With the postseason upon us and Mississippi State baseball set to make a regional and, hopefully, a postseason run, talk has quieted somewhat with regards to the present head coaching vacancy in Starkville. Attention has understandably turned to the actual games of relevance taking place on the diamond.
However MSU's search for a new coach hasn't slowed. State is still chugging along behind the scenes to find the next leader of the program, and you can now officially cross one name off the list for that search.
Wes Johnson signs extension with Georgia, will not be taking Mississippi State job
Georgia head coach Wes Johnson has signed a contract extension to remain in Athens. The second year skipper has UGA in the Top 10 and on the verge of earning a national-seed for the second-straight season. Details have yet to be released, but he should see a substantial raise from his current $1 million per year salary. The pitching coach for Mississippi State's 2016 SEC championship team, Johnson was considered one of the top targets for the Starkville-based Bulldogs' head coach vacancy.
A few weeks back, Wes Johnson attempted to put an end to the speculation that he was a candidate for the Mississippi State job, telling reporters that he had "no plans to venture to Starkville." Given that coaches have repeatedly shown not be taken at their word when questioned on their pursuit of other opportunities, that wasn't enough to rule him out as a possibility. But it seems Johnson was being truthful (or Georgia made him an offer he couldn't refuse at the threat of his departure...).
That's officially one high-profile candidate off the hot board for Mississippi State, and it comes at no surprise. Johnson is just getting started in Athens and should see increased support going forward. He's got a good thing going at a program long considered a sleeping giant in baseball. He was always going to be a tough pull for State.
And according to D1 Baseball's Kendall Rogers another potential priority candidate may not be within reach for MSU either. Rogers says that Auburn's Butch Thompson, another former MSU assistant experiencing major success in the SEC, is not someone he expects to be a viable option for the Bulldogs moving forward.
Butch Thompson is fully established at Auburn, another program seeing an uptick in baseball support, especially with John Cohen as AD. He too looks difficult to move. Unlike with Wes Johnson, we don't have any official confirmation that State won't be able to land Thompson, but if Kendall Rogers is putting out that it seems unlikely, then its unlikely.
Though a top candidate is now officially off the board for Mississippi State, and another looks to be out of the mix as well, there's no need to be concerned yet with the direction of the coaching search. Several high-quality candidates remain as possibilities, and that includes the true No. 1 on the big board in Virginia's Brian O'Connor. By all accounts, State is still poised to make an impressive hire.