Dan Mullen and Chip Kelly are in the “New Hampshire Mafia”
Did you know Chip Kelly, Dan Mullen, and Gary Crowton are part of the New Hampshire mafia?
Both Kelly and Mullen, who are second year head coaches at Oregon and Mississippi State, have tremendous upside as college football coaches. Kelly inherited a lot more talent than Mullen did at MState (that’s an understatement), and both are proving they were great hires.
Look at how Kelly became the head coach at Oregon. Kelly was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire, and Mike Belotti called him up for an interview. Kelly accepts the position on a staff full of guys who have coached under Belotti for years, and get the job with out a mutiny within the staff. That’s rare in college football today. When Mike Belotti approached Chip Kelly about interviewing for the job, Belotti was in his 14th year as the head coach and 19th on the staff.
How many coaching staff’s have that kind of continuity in college football today? Virginia Tech and maybe Penn State? There’s a reason NFL teams hire so many guys from small schools in the Northeast. In the NFL, the Xs and the Os prevail. And hiring really smart, cerebral guys who are no-nonsense creates playoff appearances. Pick five NFL teams and take a look at their assistant coaches. It will probably surprise you how many of those guys coached at small colleges in the Northeast.
If Oregon can do it – why can’t it happen in Oxford or Starkville? Think about the two schools that have been able to build a program with the same guys the last 20 years. Non-traditional powers Oregon and Virginia Tech. Bill Byrne, former athletic director at Oregon and Rich Brooks Oregon head coach before Belotti, did a great job building a top-notch foundation in Eugene, OR. Throw in Phil Knight’s Nike money and you have everything you need to win consistently.
Dan Mullen’s overall record is 11-9 as the head coach at Mississippi State University in 1 ½ seasons in Starkville, MS. Impressive, considering the schedule and talent Mullen inherited from Sylvester Croom and Larry Templeton. Remember, Mullen’s first year starting QB was Tyson Lee. Lee is a great kid, but at the end of the day he was a 5’8” walk-on, juco QB who was limited in throwing and running the football. Mullen has taken a bunch of solid D-1 football players and coached them up. The players believe Mullen and the assistant coaches can lead the the players to places they’ve never been. Whether or not Mullen stays in Starkville, the right hire has been identified.
Oregon’s record the last 15 yrs:
1995 9-3
1996 6-5
1997 6-5
1998 9-3
1999 8-4
2000 10-2
2001 11-1
2002 7-6
2003 8-5
2004 5-6
2005 10-1
2006 7-6
2007 9-4
2008 10-3
2009 10-3
Bo Bounds is the host of the Out of Bounds show on ESPN 105.9 The Zone.
Magnolia Tribune
