Dan Mullen Named National Coach of the Week

(Photo Courtesy: Kelly Price, MSU Athletics)

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) — The national honors continue to roll in for Mississippi State football as head coach Dan Mullen was recognized as the Bobby Dodd Trophy National Coach of the Week, it was announced by officials from the Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Tuesday.

The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Award honors the football coach whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.

Mullen and the Bulldogs beat No. 11 LSU 37-7 for the largest margin of victory for MSU in the 111-year series history. It was the Bulldogs’ first victory over LSU in Starkville since 1999. It was also the largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent by the Bulldogs since 1942 (33-0 over No. 12 Vanderbilt). The win catapulted State into the Top 20 of the national polls ranking as high as No. 17 in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the Amway USA Today Coaches Top 25.

“When an unranked team dominates a No. 11 team the way Mississippi State did on Saturday against LSU, we take notice,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “Coach Mullen has set a new standard for excellence in Starkville since arriving in 2009, and we appreciate the way that he leads his program.”

It’s the second straight year that Mullen has won the honor. He was the recipient following the Bulldogs’ 35-28 win over No. 4 Texas A&M last season on Nov. 5.

At 64-42 (.604), Mullen is just one victory away from tying College Football Hall of Famer Allyn McKeen for second in MSU history, and he’s 11 wins away from tying Jackie Sherrill’s school-record mark. Mullen is currently the SEC’s second-longest tenured coach in his ninth season. The Bulldogs were 32-65 in the eight years prior to his arrival.

Off the field, Mullen’s players are constant achievers in the classroom earning an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score of 974 last year while also donating countless hours to the Starkville area and state of Mississippi. A school-record 31 Bulldogs were named to the 2016 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, which ranked among the top five in the league. During Mullen’s entire tenure at MSU, 166 players have earned the distinction of SEC Honor Roll recipient. State is tied for the SEC lead in number of National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athletes produced since 2010, with two.

The Mullens created the Mullen Family 36 Foundation, raising close to $500,000 for charity in the last five years. The foundation has impacted the lives of 36 different children’s charities throughout the state of Mississippi and annually chooses a deserving student for a college scholarship. In the spring of 2017, the foundation hosted its first golf classic, bringing back former Bulldogs and celebrities that raised over $100,000 for children’s charities.

“Coach Mullen has led the Bulldogs to extraordinary success on the field as well as in the classroom,” said Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Chairman Percy Vaughn. “He has the Bulldogs looking like a legitimate SEC West contender, and his commitment to his players and program made him an easy choice for the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week recognition.”