chris Jones arrested for driving with a suspended license
- Jeffery Simmons video and subsequent charges of Simple Assault and Disturbing the Peace
- P.J Jones arrested for drugs and drug paraphernalia
- Anfernee Mullins arrested for Simple Assault
- Fred Brown dismissed for breaking the Honor Code
If you want to look on the bright side, there isn’t a lot Dan Mullen could do or will be his problem as three of these incidents involved former players. And the incident involving Chris Jones was a simple oversight on his part and was later dismissed.
The problem is these are creating negative headlines where the Mississippi State football team is included. Some are obviously more serious than others, but the team hasn’t experienced any one event outside of the Jeffery Simmons incident that will be considered a serious problem.
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The biggest issue Dan Mullen faces with all of these problems is the volume he is having to deal with. Truth won’t matter if a rival coach tries to spin the Mississippi State football program as a rogue program out of control to a recruit and his parents. The coach will just mention number of off field incidents and throw out a specific one or two to convince the parent Dan Mullen can’t control his players.
Dan Mullen still has to announce how he will handle both Jeffery Simmons and Anfernee Mullins. Each faces a Simple Assault charge, but the incident involving Simmons is more complex simply because there is a video. There won’t be a quick resolution to either since we are in the middle of spring and not fall, but how Mullen decides to handle both could go a long way to debunking any claims other coaches might make about the state of discipline for the Bulldogs.
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The Mississippi State football team doesn’t have a discipline problem. But if there continues to be more off field issues, even minor ones or ones involving former players, then the team could end up with a perception problem. And in today’s world, perception is often reality to many people.