The mailbox. It is always an entertaining way of hearing
from fans across the state of Mississippi. Today, we have a wide variety of
questions. My favorite is the last on. As always, this is a feature we will
visit from time to time. If you have any questions, feel free to email, tweet
or submit on the MSM Facebook page. I had no idea of the hatred between Ole
Miss and Miss. St. until I read some of the questions. On the other hand, most
of the readers of MSM are incredible. Keep up the good work.
On to the mailbag.
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Submitted by Ron S. via email: "What happened to
Southern Miss football? Is Todd Monken a good hire? I hope I never see Ellis
Johnson in public."
-I can't begin to describe the colossal mistake the hiring
of Ellis Johnson was. It is safe to say, he is a great coordinator that was a
really bad head coach. The talent on last year's squad was not indicative of
the record on the field. Look, whether anyone believes it or not, the state of
Mississippi is better when each of its major college teams are competitive.
Last season, USM was not. As for Monken, going the assistant route from
Oklahoma State worked well in the past. See: Larry Fedora.
Not to mention, the
Illinois native has stints at LSU, La Tech and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the
NFL. Not bad. Goodness knows, Jeff Hammond needs some good karma coming his
way. I believe it is. Let's hope it works well here. Oxford, MS high school quarterback
Parker Adamson visited with Monken lately and may receive an offer. That's a
great start. Monken also has expressed interest in other north Mississippi
prospects. That will only help.
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Submitted by Randy P. via email: "So Delta State's
football coach leaves and they hire some guy from Northwestern State? What
gives?"
-Jamey Chadwell left DSU for Charleston Southern to take the
head coaching job and DSU then hires Todd Cooley, who has served as offensive
coordinator at Northwestern State, Central Arkansas and Arkansas Tech. Let's not mince words here, Chadwell was less
than productive his first season. The Okra went 3-7 and 1-4 in a depleted Gulf
South Conference.
Secondly, DSU is
without an Athletic Director, as Jeremy McClain accepted a similar position in
an assistant role at Southern Miss not long ago. Ronnie Mayers, a lifelong
Statesman, is in an interim capacity and doing a nice job holding the ship
together. With the GSC in flux and a less than stable situation, Mayers
possibly did the best he could. We shall see. A proactive move to FCS_ formerly
Division 1-AA _ should be studied extensively. Oh, and find a new conference.
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Submitted by Lisa W. via email: "Is Dan Mullen going to
Colorado? What a stupid tweet. You're an idiot. MSU is on the rise, and rising.
"
-Thanks for the question and comment. Am I an idiot? That is up for debate I
suppose. The report was wrong, obviously. Both Dan leaving and the information
from the station in Boulder releasing any information at all. In the spirit of full
disclosure, I was leaving my sister-in-law's wedding and I received a few text
messages about it. Without doing any research whatsoever, I tweeted it. The info was wrong and in turn, the tweet was
inaccurate.
I apologized. Look, when you
have a coach that has turned a program around like Mullen, people are going to inquire
about vacancies. While it might not have been Colorado, he will be sought after
if he continues to win and land MSU in
bowl games. MSU is indeed in a much
better position that it was years ago, in regards to football. A lot of that is
Mullen, but most of that is leadership and a supportive fanbase. If Mullen wins again this year, he will be a
candidate once again. I would much
rather have a coach that everyone wanted, rather one I wanted fired but that's
just me.
------------------
Submitted by Ralph P. via Facebook: "How in the world
is Freeze getting these players to visit, much less commit? Why would they
choose Ole Miss over all these other schools. I am a Rebel fan, by the
way."
Great question. A lot of Freeze's training came from one of
the most relentless recruiters in the game in Ed Orgeron. While he couldn't
coach himself out of a wet paper bag, he could recruit. That was evident when
you saw the success of Houston Nutt. He was essentially winning with Orgeron's
recruits. Mind you, some were Nutt's but most were not. It was in the latter
part of Nutt's career, he "let go of the rope" and was fired.
The Ole
Miss brass had no choice, in my opinion. As for Freeze, he appears to have an attribute
that Orgeron lacked. He can actually coach on the field. It appears to be a
nice combination for Ole Miss. The reasons the recruits are warming on Ole Miss?
Freeze is winning the parents. Most importantly, mom. As for the players, he is
selling playing time and hope. Hope for a brighter future. So far, it has been
a perfect storm.
-----------------
Submitted by Jeff K. via email: "It is spring football
time yet? I hate basketball and I really hate watching bad basketball like the
SEC. It should be a club sport."
The SEC is as bad as I have seen in years. Realistically, I
cannot see the NCAA selection committee taking any more than four teams, and
that may be a stretch. When a team cannot buy 20-points before half_South
Carolina_ you have a problem.
A big problem. Football is essentially a year
round sport now. The season, signing day, spring football, SEC media days, fall
camp and you have a calendar year. Throw in Jr. days for recruiting and 24/7
coverage on websites and radio and there you go. The NCAA tournament always
exceeds expectation so enjoy the break. Basketball will be over soon. By the
way, check out college baseball. The state is full of talented teams this year.
-----------------------
Submitted by Shane W. via email: "My buddy, who loves
Miss State and wears his maroon everywhere, was pushed by a Memphis fan, decked
out in Tiger clothes, at a bar in Memphis. I didn't see it. He came to me and
was ready to fight. I grabbed him and we went home. (It would have been 10 on
2) What should I have done? I mean, he was a prick."
You see why I love the mailbox? This is a terrific question.
Well, first off, you did the correct thing. First, even if they were replicas of McLovin
from Superbad, it was still 10 vs two. Those are not favorable odds. Secondly, being
in a public bar no less, you would have probably been arrested. So, even if you
quickly dispose of the Tiger fans, you are going to jail. If you are married,
you have to explain all this. Also, it will cost you to get bailed out. Then
you have to deal with the possibility of charges, missing work. Disaster.
Now, what if you both are beat up like Johnny
in Karate Kid? You get a free ride to 201 Poplar to jail....beat up....see
above for the litany of reasons here as well. You did the right thing.
Editor's note: I have zero doubt that Shane and his friends have
long since headed back to the bar to fight. I also have little doubt that fight
has already happened. Also, I have little doubt Shane won convincingly. Jail?
That I am not sure of. Shane sounds crafty. I will update if I receive another
email with the result_which I feel I already know. Stay tuned.
Brad Logan is a regular contributor
to Mississippi Sports Magazine. He is a native of Bruce, MS and currently
resides in Mississippi. You can reach him by following him on Twitter:
@BradLoganCOTE and his blog: www.CornerOfTheEndzone.blogspot.com
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