MSU head coach Dan Mullen
Mullen Named Bobby Dodd Trophy National Coach of Week, Previews Alabama Game
November 07, 2016 | Football
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After guiding Mississippi State to its first victory over a Top 10 team since 2014, Dan Mullen was recognized as the Bobby Dodd Trophy's National Coach of the Week, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl announced Monday.
The Dodd Coach of the Week Award honors the football coach whose program embodies the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.
"Coach Mullen and his Bulldogs pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season and scored a decisive conference victory," said Jim Terry, Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "Coach Mullen has achieved great success since he took over the Mississippi State program and after this win, he is certainly a deserving honoree for this week's award."
"The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is proud to honor Coach Mullen after an impressive upset win for his Bulldogs," said Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chairman Percy Vaughn. "Coach Mullen certainly earned this week's accolades and we wish him and his team continued success this season."
In addition, Mullen previewed the Bulldogs' showdown with No. 1 Alabama at his weekly press conference on Monday.
Dan Mullen Press Conference
November 7, 2016
Opening Statement …
"This is a big week. A huge challenge for our guys. They have the No. 1 offense and defense in the SEC. There are not a lot of weaknesses on their roster. They have guys that are sitting on the bench that would start for most teams in the country. You have to come out and play a very clean game. They are very well coached with a lot of talented players. They don't make a lot of mistakes. If you make a mistake, it will end up being extremely costly. You are going to have to make a clean game and find a way to make plays to put yourself in a position to win. It is a great challenged for our coaches and players to come out and try to get a win."
On Nick Fitzgerald's growth …
"The experience of playing time and decision making comes with reps. You want to see quarterbacks not make the same mistakes over and over again. If they make a mistake, they see that mistake, realize that mistake and go correct themselves. You are starting to see that from Nick. You are starting to see him understand the offense, have more experience with the plays and the number of plays he is making is increasing because of his comfort in his decision making."
On missed tackle corrections the past two weeks …
"We had a lot less missed tackles. We played defense that we pride ourselves in playing. We had 200-yards less in missed tackles given up between Samford and Texas A&M. That gets into guys making a decision and taking pride in how they play. Getting some guys back so that they didn't have to play as many reps in the course of the game on the defensive side of the ball."
On younger players …
"We are getting there. When you start mentioning Nick Fitzgerald, Aeris Williams, Malik Dear and Keith Mixon, those are guys who are really getting first significant playing times of their careers. We knew we had a really young roster going into the year and with certain injuries happening, it made us even younger. Those guys are getting more comfortable in making plays out there on the field.
On John Cohen's move to Athletic Director …
"Mississippi State is a great school. I love being here and with getting an athletic director who loves the school as much as I do is fantastic. People can be very comfortable in knowing they have somebody who knows and loves this school and knows a lot of the uniqueness of this school. He is someone who has wanted this position for a long time. He has been researching and preparing for this position for years."
On last week's communication between the coaches and Brian Johnson calling plays …
"I am very hands on in the offense, we all are. We have a staff where we have all worked together and are very comfortable together. Brian Johnson always has a lot of input on what we are doing and what we are calling between series. At different times he would suggest something and they would work. We have been on the same page a lot. I have a lot of comfort in him. He was in a great rhythm and you don't want to mess that up. He was upstairs and you feel different things at different times. You aren't necessarily feeling the emotion on the field, but you are seeing things the other team is giving us. On the field, you are feeling the flow of the game. You have to have great report back and forth and we are very fortunate. I think all of our coaches have worked together for a while and we function very well."
On getting prepared to face the No. 1 team …
"For us, we have a very young team and I want to see how they react. In some ways, it is not a bad situation to be in. Nobody expects us to win, so we just have to go find a way to win the game without the pressure on us. I am interested to see how our guys will respond in practice this week."
On the confidence of winning the past two games …
"I was pleased with our fundamentals. We didn't make a lot of mistakes, we ran the ball and we didn't miss tackles. Guys were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. We have a new defensive staff. They are getting comfortable with the players and players are getting comfortable playing with them. Our players are young and they are getting more comfortable playing the game. Our guys gained some confidence winning the game against Samford. Our guys gained confidence in winning and being able to win. We really built off of that, especially defensively. You add those things together and it resulted in a much better performance."
On playing as No. 1 vs. playing No. 1 …
"There is just a little extra stigma to the game. The ability to knock off No. 1, doesn't happen often. It is a different opportunity for when you are doing it compared to when you are it because you know that you are the ultimate target. It makes it fun and challenging. The mental aspect of the pressures of being No. 1 and then the mental aspect of playing No. 1. You have to have the right mindset that you can go win the game. If you don't expect to win the game, there is no chance you can do that."
On facing Alabama's defensive line …
"I don't think they will allow us to put an extra guy on the field. That would help. You have to mix it up. You have to make sure you are protecting the right way and getting guys help the right way. The biggest way you help is by keeping yourself out of negative situations. We are going to limit some chances. We were successful because we kept ourselves out of those situations. Alabama capitalizes on your mistakes and you have to play consistently."
On the MSU offensive line …
"We have been very banged up and have had to move guys around. We played very confident last week. Hopefully playing how we played last week, builds them up in the future that they continue to play with more confidence. As coaches, we have to keep them in the right situations. Nick did a great job of getting rid of the ball. We have to make sure we continue to help those players out when they are at a disadvantage matchup."
