Dan Mullen Signs Contract Extension, Scores Win For Rank Mediocrity

Dan Mullen needed two overtime wins against Arkansas and Mississippi to get to five FBS wins and reach a bowl game. Mississippi State responded to this stirring feat by extending his $3 million per year contract another year through the 2017-18 season.

Mullen’s Starkville tenure has invited debate. Half-full: he has gone to four-straight bowl games at Mississippi State, no small feat historically. Half-empty” he has compiled a 6-15 record vs. SEC teams that are not Kentucky the past three seasons. Mullen may have plateaued with the Bulldogs. He may have brushed against the ceiling.

If Mullen is to stifle the skeptics, 2014 will be the season. Mississippi State has one of the SEC’s top returning quarterbacks in Dak Prescott. The Bulldogs also play an easier schedule. They face no one with a pulse outside the conference. They also get Vanderbilt at home and Kentucky away from the SEC East, arguably the softest draw possible.

Speaking of mediocrity, Bo Pelini also signed a contract extension. Nebraska fans can’t get enough four-loss seasons, horrific defensive performances and embarrassing off-the-field controversies apparently.