Mississippi State football: Bulldogs brilliant to hold onto Bob Shoop, Brian Baker

Given that the Mississippi State football team is losing assistant coaches this offseason, it’s great that the Bulldogs were able to get Bob Shoop and Brian Baker secured in Starkville for a little while longer.

It’s been a very long time since the Mississippi State football team has had a defensive coordinator stay for more than just one season. The Bulldogs have seen defensive coordinator after defensive coordinator leave left and right over recent years. So, the news breaking that Bob Shoop and Brian Baker signed extensions was borderline monumental for Joe Moorhead’s program.

And of course, that news breaks in the midst of Charles Huff heading over to Tuscaloosa and then Luke Getsy leaving for the NFL.

Those departures makes retaining Shoop and Baker especially important.

Focusing in on the defensive coordinator spot for a second: MSU truly needed consistency and continuity there. Having continuity at a coaching position where there’s been little to none over the past few years is incredible.

Towards the end of the Dan Mullen era, the Bulldogs churned through defensive coordinators year after year. Mullen struck gold when he was able to land Todd Grantham and bring him to Starkville, but then both left for Florida after just one year together at Mississippi State.

So, from Geoff Collins in 2014 to Manny Diaz in 2015 to Peter Sirmon in 2016 to Todd Grantham in 2017 and then now Bob Shoop in 2018. But now, Shoop will also be around in 2019. That’s big.

But making sure that the Bulldogs continued to keep Brian Baker around was also critical for this coaching staff. Baker helped make the Bulldogs’ defensive front one of the best in the country. He’s helped recruit and assemble incredible talent up front. Without Baker, Bob Shoop’s defense wouldn’t have been as dominant as it was.

The Mississippi State football team was brilliant in making sure that these two stayed in Starkville at least for a little while longer. Joe Moorhead seemingly making the defense a priority for MSU is a good thing to see.