Silly Season Special: Goodbye, Dan. Hello, Joe, Me Oh My Oh

Silly Season Special:  Goodbye, Dan. Hello, Joe, Me Oh My Oh!

Well, that was quick!  Didn't take Dan long to leave, and it darn sure didn't take Cohen long to find us a new coach ... and a damn good one it appears.  As I've said, before, State went from Darrell Royal in 1955 to Dan in 2017 between coaches leaving because they wanted to.  That's a really good record ... or perhaps a really bad one, considering that we ran off or fired all of the others during that 62 year span.  But Dan's leaving was a gut punch.  It always hurts to be the one who gets left, even if it's one of those "it's not you; it's me" deals, as in this case.  Let's think about Dan, his leaving, and what happens now.

To minimally paraphrase (i.e., damn near quote verbatim) the words of Daryl Hall, 

He's gone, oh I, oh I'd
Better learn how to face it
He's gone, oh I, oh I'd
Pay the devil to replace him.
He's gone, what went wrong?

Everybody's high on consolation
Everybody's trying to tell me what's right for me
Sports reporters tried to bore me with a sermon
But it's plain to see that they can't comfort me

Sorry Bully for the imposition
I think I've got it, got the strength to carry on
I need a drink and a quick decision
Now it's up to me, ooh what will be

Those who have spent their lives hating and/or looking down their noses at State had been saying since Dan's second season, when his name began to be linked with job openings elsewhere, that he couldn't wait to leave.  That fits the "Why would anyone want the Miss. State job?" narrative that our detractors have believed (and probably always will).  Our diehards replied, "No!  Dan and Megan love it here."  Dan said he was building something, and we knew that he was ... anyone who was not a hater had to admit that.  We also felt that if we loved him enough, he'd love us back and would stay forever (at least unless he began to lose too many). He might have been a pompous Yankee SOB, but he was our pompous Yankee SOB.  Even if we were, like Scotch, an acquired taste, we had grown on him and he on us.  As long as he won, Dan was the Man.  Surely he would be loyal to us.  Certainly he believed all of those things he said about family, Starkvegas, the great administrative and fan support, etc.  Didn't he?!?  It was those TSUN SOB's and other haters who spread those damn constant rumors about how he tried to get every job that ever opened around the country.  Just trying to hurt our recruiting.  

So who was he really, and why did he leave?  Coaches by nature must have prodigious egos; Dan most assuredly is not the exception.  He wants to be the coach of one or more championship teams, thinks he can be, and wants to make as much money as he can while doing it.  Most of us have felt the same way in our professions ... we want(ed) to be the best [fill in the blank for what you do/did] and want(ed) to make as much as we can while doing so.  That part is easy; the next is tougher.  Dan thought that he would have a better chance of accomplishing that at the University of Florida than he could at Miss. State.  Most people would agree with him.  Hell, I agree with him.  (And not just because Florida is my other alma mater.)  It's a mess right now, but they are located smack dab in one of the richest recruiting areas in the nation, and they have a national brand.  It's a huge school with a beautiful campus, and they have almost limitless resources.  Dan had coached there and had helped them win two national championships.  Valuing what he apparently does most, it is a greener pasture 

... if  they give him time.  I didn't think Dan would take the UF job for a variety of reasons. It's a helluva gamble.  The last 2 bright, rising star coaches were given 4 and 2 1/2 seasons, respectively, before being fired because they didn't win enough soon enough.  Hell, the last guy won Division championships in his first 2 seasons and was fired half way through the third! UF will not be happy just to make 8 straight bowls; in fact, if Dan hasn't won an SEC championship, he won't be given a chance to play in more than 4. That's pressure ... and then there's the work environment:  Dan and Scott never seemed to be BFF's at State.  Quite obviously Dan and Jeremy Foley, the old UF AD, were not best buds either.  UF had had 2 openings after Dan left, and he was seemingly not considered either time. Now two powerful "consultants," the same Jeremy Foley and the Gator Goliath himself, Steve Spurrier, have offices just down the hall from the football coach. Talk about lurking in the shadows!  Looking for some reassurance and confidence as the "new bride"?  UF wooed Chip Kelley and Scott Frost this time, and were spurned by both before turning to Dan.  It had to hurt considerably that they had no great affection for him.  But in the end, they met each other's needs ... for now.  Check back in a few years ... as is always the case for coaches of Power 5 football programs.

So where did Dan's leaving State leave us?  Better off ... and I'm not trying to go the "sweet lemons" route.  As is usually the case when a coach is dismissed and a new one hired, the MSU football program was in a mess when Dan was hired.  It is infinitely better after 9 years under him. As Nicky Fitz, John Cohen, and Mark Keenum have said, we owe Dan much gratitude.  The ultimate test of  employees or leaders is whether they left things better than they found them.  No doubt that he did.  And that, combined with a new AD who is smart, organized, and is more prepared than the best Eagle Scout, enabled Miss. State to be out of the blocks like a flash on a successful chase for the right man to be the next coach.  The speed and efficiency with which this search was conducted and concluded were absolutely amazing.  Forget UT (God help them); just look around at all of the other searches.  Most places flounder for awhile, as they figure out not just who they want (and can get), but what they really want.  And this is true even for schools who made decisions to fire their coaches half way through the season (whether they had actually pulled the trigger or not).  We just thought Dan was the man; John Cohen absolutely is!  What a job!

There is little doubt that Joe Moorhead would've been a great hire for any school in the country who was looking for a head coach.  We were lucky that we got him first.  From a decision-making model, it was a classic hire ... 
  • Step 1: Identify the decision. CHECK
  • Step 2: Gather relevant information. CHECK
  • Step 3: Identify the alternatives. CHECK
  • Step 4: Weigh the evidence. CHECK
  • Step 5: Choose among alternatives. CHECK
  • Step 6: Take action. CHECK
  • Step 7: Review your decision & its consequences. TBD
We won't know about that last step for awhile.  Like when asked about recruiting classes, I always respond, "Ask me again in 3-4 years."  Yes, Joe Mo has to hire a staff that can recruit Southern boys and shape them into the image he wants.  But he's been successful in turning around a moribund program on the Div. I-AA level, then turned Penn State's offense from a liability into a formidable asset.  He has the respect and admiration of his former employees, and his record speaks for itself.  Additionally, Joe Mo inherits a very talented group of experienced players, including a QB starting his 3rd year who looks to have precisely the skill set that Moorhead's offense requires.  It looks on paper like a match made in heaven. Certainly hanging on to what seemed to be an excellent recruiting class this year is a key.  Let's hope that in 2-3 seasons we are again worrying about all of the schools trying to poach our new, successful head coach.  For now, as the Miss. Delta Community College Trojans say, "Go 'head, Mo'head!"

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