An exciting era will end for Mississippi State football. On Friday afternoon, Bulldog head coach Jackie Sherrill announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season. Sherrill will quit after 13 seasons in Starkville. He led the team to six bowl berths, 75 wins to date, and an SEC Western Division Championship in 1998.
After back-to-back losing seasons, and a 2-4 record in the current season, many students have had enough of Sherrill.
“Jackie Sherrill has been a great asset to this university,” says Joel Gray, a junior general business major. “He has brought pride and prestige to a team that didn’t have any. But it’s time for a new approach. This is a young team, and they need a younger, more energetic coach to motivate them.”
Bryant Wait, a junior agronomy major, also believes that the ending of the Sherrill Era is a good thing.
“I believe that even though Jackie may think he could have turned around this team, deep down he saw that he has worn out his welcome and by staying it would only make things worse,” Wait said.
“I’m not sorry Jackie was ever here, and it’s not that he isn’t a good coach,” Wait continued. “He has just worn out his welcome.”
Matt Youngblood, a sophomore MSU cheerleader, says he doesn’t care one way or the other.
“I’m pretty much indifferent about (Sherrill). I just hope that he is not leaving us under NCAA infractions like he did with Texas A&M,” Youngblood said.
Faye Ivy, a student and employee of the university, says that Sherrill should be remembered as a positive thing for Mississippi State.
“I just wish people would look back and remember all the good things he did while he was here,” Ivey said. “He won a lot of games for MSU. I figured he would leave after the season, but I was really surprised that he did it now.”
Sherrill’s timing was somewhat unexpected, announcing his retirement less than 24 hours before taking on a ranked opponent on the road, and with still over half the season schedule remaining. Wait, however, says he sees logical reasoning behind the announcement.
“I think Jackie knew that if he did not announce this (now), then he could expect a rude second half of the season,” Wait observed. “With it out of the way, now we can focus on hiring a new coach and not harassing the old one.”