The Dodd Coach of the Week Award honors the football coach whose program embodies the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.
"Coach Mullen and his Bulldogs pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season and scored a decisive conference victory," said Jim Terry, Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "Coach Mullen has achieved great success since he took over the Mississippi State program and after this win, he is certainly a deserving honoree for this week's award."
"The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is proud to honor Coach Mullen after an impressive upset win for his Bulldogs," said Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chairman Percy Vaughn. "Coach Mullen certainly earned this week's accolades and we wish him and his team continued success this season."
In addition, Mullen previewed the Bulldogs' showdown with No. 1 Alabama at his weekly press conference on Monday.
Dan Mullen Press Conference
November 7, 2016
Opening Statement …
"This is a big week. A huge challenge for our guys. They have the No. 1 offense and defense in the SEC. There are not a lot of weaknesses on their roster. They have guys that are sitting on the bench that would start for most teams in the country. You have to come out and play a very clean game. They are very well coached with a lot of talented players. They don't make a lot of mistakes. If you make a mistake, it will end up being extremely costly. You are going to have to make a clean game and find a way to make plays to put yourself in a position to win. It is a great challenged for our coaches and players to come out and try to get a win."
On Nick Fitzgerald's growth …
"The experience of playing time and decision making comes with reps. You want to see quarterbacks not make the same mistakes over and over again. If they make a mistake, they see that mistake, realize that mistake and go correct themselves. You are starting to see that from Nick. You are starting to see him understand the offense, have more experience with the plays and the number of plays he is making is increasing because of his comfort in his decision making."
On missed tackle corrections the past two weeks …
"We had a lot less missed tackles. We played defense that we pride ourselves in playing. We had 200-yards less in missed tackles given up between Samford and Texas A&M. That gets into guys making a decision and taking pride in how they play. Getting some guys back so that they didn't have to play as many reps in the course of the game on the defensive side of the ball."
On younger players …
"We are getting there. When you start mentioning Nick Fitzgerald, Aeris Williams, Malik Dear and Keith Mixon, those are guys who are really getting first significant playing times of their careers. We knew we had a really young roster going into the year and with certain injuries happening, it made us even younger. Those guys are getting more comfortable in making plays out there on the field.
On John Cohen's move to Athletic Director …
"Mississippi State is a great school. I love being here and with getting an athletic director who loves the school as much as I do is fantastic. People can be very comfortable in knowing they have somebody who knows and loves this school and knows a lot of the uniqueness of this school. He is someone who has wanted this position for a long time. He has been researching and preparing for this position for years."
On last week's communication between the coaches and Brian Johnson calling plays …
"I am very hands on in the offense, we all are. We have a staff where we have all worked together and are very comfortable together. Brian Johnson always has a lot of input on what we are doing and what we are calling between series. At different times he would suggest something and they would work. We have been on the same page a lot. I have a lot of comfort in him. He was in a great rhythm and you don't want to mess that up. He was upstairs and you feel different things at different times. You aren't necessarily feeling the emotion on the field, but you are seeing things the other team is giving us. On the field, you are feeling the flow of the game. You have to have great report back and forth and we are very fortunate. I think all of our coaches have worked together for a while and we function very well."
On getting prepared to face the No. 1 team …
"For us, we have a very young team and I want to see how they react. In some ways, it is not a bad situation to be in. Nobody expects us to win, so we just have to go find a way to win the game without the pressure on us. I am interested to see how our guys will respond in practice this week."
On the confidence of winning the past two games …
"I was pleased with our fundamentals. We didn't make a lot of mistakes, we ran the ball and we didn't miss tackles. Guys were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. We have a new defensive staff. They are getting comfortable with the players and players are getting comfortable playing with them. Our players are young and they are getting more comfortable playing the game. Our guys gained some confidence winning the game against Samford. Our guys gained confidence in winning and being able to win. We really built off of that, especially defensively. You add those things together and it resulted in a much better performance."
On playing as No. 1 vs. playing No. 1 …
"There is just a little extra stigma to the game. The ability to knock off No. 1, doesn't happen often. It is a different opportunity for when you are doing it compared to when you are it because you know that you are the ultimate target. It makes it fun and challenging. The mental aspect of the pressures of being No. 1 and then the mental aspect of playing No. 1. You have to have the right mindset that you can go win the game. If you don't expect to win the game, there is no chance you can do that."
On facing Alabama's defensive line …
"I don't think they will allow us to put an extra guy on the field. That would help. You have to mix it up. You have to make sure you are protecting the right way and getting guys help the right way. The biggest way you help is by keeping yourself out of negative situations. We are going to limit some chances. We were successful because we kept ourselves out of those situations. Alabama capitalizes on your mistakes and you have to play consistently."
On the MSU offensive line …
"We have been very banged up and have had to move guys around. We played very confident last week. Hopefully playing how we played last week, builds them up in the future that they continue to play with more confidence. As coaches, we have to keep them in the right situations. Nick did a great job of getting rid of the ball. We have to make sure we continue to help those players out when they are at a disadvantage matchup."
Players Mentioned
Thursday, April 16
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11