Will Mississippi State regret keeping Joe Moorhead?

Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen has reportedly decided to keep Joe Moorhead as the head coach of the Bulldogs. Will MSU regret this choice?

After defeating Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl for the second consecutive season, Mississippi State appears ready to keep head coach Joe Moorhead. According to multiple reports, MSU athletic director John Cohen met with Moorhead for more than four hours and is intent on keeping the coach he hired to replace Dan Mullen after he left for Florida.

The decision is likely going to be met with criticism from Mississippi State fans, despite Moorhead’s 14-11 overall record during his time in Starkville and his 2-0 record in the Egg Bowl.

There’s plenty of unrest among Mississippi State’s faithful about the perceived direction of the Bulldogs’ football program.

Moorhead inherited a remarkably experienced offense and a defense that panned out to be arguably the best during the 2018 season. But Mississippi State struggled and finished with a disappointing 8-5 record in a year that was supposed to be something special.

In 2019, it was expected the Bulldogs would regress, but MSU struggled all season. The Bulldogs lost to Kansas State after leading 24-17 in the fourth quarter. After beating Kentucky, Moorhead’s team rattled off four-straight losses, including a 10-point loss to Tennessee. The Bulldogs were blown out by Auburn, LSU, A&M and Alabama in games that could have been considerably more lopsided than what they were.

Mississippi State needed wins against Arkansas (who finished the season at 2-10), Abilene Christian (from the FCS) and then Ole Miss to make it to a bowl game.

If it weren’t for a “dog pee” celebration, Mississippi State may not have even won the Egg Bowl.

It should be noted there’s still a chance Moorhead pans out to be a good head coach for the Bulldogs. Moorhead’s credentials prior to being hired by Cohen to coach in Starkville are very respectable and a 14-11 record while at Mississippi State is a decent record, all things considered.

But MSU, arguably, should have more wins since Moorhead was hired. He inherited a good program, underachieved in 2018, and turned State into a long-term project.

Cohen still believes Moorhead is the right man for the job. There’s a chance he is. There’s also a chance Mississippi State will regret not pursuing a coach like Billy Napier to replace Moorhead in Starkville.

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