Mullen ready to face cowbells, Bulldogs
Gators coach expects raucous greeting in return to Starkville
GAINESVILLE – The environment is among the wildest and loudest in the SEC.
Dan Mullen helped create it. Florida’s coach now will have to face it.
Mississippi State fans are sure to clang their cowbells with a little more gusto Saturday night when Mullen returns to Starkville, his home during the previous nine seasons.
There, Mullen turned the Bulldogs from a doormat into a competitive SEC program and transformed Davis Wade Stadium into a true home-field advantage.
The 46-year-old’s handiwork now could prove his undoing as the Gators (3-1, 1-1 SEC) look to build on last weekend’s rout at Tennessee and knock off the No. 23 Bulldogs (3-1, 0-1) in the House That Dan Built.
“I spent nine years creating the atmosphere,” Mullen said Monday. “Now I get to go back and I guess see what it’s like to be on the other sideline with the tradition we created.”
Mullen worked with Mississippi State’s marketing people to turn Bulldogs’ games into a spectacle.
The team now runs onto the field with fireworks blasting and through a long column of people formed by the band and cheerleaders. Following the third quarter, the popular song, “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” by Journey plays.
The cowbells were a Mississippi State tradition long before Mullen, dating to before World War II, but technically were not allowed at games. But Mullen helped legalize the practice of bringing them and ringing them.
In 2010, Mullen help spearhead legislation that permitted cowbells in Davis Wade Stadium for the first time in 36 years as long as fans do not ring them as the huddle breaks.
“So you have to ring responsibly over the course of the game,” Mullen quipped. “A lot of people didn’t think that rule was going to pass, but somehow we were able to get that passed through the coaches.”
Mississippi State fans responded to Mullen’s efforts.
The top 20 attended games in 61,337-seat Davis Wade Stadium history all occurred during the Mullen era.
Knowing Saturday’s crowd will be raucous, Mississippi State reportedly pushed for an ESPN night game.
Mullen remains unsure what his reception will be.
Asked if he expects to be booed, he replied, “What do you think?”
At the same time, Mullen knows Bulldogs fans admire his efforts during his time in Starkville.
“I think there will be a lot of passion on Saturday night with people there,” he said. “But, I think for the most part they were appreciative in what we were able to accomplish in the nine years that we were there. I don’t know if that will show on Saturday night.”
One thing is certain, Mullen’s return creates the odd and infrequent dynamic of a coach facing his former team on the road in his first season at a new school.
“I don’t think that has happened very often,” he said. “I haven’t checked the stat sheet where a guy that has coached for nine years in the SEC and coached for nine years in one school and then had to go play on the road.
“I think that’s probably an interesting trivia question for everybody to go look up.”
Mullen’s place in Mississippi State’s history is secure. Much of it was made on the field he will visit this weekend.
After going 2-5 at home during his first season, in 2009, Mullen was 38-16, for a winning percentage of .704.
But his final two games there ended in close losses, to Alabama and Ole Miss. Mullen now looks to end the losing streak at Davis Wade, quiet the cowbells, and boost his new team at the expense of his old one.