Why Dan Mullen and Mississippi State Are a Match Made in Heaven

Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen struggled for a signature win throughout the first few years of his tenure as the Bulldogs' head coach. He entered Saturday night's matchup with LSU with a 2-22 record against ranked opponents, with both of those wins coming against teams that were average at best (Ole Miss 2009, Florida 2010).

That third win against ranked competition resonated like a clap of thunder that was a little too close for comfort.

The Bulldogs manhandled then-No. 8 LSU in a 34-29 victory in Death Valley on Saturday night, notching the biggest win of his Mississippi State career. If the previous wins over ranked opponents were considered "signature wins," this one was written in ink, paint and etched in stone.

Don't be fooled by the score. Mississippi State treated LSU like a cupcake in a paycheck game for the majority of the night, and then survived a late charge led mostly by LSU's backups.

This begs the question, what does the future hold for Mullen? 

It should include more taxes being paid to the city of Starkville, Mississippi, because the Bulldogs and Mullen are a perfect fit.

I'll admit, I was wrong about Mullen.

Up until late last season, he had done a lot to raise the floor of the program but hadn't really done much to impact the ceiling. Sure, four straight bowl games was nice, but there wasn't much to indicate the possibility of upward mobility for the program.

There is now.

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Mississippi State went into one of the most hostile environments in college football, played his brand of football and flat out whipped the typically-physical Tigers. 

There have been suitors for Mullen in the past. 

He was linked to the Penn State job in late 2011, according to Sports Illustrated, and Miami was turned off by Mullen before it hired Al Golden after the 2010 season, according to The Miami Herald (via SportsByBrooks.com). 

What's done is done, though, and Mullen's future looks incredibly bright in Starkville.

He made $2.7 million in 2013, according to the USA Today coaching salary database, one spot behind Florida head coach Will Muschamp.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Why does that matter?

If Mullen is going to be linked to any job after this season, it'll likely be Florida. He won two national championships as the offensive coordinator of the Gators in 2006 and 2008 and is familiar with the recruiting territory. Plus, Muschamp isn't doing his hot seat any favors by combining a suddenly putrid defense with a consistently woeful offense.

Would the Florida job really be worth leaving Starkville for? At this point, no.

The pay would be roughly the same, and if Florida started tossing cash at Mullen's front door, Mississippi State would have no problem matching it now that the SEC has what amounts to its own version of a mint known as the "SEC Network."

Sure, the immediate upside would be great. After all, Florida has a recruiting base that is second to none in college football. What Florida lacks, though, is job stability. 

Mullen has now established that in Starkville, which is a rarity for the coaching profession. 

Saturday night proved that while the journey takes a little while longer at a program like Mississippi State, the potential still exists to be great—even in the SEC West. Mullen already walked down that path, built the program the way he wanted to and proved that it works.

There's no reason to leave now. It's just getting good.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.