Where does Mississippi State go now with Joe Judge off the board?

After striking out on Billy Napier and Joe Judge, who will John Cohen and the Mississippi State Bulldogs seek after to replace Joe Moorhead?

John Cohen has found himself in a tricky situation. Mississippi State’s athletic director fired head football coach Joe Moorhead to start 2020, but the Bulldogs have yet to find a replacement for Moorhead. After missing out on Louisiana’s Billy Napier and Joe Judge, Cohen and MSU need to find someone new to bring to Starkville.

But where does Mississippi State turn at this point in the search? We’re one week into January and the Bulldogs are trying to hire a head coach at the weirdest possible time.

Despite the fact that Cohen and the Bulldogs have missed out on their top targets, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still good coaching candidates available for the Bulldogs. It just means that Mississippi State needs to consider a wider pool of candidates and act quickly.

And so, here are a few new names that the Bulldogs need to consider in their coaching search:

Troy Calhoun, Air Force head coach

The Air Force Falcons are coming off an 11-win season and Troy Calhoun’s coaching stock should certainly be skyrocketing because of it. Calhoun has led the Falcons since 2007 and in those 13 seasons, he’s won 98 games.

Air Force has won at least eight games eight times, at least nine games five times, and at least 10 games three times. If Mississippi State is looking for someone who has experience and has shown he can win at a high level, Calhoun should be considered.

But, while Mississippi State fans fancy themselves as fans of running the ball, hiring Calhoun would seemingly mean that the Bulldogs would essentially always run and never pass. Calhoun’s offenses rely heavily upon running the option, and Air Force threw for an average of 123.2 yards per game in 2019.

There’s a chance that a larger pool of talent at Mississippi State might mean for some innovation there, but the Bulldogs would likely be running the option should Calhoun be hired.

Jeff Monken, Army head coach

If Mississippi State is okay with running the option but wants a coach with coaching experience in the South, then Troy Calhoun wouldn’t be the best choice for the Bulldogs. That’d be Jeff Monken, Army’s head coach.

Monken hasn’t been leading the Black Knights for as long as Calhoun has led Air Force, so his resume isn’t as lengthy as Calhoun’s, but Monken has still seen plenty of success over the past few seasons. While leading Army, Monken has compiled a record of 40-36, but in 2017 and 2018, Army had a record of 21-5.

Prior to coaching at Army, Monken coached Georgia Southern and was successful there, leading the Eagles to a 38-16 record, two Southern Conference Championships, and three NCAA Semifinal appearances in four seasons. Monken has served as an assistant coach in various roles all over the country and coached special teams and running backs at Georgia Tech before leading Georgia Southern.

His experience coaching in Georgia could help Mississippi State with recruiting in the region, which is something that Calhoun couldn’t necessarily provide.

Blake Anderson, Arkansas State head coach

Arkansas State’s Blake Anderson isn’t going to be the most exciting name for Mississippi State football fans, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not a good candidate for the job. Anderson has led Arkansas State since 2014 and has compiled a 47-30 record in Jonesboro.

Anderson’s name is being thrown around the Baylor coaching search, and it’d be shocking if he weren’t a candidate for that job. He played for the Bears in the late 1980s before transferring to Sam Houston State to finish his playing career and could provide some stability to the program.

Mississippi State probably can’t outbid the Bears for Anderson’s services, and Baylor is also in a better place as a program than MSU is, but that doesn’t mean the Bulldogs shouldn’t try to win over Anderson. Baylor is also pursuing several other coaching candidates, one of whom is likely Billy Napier.

MSU should also consider the fact that hiring Anderson wouldn’t totally shake up what Mississippi State does offensively the way hiring Monken or Calhoun would. Plus, Anderson has coached all across the South, providing possible recruiting connections that would serve the Bulldogs well.

In assistant roles, he’s coached at Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Miss, and North Carolina. MSU currently recruits from three states that those schools reside in, Tennessee, Louisiana and, well, Mississippi. Having a coach familiar with the landscape would help those recruiting efforts.

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