Mississippi State football trolls Dan Mullen by honoring Jackie Sherrill

The Mississippi State football program honored its winningest head coach when its second winningest head coach came to town

Jackie Sherrill is the winningest head coach in Mississippi State football history. His career in Starkville, Mississippi was defined by several great years in the late 1990’s and then the start of the century. From 1991 to 2003, Sherrill guided the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The entirety of Jackie Sherrill’s career wasn’t exactly the best one in the grand scheme of things, but he was a consistent winner in the midst of it all.

The Bulldogs won the SEC West and went to Atlanta in 1998 under Sherrill’s guidance and Mississippi State then followed that up with a 10 win season in 1999. During that 1999 season, the Mississippi State football team went to the Peach Bowl and won it.

Jackie Sherrill helped put Mississippi State football on the map. It’s only fitting that he is honored by MSU 20 years after he helped win the SEC West. It’s even better that this is happening on the night that Dan Mullen returns to town.

It’s the perfect opportunity to troll Mullen, who left a season before he could become the winningest coach in MSU history. When he left Starkville, Mullen finished his time as the Bulldogs’ head coach with 69 wins. Another year and there’s little doubt that he would’ve passed up Sherrill’s 75 victories.

Dan Mullen, like Jackie Sherrill, accomplished a long list of great things in Starkville, Mississippi. After the Bulldogs became irrelevant again at the end of the Sherrill era and Sylvester Croom came in and then left, Mullen inherited a team that was yearning to win.

Mullen did just that as the head coach of the Mississippi State football team. It’s certainly likely that Mullen’s accomplishments will be acknowledged by the university in several years. They should be.

But, for right now, this is a great and very subtle jab right at Mullen for leaving. MSU could’ve scheduled Sherrill’s trip to Starkville for any game this season. Bringing him home for this game is the perfect move by John Cohen and the Mississippi State athletics department.