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Mississippi State football coaching search: 3 underwhelming hires MSU could make

By Ethan Lee

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 18: Mississippi State Bulldogs and Southern Miss Golden Eagles \d1h at Davis Wade Stadium on November 18, 2023 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI - NOVEMBER 18: Mississippi State Bulldogs and Southern Miss Golden Eagles \d1h at Davis Wade Stadium on November 18, 2023 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) /
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Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann
ATHENS, GA – SEPTEMBER 23: ATHENS, GA – SEPTEMBER 23: Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann signals instructions during a game between UAB and University of Georgia at Sanford Stadium on September 23, 2023 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Perry McIntyre/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /

Glenn Schumann

I’m not someone who says you shouldn’t hire a specific coach because of a previous person’s failure, but it’d be a hard thing to sell to folks if you choose to hire a young defense coordinator who has no head coaching experience right after you fired a young defensive coordinator who had, at that time, no head coaching experience.

To make matters worse, the biggest selling  point I’ve seen for Schumann is because he’s coached under a coaching legend in Kirby Smart. Zach Arnett’s biggest selling point (outside of the notion that he supposedly brought continuity to the program) was that he coached under a coaching legend in Mike Leach.

Now, this could work out, as we’ve seen it work out for Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks. Things are great in Eugene right now. They’re winning at a high level, Lanning is a thrill to watch on the sidelines, and his team is fired up and ready to win.

But Schumann is very unproven.

The 33-year-old has coached under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, which are decent things to have on your resume, to be completely honest. Those guys win a lot. But Schumann himself hasn’t been any higher than a co-defensive coordinator for a program.

Which, you know, is a bit of a risk. He’s had the luxury of working with the most talented rosters in America. We’re seeing the same thing happening with Lanning and Oregon.

Starkville doesn’t have anywhere near as much talent as what Smart has on his roster. The Mississippi State Bulldogs aren’t as talented as the Alabama Crimson Tide. They’re definitely not as talented as the Oregon Ducks.

Now, maybe Schumann is a heck of a recruiter and a heck of a coach. Maybe he could assemble a great coaching staff who can help overcome his lack of experience and maybe he could pillage Georgia’s coaching staff to help him round out everything at MSU.

There’s a chance he could build a small scale version of what works at Georgia. But there’s also a chance that that sort of plan falls short for MSU.

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