Has Dan Mullen Reached His Ceiling with Mississippi State?

Anyone who’s wondering what Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen’s primary message might be heading into the 2016 season only needs to look back to last year’s appearance at the Southeastern Conference’s media days for insight.

His team was coming off one of the best seasons in program history, and its prize quarterback had turned down an opportunity to leave early for the National Football League. Yet when the conference’s media poll came out with the annual predicted order of finish, it listed the Bulldogs last in the SEC West.

It led to Mullen channeling late comedian Rodney Dangerfield for another round of “No respect.”

“This is my seventh year coming here, and I think all seven years, they've pretty much picked us to finish last in the West,” Mullen said. “It's kind of like a tradition, I guess. We don't really worry much about that. I'm much more concerned with how we finish.”

Mississippi State subsequently wound up tied for fifth with only Auburn’s swoon resulting in a worse finish. Yet that didn’t mean that the Bulldogs had a bad season. They still went 9-4 while playing in college football’s toughest division and were ranked for six weeks in the Associated Press Poll.

All four losses came against division foes—No. 14 LSU, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 3 and eventual national champion Alabama and No. 19 Ole Miss—which was pretty reflective of Mullen’s time in Starkville.

Year	Record	SEC West
2009	5-7	T4th
2010	9-4	5th
2011	7-6	5th
2012	8-5	4th
2013	7-6	Tth
2014	10-3	2nd
2015	9-4	T5th
Totals	55-35

At 50-35, 30 of his defeats have been in conference games. He’s 29-5 against everyone else. Mullen’s teams are also a combined 11-3 against the SEC East, although it has to be noted that MSU’s permanent crossover opponent is Kentucky, and the Bulldogs haven’t faced Florida or Georgia since 2011.

Nevertheless, Mullen better get his one-man act ready because while still not deserving the distinction, Mississippi State could again be the pick to finish last in 2016.

Quarterback Dak Prescott has finally moved on to the NFL along with wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson, defensive lineman Chris Jones and cornerback Taveze Calhoun.

They were arguably the four players whom opponents were concerned with the most, although wide receiver Fred Ross was in that mix as well.

“I love that maybe people look past us, underestimate us, say they don't have much of a chance this year,” Mullen said. “We kind of like that role, that fits us, how to play with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder and go out there and prove everybody wrong.”

The Bulldogs have gotten good at that, because while just one of Mullen’s teams finished in the top half of the SEC West, none have ended up in the division cellar.

One could make the argument that each beat expectations, with the 2014 Bulldogs ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for more than a month, and then they played in the Orange Bowl.

Nell Redmond/Associated Press/Associated Press

It was the first time MSU had ever enjoyed No. 1 status, and the accomplishment was even more impressive when considering it was outside the Top 25 in the preseason poll. Moreover, the Bulldogs have had only one losing season under Mullen, his first year when they went 5-7.

All that has led to a lot of speculation that Mullen has reached his ceiling at Mississippi State.

He hasn’t, but changing that perception will be difficult.

Let’s make one thing straight: Mullen is a good coach, and he’s learned a lot during his first head-coaching job.

His players stay in school. He’s already third on the program’s list of all-time wins behind only Allyn McKeen (65) and Jackie Sherrill (75). The six straight bowl appearances is a school record.

Last year, MSU had five players selected in the NFL draft for only the second time since World War II. The program recently enjoyed a five-year streak of having someone named a first-team All-American, while Mullen was named the Maxwell Football Club’s National Coach of the Year in 2014.

This at a school that for years was really known for baseball and has never had more than 10 wins in any season. Overall, Mississippi State claims just one SEC title (1941), and it has played in a single conference championship game, losing to Tennessee, 24-14, in 1998.

Yet the cowbells have never been louder.

Mullen has a contract that paid him $4 million in 2015, which according to the USA Today coaching salary database made him the 16th-highest-paid coach in the nation (matching Steve Spurrier, who had won a national championship).

As long as Director of Athletics Scott Stricklin is around, he may have as much job security as any other coach in the SEC, and Miss State recently expanded Davis Wade Stadium to 61,337.

But when will that no longer be enough for Mullen?

He’s changed the culture at Mississippi State, there’s no doubt about it, and his name keeps getting mentioned for open vacancies. For example, just a few months ago, the Sun-Sentinel's Dave Hyde reported that Mullen interviewed for the Miami job that eventually went to Mark Richt.

Maybe being in the SEC West shadows is finally getting to Mullen, and one has to think an opportunity that’s too good to pass up will come along at some point. But in the meantime, he’s going to continue to use it with his players and defy critics.

“I think I like it that way, because I feel as if I’d rather be underrated than overrated,” former defensive end Ryan Brown said last season. “I like being a Bulldog and better than that, an underdog to prove ourselves and have that motivation.”

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.