Following one of the most successful seasons in school history, Head Coach Dan Mullen and Mississippi State University finally agreed upon his new extension Thursday. Under Mullen the Bulldogs won 10 games last season, which was the first time in school history the program was able to achieve that mark. Also, the team ranked No. 1 in the country for the first time in school history as well.
The extension brings Mullen’s average yearly salary to $4.275 million, making him the ninth coach in the SEC to reach the $4 million per year amount. His old deal brought him $3 million a year, so it is not surprising he would want to be paid like one of the elite coaches in the conference, as his team performed like one of the best units in the entire country last season. His new deal will run through the 2018 season and contains built-in raises that could earn him more money if his teams keep up the production the way it did last season.
Mullen was happy to receive his extension, but didn’t waiver from the larger goal at hand in his mind – winning a championship.
“We spent five weeks ranked No. 1 last season for the first time, but we have only scratched this surface on what we can accomplish here,” Mullen said in a news release. “We have created a winning culture both on and off the field and built a program that has sustained success in the nation’s toughest conference. I’ve always said we are going to win a championship here, and I firmly believe that.”
This deal makes sense for the university because it wants to show that it is willing to do what it takes to host to one of the best college football programs and coaches in the country year in and year out. By extending Mullen, the program rewards him for taking what used to be the doormat of the SEC West and turning it into a contender. His personality has really begun to rub off on the community as a whole, as the phrase “moral victory” no longer has a place in Starkville.
I’ll never forget being in the visitor’s media room in Oxford, following Mississippi State’s Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss in the last regular season game of the year in November. The sheer look of disgust on Mullen’s face when he walked into the cramped space under Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was enough to make everyone assembled realize just how much the man hates losing. His fiery press conference that evening was a true depiction of a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to mold MSU into the national power that he envisioned it being when he took the job. 
For those saying they want to see Mullen prove he can duplicate the likes of last year in back-to-back seasons or longer, keep in mind it’s not just on the field that the Bulldogs have improved, but also off the field. This can be seen in the form of academic improvement in the classroom. Take, for example, the 2014 fall semester, where Mullen’s football squad posted its highest overall team GPA of 2.76 in the program’s history. Along with this, MSU has been able to improve its NCAA Academic Progress Rate each year since Mullen has taken over as coach.
Between this extension and the fact Mullen just got done sealing a top-16 recruiting class, the MSU community should be excited to have the former Florida offensive coordinator don the headset for a minimum of four more seasons. Rest assured Bulldog fans; your future is in good hands with Mullen at the helm. That competitive Bulldog football will become a trend, rather than a once in a decade occurrence like in years past.