Petersen to Mississippi State
Tell me Sparty is just fucking with people.
http://spartyandfriends.com/2008/12/05/breaking-news-sources-confirm-ch…
December 5th, 2008 at 4:01 PM ^
This is real. Sparty is not joking around. It should be announced publicly soon. I think he will do well at miss st. He is a good coach but it might take a year or two before they start having good seasons
December 5th, 2008 at 4:03 PM ^
is boise state just a training school for big 6 coaches? i think this is the 3rd boise coach to jump ship in recent years. hawkins, (someone i can't remember), peterson
December 5th, 2008 at 4:08 PM ^
Koetter left for Arizona State and before that Houston Nutt left for Arkansas.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:24 PM ^
Boise State to Mississhitty State isn't much of an upgrade.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:47 PM ^
Incorrect. He'll be in the SEC in a talent rich state. Plus,if I went undefeated twice in a non-BCS conference without a whiff of Nat'l championship hopes, you can bet I'd hop to a BCS conference.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:51 PM ^
Is it better to have a bunch of good seasons at a non-BCS school and wait for a good Big 6 job to open up (i.e. I dunno, like if Pete Carroll jumped to the NFL or if Joe Paterno retires)...
OR
...is it better to jump right into a perennially poor Big 6 job (i.e. Boise Sate to Mississippi State, Indiana, Baylor, etc.)?
December 6th, 2008 at 7:37 AM ^
I'd say the second one is better for these reasons: More money, shot at BCS Title, more publicity, more talent coming in (most likely), a chance to win in a big conference, and really just to make a name for yourself in the coaching world.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:01 AM ^
As of late last night there was no mention of this whatsoever on ESPN or SI or CFN, and generally they publish any and all rumors.
Petersen's roots are entirely in the west and far west, with the exception of a single assistant coaching stint for one year at Pitt. He doesn't have any experience with the SEC or the deep South, and I can't believe that Mississippi is a frequent recruiting visit. This year's BSU roster has two players from TX and one from GA; virtually everybody else is from ID, AZ, CA, and other states out there. What I can't figure out is why WA or Wash State haven't made a run at him. Instead WA goes with Sarkisian, who's never been a head coach. You can't tell me that Mississippi State has more money; it's one of the poorest states in the country. The only thing I can figure is that Petersen is waiting for his former boss and presumed mentor Bellotti to retire.
December 6th, 2008 at 9:32 AM ^
Didn't the Oregon AD announce that Chip Kelly will take over when Bellotti retires?
December 6th, 2008 at 9:47 AM ^
Yes, Bellotti will become AD and Kelly will become head coach. And from what Bellotti said, it could happen soon.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:06 AM ^
I said this once before - Washington State is, at this point, a considerably worse job than Boise State. They attract fewer fans and pay their coach less money (this was only his first year, as well). Boise State, in the past 11 years, has been to as many major bowls (defined as Rose, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar) as WSU has in the past fifty.
And WSU was better than Washington this year.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:21 AM ^
But barring the aberration of the Price years, Washington State was always considered a massive backwater.
Washington has won a national championship in the past 20 years.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:51 PM ^
Yeah. If this happens, Boise will have lost 4 coaches in 11 years to BCS schools. They even had given Petersen a raise (up to close to a million dollars) in an effort to keep him there.
Regardless, this program seems to be run extremely capably by the AD. I'm sure that in 3 years we'll be noting a nother BSU coach getting poached by a BCS school.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:56 PM ^
Personally I like the hire by State. He's proven to be a balanced coach that's teams play tough on both sides of the ball. Good luck to him in the future.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:24 PM ^
he could have waited for a better job. miss st is a dead end
December 5th, 2008 at 5:33 PM ^
I just can't understand how a dude from California turns down UCLA, which has at least always been competitive, then turns around and goes to Mississippi State.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:38 PM ^
I don't know shit, but does UCLA pay less than Mississippi St.?
December 5th, 2008 at 5:40 PM ^
Neuheisel makes $1.25M, Croom was making like half that at most.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:43 PM ^
i'm sure peterson will get plenty more than croom. sly wasnt exactly a guy they had to break the bank for
December 5th, 2008 at 6:22 PM ^
Statistically speaking, African Americans make less than their white counterparts. I'm sure that's MSU's reasoning.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:48 PM ^
FWIW, Petersen is making $970,000 this year at Boise.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:40 PM ^
ucla has a reputation for being a little cheap
miss state is in the sec, so i assume they will sell their students into slavery to fund a coaching hire if need be
December 5th, 2008 at 5:43 PM ^
USC versus recruiting against Ole Miss to keep the plethora of in-state talent home.
could be one explanation maybe?
doesn't really make sense to me either.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:46 PM ^
Mississippi State's winningest coach ever was Jackie Sherrill with a record of 75-75. Not exactly a destination. At least UCLA has prestige.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:48 PM ^
miss st is a dogshit job. it's always second fiddle to ole miss in state and the rest of the conference is brutal. recruiting to starkville isnt easy
i can only assume this is a money thing. or he's insane, which is possible
December 5th, 2008 at 5:53 PM ^
He knew he had a good team coming back this year and thought he could get into a BCS game and parlay's that into a non-rebuilding-of-entire-program type job.
That didn't really happen and he is losing a ton of talent of this year's team so he jumps ship to an SEC job the Croom has done ok with....
December 5th, 2008 at 9:55 PM ^
Actually, Boise is one of the youngest teams in the nation....their depth chart at first/second string, i believe, has tons of frosh and sophs.
Take stud Ian Johnson.....about half the carries goes to Avery who is a freshmen.....trust me, this team will rock and roll again next.
I will buy this theory in the next year or two.
Reports tonight are denying this story, by the way.
December 6th, 2008 at 12:40 AM ^
And Sherrill had to cheat like hell just to achieve that record.
December 6th, 2008 at 12:44 AM ^
He had to. Would YOU want to play football for a guy named Jackie?
December 5th, 2008 at 8:25 PM ^
I read somewhere, and I can't remember where, that Petersen has a prior relationship with Miss St.'s AD. It could be the reason. Well, that and a truckload of cash.
December 5th, 2008 at 8:52 PM ^
is not a dogshit job. They have an amazing fan base that travels unbelievably well and a fertile field for recruiting. It's a good job for the right candidate. I would argue that it has a higher ceiling right now than Old Miss.
December 6th, 2008 at 9:59 AM ^
Apparently this is all moot now, but Mississippi State is, aside from Vanderbilt, the worst program in the SEC as judged by all-time record.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:26 PM ^
If he could beat Oklaholma with Boise he can win games with Miss State. Honestly, if he can average 7-5 there he will spring board into a much better BCS job.
December 6th, 2008 at 12:12 AM ^
We'll see.
December 6th, 2008 at 9:26 AM ^
that a Sparty is full of shit.
December 6th, 2008 at 9:48 AM ^
Well, I wouldn't go that far. You don't just randomly deny that you're taking a job... there had to be considerable smoke.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:57 PM ^
This was second only to the "Les to Washington" on the list of absurd coaching rumors this year. Mississippi State is a coaching graveyard.